TS Eliot once said that Titus Andronicus "is one of the stupidest and most banal plays ever written, a play in which it is incredible that Shakespeare had any part to play." This was a funny choice of words on Eliot's part, as one of the most disturbing scenes in the play is when Lavinia's hands are cut off, and in fact, it is this very scene that prevents audience members from continuing to watch the play when the show premiered in 2014 at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London (Clark). After Tamora's sons Chiron and Demetrius finish killing Lavinia's husband Bassianus and raping her in the forest, they cut out her tongue and hands, leaving her unable to identify them as her or her husband's attackers. They leave her defenseless and covered in blood. Marcus, her uncle, meets her in the forest, picks her up and takes her to Tito, who, seeing his daughter, is devastated. He says: But what gives my soul the greatest contempt Is dear Lavinia, dearer than my soul. If I had seen your image in this situation, it would have driven me crazy; What should I do now that I see your body so lively? You have no hands to wipe your tears, no tongue to tell me who martyred you. (3.1.101-107) Despite the fact that William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus is classified as a revenge tragedy and, as such, is expected to be strewn with blood and gore, critics of the play say it is excessively violent , with the only possible purpose Shakespeare intended with the violence is shock value. They could also cite Lavinia's horrific scene to prove their points. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. However, while it contributes to the shock value of Titus Andronicus, some drama is necessary; this is a play after all: it is necessary in the piece because it helps achieve a larger meaning overall, as the passage above demonstrates. Logically, people who experience such a traumatic event as rape may suffer a decline in mental health and perhaps slip into a deep depression. Therefore, victims may not want to take care of themselves. They may neglect themselves by refusing to practice hygiene, eat, or sleep. Victims may feel as if their voice has been taken away from them and that they cannot speak out against their abusers, or if they do, they may not be believed or accused that it is their fault. Shakespeare translates it into Titus Andronicus with the mutilation of Lavinia's body. When she is raped, her attackers steal her innocence (she had not yet consummated the marriage) and leave her with extremely deep emotional scars. To show this profound emotional change, Shakespeare writes that Chiron and Demetrius mutilate his body. In the previous passage, Titus is quoted as saying, “You have no hands to dry your tears, / Nor tongue to tell me who has martyred you” (3.1.106-107). Lavinia is left with the inability to take care of herself, or even feel better because she cannot wipe away her tears or speak out against her attackers, which is how many people might feel if something so traumatic and it changes your life. People who are raped do not carry their scars on their bodies (unless, of course, their attacker physically damages the outside of their body in some way), but instead the pain is held on the inside. Therefore, people looking at the victim do not always know they have been hurt and do not feel the need to treat such individuals any differently than they would treat a stranger on the street. Therefore, the victims ofTraumatic events such as rape may have the ability to recover emotionally, even though such recovery might be extremely difficult, because they do not have to suffer the pity, shame, and rejection that they might otherwise face if people were visibly aware of their trauma. This is not the case for Lavinia. When Chiron and Demetrius cut off her hands and tongue, they effectively made it possible for anyone who looks at Lavinia, including Lavinia herself, to see that something terrible has happened to her. It is again Titus who says: But what gives my soul the greatest contempt is dear Lavinia, dearer than my soul. If I had seen your image in this situation, it would have driven me crazy; What should I do now that I see your body so lively? (3.1.101-105) Every time Titus looks at his daughter, he is reminded of the pain and sorrow he has had to endure, and this causes him pain too, or, as Shakespeare would say, a contempt of his soul. Seeing her father's reaction, however devastating, makes Lavinia cry with shame and guilt, as most daughters would probably react by feeling so terrible for being the source of their father's pain. Additionally, people who see Lavinia will treat her differently, if not completely avoid her altogether, which would most likely cause her even more shame from embarrassment and rejection, discouraging any recovery process she may face. Furthermore, every time Lavinia looks in the mirror, tries to speak, or sees her stumps where her hands should be, she will be reminded of that terribly traumatic event, making it virtually impossible for her to recover. The process of emotional recovery from a traumatic event is likely to be a long and arduous process, made even more difficult by the physical evidence on her body that reminds her of the attack every single moment of her life. Through the violence inflicted on Lavinia's body, Shakespeare shows that the rape has changed her forever, and she will never be able to recover, as is probably the case with most people who go through such an experience. At the very least, Shakespeare shows the extremely uphill battle that victims undoubtedly face during the recovery process. In addition to the violence of Lavinia's deformation which translates to a deeper level, Shakespeare plays with political metaphor through cutting off body parts. Titus Andronicus is set in Rome, which operates under what is known as a body politic, meaning a group of people is ruled by a single person (Merriam-Webster). In the case of Rome, that head of government is called the emperor. At the beginning of Titus Andronicus, Rome is left without an emperor and Marcus urges Titus to take over. Marcus Aurelius states: “Be therefore a candidate, and wear it, / And help to put head to headless Rome” (1.1.185-186). Titus refuses, entrusting the task to Saturninus, who sets in motion the decline of Rome and the increase in violence over the course of the work. Shakespeare, who never misses an opportunity for a play on words, dismembers a total of six body parts, all belonging to citizens of Rome, throughout Titus Andronicus, and with each severed body part he deepens this political metaphor of body. Rome is in constant disorder in the play as Saturninus, the "head", dismembers and kills the citizens, the "body" of Rome. Towards the end of the play, Shakespeare completes his political metaphor of the body by killing the head of Rome's body. In a mirror image of the play's opening, Marcus seeks to once again unify Rome under a new ruler, this time by asking Lucius, son of Titus, to take over as emperor. In addition to reflecting Marcus Aurelius' initial request, using a body metaphor at the beginning of the work, which a. 966-1004.