“Why is that Lady Veil’d?” : policing femininity and silencing delinquency in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus

Abstract

This paper will consider the original context of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, issues pertinent to the play, including laws around revenge, consent, and marital rights, and two adaptations of Titus Andronicus, those of Edward Ravenscroft and Peter Brook, with the ultimate goal of answering Saturninus’s question. Further, this project will illuminate the effects of state power on the delinquent civilian, specifically the female civilian who operates under significant social and political pressures outside of the male civilian’s perception.