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Word Cruncher Exercises for Titus Andronicus
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by Christy Desmet
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1. To what other father does Titus compare himself in 1.1? What numbers does he associate with fatherhood in the scene? Why is that important?
2. In Roman mythology, Aeneas, one of Priam's sons, fled the fall of Troy, found love with Queen Dido, but left her to fulfil his destiny and found Rome. If you search for the terms, Dido*, Aeneas, Troy, and Priam*, what topic seems important to this play? How does this play's use of the myth compare to the way that other plays use it?
3. What does Titus "bring unto their latest home" in 1.1? What is the effect on the plot, i.e., what happens as a result?
4. Search for the terms hew* and flesh. They are sometimes found in association with a third term, that has religious connotations. What is it? How do the terms echo throughout the play? In other words, do they ever operate in an especially peculiar way?
5. The quarrel between Chiron and Demetrius seems to echo the events of 1.1. Explain how.
5. Look at Tamora's speech to Aaron at the beginning of 2.3. Who else talks about the natural world in Act 2 and how is nature depicted?
6. Let's look at some animals. Begin with the terms adder and snake*. Do they ever refer to humans? What of these terms: bear- whelps, panther, tiger* and lion*?
7. Look up Rome and all of its variants. When is it most referred to in this play? Is there another play that uses it in the same way?
8. The adjectives "cruel" and "barbarous" recur. Who calls whom cruel and barbarous?
9. Aaron's first soliloquy uses imagery of ascent and descent. Using such terms as climb*, deep*, height*, or high*, see where else this imagery is used in the play. Why is the imagery especially important?