Violence in Titus Andronicus and Macbeth

One of the remarkable characteristics of Shakespeare's plays, particularly his tragedies, is that they are frequently incredibly violent. In many of his plays, this violence is seen abhorrent, with characters not only suffering societal consequences for their violent actions, but also experiencing deep regret and remorse for their violent actions. In fact, in many of his plays, Shakespeare's violent characters are impacted more by their own attitudes about the things that they have done than they are by any outside influences. However, not all of Shakespeare's plays feature the same approach to violence; some of them actually seem to embrace violence for the sake of violence, without placing any moral weight on violent actions. It becomes difficult to reconcile some of Shakespeare's later works, which focus on the immorality associated with violence, with the casual use of violence in his earlier works. To explore...
[ View Full Essay]