Titus Andronicus is a tragic play by William Shakespeare, written sometime between 1588 and 1593. It is Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is seen as his attempt to imitate his contemporaries, who were all writing very popular, very violent revenge plays throughout the 16th Century. It is by far Shakespeare's bloodiest and most brutally violent work, and is not well respected, although it was very popular in his time. It fell out of favor in the late 17th Century and throughout the Victorian era, but regained some of its earlier popularity around the middle of the 20th Century.The play takes place during the decline of the Roman Empire, and tells the fictional tale of Titus, a Roman army general. The Roman Emperor has just died, and his two sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, are bickering about who will succeed him. They seem destined to resort to violence in order to settle the matter until a tribune, named Marcus Andronicus, enters. Marcus announces that the people have chosen Marcus' brother, Titus, as their new emperor. Titus has just returned to Rome after waging a successful ten-year campaign against the Goths. He is greeted by celebrations and fanfare as he enters the city, bringing with him several Gothic prisoners. Among his captives is the Queen of the Goths, Tamora; her three sons, Alarbus, Chiron, and Demetrius; and Aaron the Moor, Tamora's secret lover. Tamora pleads with Titus, but he ignores her, sacrificing her eldest son Alarbus to avenge the deaths of his own sons, who died at war. Tamora is distraught, and she and her two remaining sons vow to seek revenge on Titus.Titus refuses the throne, saying that he is not fit to rule. Instead, he supports Saturninus, who is then elected. Saturninus' first decision as emperor is to marry his brother's fiancé, Lavinia, who is also Titus's daughter. Titus agrees, but Bassianus refuses to give her up. His sons tell Titus that Bassianus is clearly right under Roman law, but Titus refuses to listen, and accuses them of treason. A fight ensues, and Titus kills one of his sons, Mutius. Saturninus denounces the Andronici family, and marries Tamora, rather than Lavinia. Tamora, who is putting her plan for revenge into motion, persuades Saturninus to pardon Bassianus and the rest of the family, which he does, albeit reluctantly.The next day there is a royal hunt, and Aaron persuades Demetrius and Chiron to kill Bassianus, so that they may rape Lavinia. They do, throwing Bassianus' body into and pit and dragging Lavinia into the forest before violently raping her. To prevent her from revealing what they have done, they cut out her tongue and cut off her hands. Aaron forges a letter which frames Titus' sons Martius and Quintus for the murder of Bassianus. Saturninus, horrified, arrests the two brothers and sentences them to death.It is Marcus who discovers Lavinia, and takes her to her father who is overcome with grief. Then Aaron arrives, saying that if Titus, Marcus, or Titus' remaining son, Lucius, cuts off their hand and sends it to Saturninus, Martius and Quintus will be spared. Titus has Aaron cut off his (Titus') left hand, and sends it to the emperor, but in return a messenger brings him the heads of his two sons, along with his severed hand. Titus orders Lucius to flee Rome and raise an army to attack Rome.Lavinia uses a stick held with her mouth and between her mutilated arms to reveal the names of her attackers. Tamora gives birth to a mixed race child, fathered by Aaron. Aaron kills the nurse, and flees with the baby to save it from Saturninus' inevitable wrath. Lucius, with his army, captures Aaron and threatens to kill the infant. To save his child, Aaron reveals the plot to Lucius.Titus is showing clear signs of insanity. Believing that Titus has been driven insane, Tamora, Chiron, and Demetrius dress as the spirits ......................