Ep. 9 | TITO ANDRONICO - Tarantino ai tempi di Shakespeare
Summary
In this episode of Kill Will, Professor Laura Tosi analyzes Shakespeare’s *Titus Andronicus*, comparing its extreme violence to Quentin Tarantino’s *Kill Bill*. She explores the play’s revenge tragedy structure, its Ovidian sources, and the blurred lines between Roman civility and Gothic barbarism. The discussion highlights Lavinia’s mutilation and the historical context of Elizabethan audiences' familiarity with public executions.
Topics discussed
Introduction: The gruesome pie scene from Titus Andronicus
Kill Will podcast intro and the Tarantino connection
Elizabethan audience familiarity with public executions
Shakespeare's sources, critical reception, and authorship debates
The setting of Rome and the revenge tragedy genre
Act 1: The election, sacrifice, and Saturnino's betrayal
The blurred line between Roman civility and Gothic barbarism
Act 2: The hunt, Bassianus's murder, and Lavinia's assault
Staging the horror: Realism vs. symbolism in productions
The Ovidian myth of Philomela and Procne
Markus's monologue and Lavinia's silence on stage
Tito's mutilation and the discovery of the Ovid book
Lavinia writes in the sand and Aaron's protective love
Act 5: The cannibalistic pie and the final massacre
Conclusion: The enduring relevance of Shakespeare's violence
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