Identity for 2/27

Today, I’d like to examine identity in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Titus Andronicus, as well as his lengthy poem “Venus and Adonis.” The way that these two works incorporate identity presents the topic in a new light that I had not before considered. In Titus Andronicus, identity plays out in the realms of self, family, and society. In “Venus and Adonis” there is an interesting focus on identity in terms of sex (and therein, gender roles) and also the view of oneself.

            In Titus Andronicus, I think the most outstanding view of identity within the self comes from Titus. Titus is nominated for the emperorship in Rome and denies it in an act of humility. Titus’ speech in Act I Scene I,

“Rome, I have been thy soldier forty years,
And led my country's strength successfully,
And buried one and twenty valiant sons,
Knighted in field, slain manfully in arms,
In right and service of their noble country
Give me a staff of honour for mine age,
But not a sceptre to control the world,”

shows that he is content with his position in life, for he has served it long and well. Titus’ position is one that he knows and is satisfied in, and he would rather be praised for where he is, and where he has been, than put in a place where he cannot see himself serving.

            Identity is also important in Titus Andronicus for how it relies on family ties. With that also comes the aspect of society tied to identity. Within this play there are two camps: the Romans and the Goths. Titus’s family – all his sons, and his daughter, Lavinia – belong to the Roman side, along with the emperor Saturninus and his brother, Bassianus. On the other hand are the Goths, which include Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and her lover, Aaron the Moor. Where problems arise between these two groups has to do with their families, and also how they interact within society. Titus kills Tamora’s eldest son in an act of revenge for all his sons that were slain in the war against the Goths (even though his sons were killed in battle, not in cold blood), and that spurs Tamora to seek revenge throughout the play. At different parts of the play Titus has problems with his sons and their differing ideals, as well as it being questionable if their allegiances lie fully with their father. Tamora uses her own sons as puppets for her revenge plot against Titus, conspiring for her two remaining sons to rape Titus’ daughter, Lavinia. It is quite tumultuous in Rome when the Goths come into their society, which is made all the worse by the revenge plotting. The way the Goths fit into and view Roman society is completely different than their own and they begin to reshape and influence the order of events that happen in the city. Rome is already on a decline due to the questionable order of rule, and all the craziness that goes down just speeds up the road leading to the city’s eventual downfall. In family and society in terms of identity in Titus Andronicus we see the decrease in culture and moral values not only in those two realms but also of the self.

In Shakespeare’s poem “Venus and Adonis,” I found it interesting when the character of Venus chose to express her identity by extolling her “virtues” herself, saying,

“Thou canst not see one wrinkle in my brow;
Mine eyes are gray and bright and quick in turning:
My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow,
My flesh is soft and plump, my marrow burning;
My smooth moist hand, were it with thy hand felt,
Would in thy palm dissolve, or seem to melt.”

In previous works studied for this course of Shakespeare’s, there’s never been this much blatant narcissism. Maybe that reveals more of the true identity of the goddess of love than any other description could.

            Most notable about “Venus and Adonis” is that Venus is the one perusing Adonis, and molests him. This is a strong reversal in gender roles and sexual identity by Shakespeare within his poem, and raises some points about how identity should be seen – as a complex spectrum or rather a locked form. What kind of traits or behaviors are responsible for dictating male and female identity, and how does that deviation from the normative tradition change a reader’s perception on the topic? This is something to think about while doing further reading.