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Revenge

In: English and Literature

Submitted By kmorales
Words 573
Pages 3
Revenge is often brought upon someone when one does something horrifying to another. Niccolo Machiavelli once said, “People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge; but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear his or her vengeance”. Machiavelli’s quote speaks on how if someone does you harm and you feel you must do harm back, to do it in such a way where they will regret the harm they did upon you and where you will never fear his or her revenge. In William Shakespeare’s, Titus Andronicus, it shows how a series of acts of revenge is taken place and how that synchronizes the characters into a cycle of eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth violence.
We are first brought into Titus Andronicus when Titus, the protagonist, kills Tamora’s eldest son as a way of retribution for the loss of some of his own children. Because of the killing of her son only causes seek for revenge on her behalf, she then does as so. “That what you cannot as you would achieve, you must perforce accomplish as you may (28-II.1)”. As retribution to Titus, Tamora here gets her sons, Chiron and Demetrius, to rape Titus daughter Lavinia and describe her as a “hunt” they will do in the woods. Although this might not be seen as a big enough revenge, it gets to the point where, as Machiavelli said, she will injure someone and do it in a way that she wont fear his vengeance. In addition to just raping Titus daughter, Demetrius kills Bassianus, Lavinia’s husband. “This is the day of doom for Bassianius; His Philomel must lose her tongue today, thy songs make pillage of her chastity (32-II.3)”. This set a foundation to what the type of revenge Tamora is seeking. By saying his Philomel must lose her tongue, this implicates that when they do rape Lavinia, her tongue will be cut off so she won’t ever try to speak upon what happened. The symbolization of the rape will be more surreal after. Because of the rape, she would become unpure and no man will marry her because of her being used. She will never be able to have a future, nor be able to have kids. More over, the sons of Tamora decide to “drag hence her husband to some secret hole, and make his dead trunk pillow to our lust (36-II.3)”, implicating that Bassianius will be the bed they will rape Lavinia on top of. The revenge Tamora took upon Titus will be an injury in a way that the Andronicus name will never be able to continue, since no man will ever want to marry a used “whore”. This reflects onto Machiavelli’s quote because the harm she did wasn’t something simple, like just killing Titus. It was an ongoing, tough revenge that made them suffer deeply, inside of killing them and making them feel nothing. As children, we are all born with a clean slate. However as time progresses, we are taught to be evil and taught to hate. The evil put upon everyone is different but we all experience a point where revenge is needed and where we are primarily ruled by our passions and desires.

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