Titus Andronicus

Upon his triumphant return from battling with the Goths, Titus Andronicus waves away the offer of the crown, forgives the Goth captives and releases them.

Tamora, Queen of the Goths, vows revenge for the humiliations suffered in defeat at the hands of Titus. This is enacted soon by the depredation of Titus’ daughter Lavinia, who is defiled and physically maimed, at the hands of two of Tamora’s sons. The lurid and violent cycle of revenge culminates in a terrible dinner scene which cemented the popularity, in its time, of this now seldom offered Jacobean revenge tragedy.