Vengeance is Mine

Both Tamora and Titus are on missions of revenge.  Aaron, on the other hand, despite his claims to the contrary, is not out for revenge.  He is simply a villain, a role in which he takes the utmost pride and joy.
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Numbers: Midpoint (or, “Woe is me”… and not ironically, either)

Using Professor Rodes’ midpoint theory, let’s take a look at Titus Andronicus.

There are 2522 total lines in the play (using our Pelican Shakespeare text, the ones we are using for the entire series).  The midpoint comes at line 239 of Act Three, Scene One.
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Podcast 08: Titus and Tragedy

This week’s podcast includes a discussion tragedy and Titus, plus the launch of a new contest.

NOTE: This is a long podcast. In an attempt to lessen the file size, we used a bit sample rate of 22 kHz instead of our usual 48.  While this successfully lowered file size, it also lessened somewhat the audio quality of this podcast.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

Errata:
1:20 — Text should be “1580s” instead of “1850s”
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It’s Contest Time Again!

OK, so you’re a director… and you’re about to mount a production of Titus Andronicus (or it could be a movie version)…

who would be your dream cast?

why?

And, why, gentle reader, why should you do this???

a free Bill / Shakespeare Project tee-shirt to the best/most original/most well-reasoned casting director

That’s why!

Enter by commenting to this blog entry.  Contest entries due before 12 Noon (Pacific) on Thursday, August 27.  I’ll announce the winner in the last podcast of the month (Sunday, August 30).

Good luck!

What Makes a Man Start Fires?

Yesterday, we talked a little (or a little more than a little) about how Titus (and Titus Andronicus as a whole) fit into the whole Aristotelian definition of tragedy.  We came to the conclusion that Titus’ hamartia (or error in judgment) was his refusal to spare the life of Tamora’s eldest son, Alarbus, when his own son Lucius calls for a sacrifice to calm the spirits of his dead brothers (Titus’ dead sons).

So that’s the “what”… what about the “why”?  Why does he make this decision?  And why does he make the decisions that further his reversal of fortune?
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The Tragedy of Titus

Yesterday, we discussed the Aristotelian definition of tragedy, and how it centered around three main concepts:

  • reversal of fortune
  • hamartia
  • anagnorisis

Let’s start discussing Titus Andronicus with the last one and move backward…
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It’s a Tragedy

Titus Andronicus is a play of revenge.  It’s a horror show.

But it is also Shakespeare’s first tragedy, a play in which–according to our old friend Aristotle–our tragic hero is subjected to a reversal of fortune (almost always from good to bad).  This reversal is supposed to create fear and pity in the audience, finally resulting in a catharsis, a release of emotions, an emotional cleansing.
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Titus Andronicus Rocks!

Around the beginning of this year 2009, long before I got this wild hair that has become the BSP, I was in Target, shopping with my family.  I was in the magazine section and picked up Rolling Stone. [I used to be a subscriber in younger days… now (old man alert) I often don’t know who is on the cover… (Lady Gaga?  really?).  I try to discover new bands, and late last year, I happened upon The Gaslight Anthem, a GREAT band out of New Jersey, the home of my favorite rocker/writer, Springsteen.]

Anyway, as I flipped through the new album reviews, this caught my eye:
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The Tragic Model of the Day

And I’m not talking Kate Moss. … I’m talking Senecan Tragedy.

Seneca (the Younger) was a Roman playwright (as well as politician and philosopher), who worked in the first century A.D.  Some of his plays reworked stories of earlier Greek writers (like Sophocles), but in his hands, the plays had a greater focus on the terrible deeds that precipitate the tragic hero’s fall.  Sometimes witches and ghosts were employed to bring about actions (or reactions) by the characters, often prompting them to revenge.

So what does a first century Roman playwright have to do with Titus Andronicus?
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Podcast 07: Titus Andronicus Overview

This week’s podcast includes a synopsis of Titus Andronicus, as well as a review of the Playing Shakespeare DVD.

Errata:
3:57 — Text should be “… since Bassianus will marry Lavinia…”
8:22 — Text should be “Judi Dench”
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