NOTE: Hopefully we'll be back in class on Thursday, but if not, we'll return to these questions on Tuesday. If we get Thursday off, feel free to read ahead, though I still want to focus on Acts 2-3 for Thursday or Tuesday.
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: Remarkable for this era, Shakespeare writes a scene
between two women: Lavinia and Tamora (Act 2.3). In this scene, Lavinia is
abducted by Tamora’s sons and on the verge of being raped. Desperately, she
appeals to a fellow woman who has undoubtedly been brutalized in her own life.
Why does this scene striker deeper than almost anything in the play thus far?
How does Tamora respond to her pleas? What makes her eventually turn her back
on Lavinia?
Q2: Does Titus become a more interesting or complex character in Acts 2 and 3? Or
does he stoically remain the same stern, stubborn character as before? If you
see a chance, what seems to be the cause of his transformation?
Q3: What scenes are inadvertently funny on the page? While this is a tragedy, and
nothing is supposed to be comic (no prose, after all), why might some of these
scenes be played for laughs? Do you think Shakespeare was aware of the comedic
potential of some of the more absurd tragedy?
Q4: Why does Shakespeare lavish such attention on Aaron in this
play? He is potentially a one-note villain, similar to Shylock, who is also
more interesting than he needs to be; yet, certain moments rescue him from being a
cardboard cut-out. Where does Shakespeare show us that Aaron is more than a “moor”
or an “other” but a flesh-and-blood human being? (note: this is not to say he’s
a good person!).
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