Contemporary Resonance and Moral Ambiguity in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus

This paper seeks to reappraise and contextualize the ambiguities and moral challenges of a noble character who has been wronged by his society and his Gods, interpreting these in the light of the mores of Shakespeare's time and of contemporary post-war society. While the play has been severely criticized, reworked, 'cleaned up,' and even dismissed by various generations, because of its excessive goriness and horror, it is suggested that its original popularity was due to its portrayal of the Grotesque realities of Elizabethan society, and that such horrors achieve resonance in a contemporary society that cannot fail to be aware of marginalization and legitimized torture. In conclusion, the current authors suggest that the sophistication and complexity of honor-based revenge portrayed in Titus Andronicus distinguishes this play as an outstanding example of the genre, one fully deserving its place in the Shakespeare canon, dealing as it does with issues that are still highly relevant today.