Titus Andronicus: Critical Essays(Shakespearean Criticism)

Originally published in 1995. In three parts – introduction, criticism and reviews – this volume examines the goriest of Shakespeare’s works. The editor’s exhaustive introduction runs through the pattern of changing scholarship and commentary, introducing the key interests in the play, from its authorship to its language, rhetoric and performance. Early commentaries focused on arguing about whether the play was truly Shakespeare’s. A selection of the most important of these are included here followed by later investigations looking at myriad topics and characters – revenge, violence, race, Aaron, women, tragedy and Tamora. The large section of reviews of stage performances, arranged chronologically, ranges from 1857 to 1990. Two final pieces interestingly survey stage history of Titus in Japan and in Germany.

Table of Contents:
General Editor’s Introduction Philip C. Kolin Part 1: Titus Andronicus and the Critical Legacy 1. Titus Andronicus and the Critical Legacy Philip C. Kolin Part 2: Titus Andronicus and the Critics 2. Early Shakespeare Edward Dowden 3. Shakspere and his Predecessors – Titus Andronicus Frederick S. Boas 4. How Titus Andronicus Looks Forward to Shakespeare’s Later Plays H. Bellyse Baildon 5. The Authorship of Titus Andronicus H(ereward) T. Price 6. The Metamorphosis of Violence in Titus Andronicus Eugene M. Waith 7. "Wilderness of Tigers": Structure and Symbolism in Titus Andronicus Alan Sommers 8. Titus Andronicus: The Form of Shakespearian Tragedy A. C. Hamilton 9. Aaron Eldred Jones 10. The Stranger in Shakespeare: Aaron Leslie A. Fielder 11. The Hybrid Image in Shakespeare: Aaron Bernard Spivack 12. Rape and Revenge in Titus Andronicus David Willbern 13. Titus Andronicus: Rome and the Family Robert S. Miola 14. To Starve with Feeding: Shakespeare’s Idea of Rome Gail Kern Paster 15. A Margin for Error: Rhetorical Context in Titus Andronicus Jane Hiles 16. Performing Texts in Titus Andronicus Philip C. Kolin 17. Titus Andronicus Maurice Charney 18. Making More of the Moor: Aaron, Othello, and Renaissance Refashioning of Race Emily C. Bartels 19. Cultural Disintegration in Titus Andronicus: Mutilating Titus, Vergil and Rome Heather James 20. "Come Down and Welcome Me to this World’s Light": Titus Andronicus and the Canon’s of Contemporary Violence Philip C. Kolin 21. "That Ravenous Tiger Tamora": Titus Andronicus’s Lusty Widow, Wife and M/other Dorothea Kehler 22. "Upon her Wit Doth Earthly Honor Wait": Female Agency in Titus Andronicus Carolyn Asp 23. Courting in Dumb Show: An Editorial and Theatrical Modification in the text of Titus Andronicus William Proctor Williams 24. "O Cruel, Irreligious Piety!": Stage Images of Civil Conflict in Titus Andronicus David Bevington Part 3: Titus Andronicus on Stage

About the Author :
Philip C. Kolin is University Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Letters and Professor of English at The University of Southern Mississippi, USA. He is also editor of Southern Quarterly. Kolin has published 40 books and over 200 scholarly articles on Shakespeare, modern American and African American drama, and business writing.