Shakespeare wrote numerous plays and poems engaged with ancient Roman history. Shakespeare’s Renaissance culture had ancient Rome as its foundation stone. Roman language and literature were at the heart of English Renaissance education, and Rome was held up as a model for English civilization. But in Titus Andronicus, the earliest of his Roman works, Shakespeare crafts a bloody tale of violence and revenge that subjects this entire cultural edifice to searing critique. Are the violence and moral vacuums of this play a perversion of Roman values, or are they a central part of the classical tradition? In this course, you’ll learn the story and historical context behind Titus Andronicus, discover the classical sources that structure this play, and see how the play’s most controversial elements pose a serious question about the purpose of tragedy. In Part 1, you’ll be guided through a detailed account of the story with commentary by Russ Leo, Associate Professor of English at Princeton University. This episode introduces the key historical, political, and literary contexts that shape the play’s questions and themes. This summary is told using the language of the play itself, placing key quotations in context to help you understand where these lines come from and what they mean.