Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny.
Yet every mother breeds not sons alike:
[To Chiron] Do thou entreat her show a woman pity.
CHI. What, wouldst thou have me prove myself a bastard? 150
LAV.’T is true; the raven doth not hatch a lark:
Yet have I heard,—O, could I find it now!—
The lion, moved with pity, did endure
To have his princely paws pared all away:
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children,
The whilst their own birds famish in their nests:
O, be to me, though thy hard heart say no,
Nothing so kind, but something pitiful!
TAM. I know not what it means: away with her!
LAV.O, let me teach thee! for my father’s sake, 160
That gave thee life, when well he might have slain thee,
Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears.
TAM. Hadst thou in person ne’er offended me,
Even for his sake am I pitiless.
Remember, boys, I pour’d forth tears in vain,
To save your brother from the sacrifice;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent:
Therefore, away with her, and use her as you will;
The worse to her, the better loved of me.
LAV. O Tamora, be call’d a gentle queen, 170
And with thine own hands kill me in this place!
For ’t is not life that I have begg’d so long;
Poor I was slain when Bassianus died.
TAM. What begg’st thou then? fond woman, let me go.
LAV.’T is present death I beg; and one thing more
That womanhood denies my tongue to tell:
O, keep me from their worse than killing lust,
And tumble me into some loathsome pit,
Where never man’s eye may behold my body:
Do this, and be a charitable murderer. 180
TAM. So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee:
No, let them satisfy their lust on thee.
DEM. Away! for thou hast stay’d us here too long.
LAV. No grace? no womanhood? Ah, beastly creature!
The blot and enemy to our general name!
Confusion fall—
CHI. Nay, then I’ll stop your mouth. Bring thou her husband:
This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him.
[Demetrius throws the body of Bassianus into the pit; then exeunt Demetrius and Chiron, dragging off Lavinia. 190
TAM. Farewell, my sons; see that you make her sure.
Ne’er let my heart know merry cheer indeed,
Till all the Andronici be made away.
Now will I hence to seek my lovely
Moor, And let my spleenful sons this trull deflower.
[Exit.
Re-enter AARON, with QUINTUS and MARTIUS
AAR. Come on, my lords, the better foot before:
Straight will I bring you to the loathsome pit
Where I espied the panther fast asleep.
QUIN. My sight is very dull, whate’er it bodes.
MART. And mine, I promise you; were it not for shame, 200
Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile.
[Falls into the pit.
QUIN. What, art thou fall’n? What subtle hole is this,
Whose mouth is cover’d with rude-growing briers,
Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood
As fresh as morning dew distill’d on flowers?
A very fatal place it seems to me.
Speak, brother, hast thou hurt thee with the fall?
MART. O brother, with the dismal’st object hurt
That ever eye with sight made heart lament! 210
AAR. Aside] Now will I fetch the king to find them here,
That he thereby may have a likely guess
How these were they that made away his brother. [Exit.
MART. Why dost not comfort me, and help me out
From this unhallow’d and blood-stained hole?
QUIN. I am surprised with an uncouth fear;
A chilling sweat o’er-runs my trembling joints;
My heart suspects more than mine eye can see.
MART. To prove thou hast a true-divining heart,
Aaron and thou look down into this den, 220
And see a fearful sight of blood and death.
QUIN. Aaron is gone; and my compassionate heart
Will not permit mine eyes once to behold
The thing whereat it trembles by surmise:
O, tell me how it is; for ne’er till now
Was I a child to fear I know not what.
MART. Lord Bassianus lies embrewed here,227
All on a heap, like to a slaughter’d lamb,
In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit.
QUIN. If it be dark, how dost thou know ’t is he? 230
MART. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear
A precious ring, that lightens all the hole,232
Which, like a taper in some monument,
Doth shine upon the dead man’s earthy cheeks,
And shows the ragged entrails of the pit:235
So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus
When he by night lay bathed in maiden blood.
O brother, help me with thy fainting hand—
If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath—
Out of this fell devouring receptacle, 240
As hateful as Cocytus’ misty mouth.241
QUIN. Reach me thy hand, that I may help thee out;
Or, wanting strength to do thee so much good,
I may be pluck’d into the swallowing womb
Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus’ grave.
I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink.
MART. Nor I no strength to climb without thy help.
QUIN. Thy hand once more; I will not loose again,
Till thou art here aloft, or I below:
Thou canst not come to me: I come to thee. [Falls in. 250
Enter SATURNINUS. with AARON,
SAT. Along with me: I’ll see what hole is here,
And what he is that now is leap’d into it.
Say, who art thou that lately didst descend
Into this gaping hollow of the earth?
MART. The unhappy son of old Andronicus;
Brought hither in a most unlucky hour,
To find thy brother Bassianus dead.
SAT. My brother dead! I know thou dost but jest:
He and his lady both are at the lodge
Upon the north side of this pleasant chase;260
’T is not an hour since I left them there.
MART. We know not where you left them all alive;
But, out, alas! here have we found him dead.
Re-enter TAMORN with Attendants; TITUS ANDRONICUS and LUCIUS
TAM Where is my lord the king?
SAT. Here, Tamora; though grieved with killing grief.
TAM Where is thy brother Bassianus?
SAT. Now to the bottom dost thou search my wound:
Poor Bassianus here lies murdered.
TAM. Giving a letter] Then all too late I bring this fatal writ,
The complot of this timeless tragedy;270
And wonder greatly that man’s face can fold
In pleasing smiles such murderous tyranny.
SAT. [Reads] “An if we miss to meet him handsomely—
Sweet huntsman, Bassianus ’t is we mean—
Do thou so much as dig the grave for him:
Thou know’st our meaning. Look for thy reward
Among the nettles at the elder-tree,
Which overshades the mouth of that same pit
Where we decreed to bury Bassianus.
Do this and purchase us thy lasting friends.” 280
O Tamora! was ever heard the like?
This is the pit, and this the elder-tree.
Look, sirs, if you can
find the huntsman out
That should have murder’d Bassianus here.
AAR. My gracious lord, here is the bag of gold.
SAT. [To Titus] Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind,286
Have here bereft my brother of his life.
Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison:
There let them bide until we have devised
Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them. 290
TAM. What, are they in this pit? O wondrous thing!
How easily murder is discovered!
TAM. High emperor, upon my feeble knee
I beg this boon, with tears not lightly shed,
That this fell fault of my accursed sons,
Accursed, if the fault be proved in them—
SAT. If it be proved! you see it is apparent.
Who found this letter? Tamora, was it you?
TAM. Andronicus himself did take it up.
TAM. I did, my lord: yet let me be their bail; 300
For, by my fathers’ reverend tomb,
I vow They shall be ready at your highness’ will,
To answer their suspicion with their lives.
SAT. Thou shalt not bail them: see thou follow me.
Some bring the murder’d body, some the murderers:
Let them not speak a word; the guilt is plain;
For, by my soul, were there worse end than death,
That end upon them should be executed.
TAM. Andronicus, I will entreat the king:
Fear not thy sons; they shall do well enough.310
TAM. Come, Lucius, come; stay not to talk with them.
[Exeunt.
SCENE IV. Another Part of the Forest.
Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON with LAVINIA ravished; her hands cut off, and her tongue cut out
DEM. So, now go tell, an if thy tongue can speak,
Who ’t was that cut thy tongue and ravish’d thee.
CHI. Write down thy mind, bewray thy meaning so,
An if thy stumps will let thee play the scribe.
DEM. See, how with signs and tokens she can scrowl.
CHI. Go home, call for sweet water, wash thy hands.
DEM. She hath no tongue to call, nor hands to wash;
And so let’s leave her to her silent walks.
CHI. An ’t were my case, I should go hang myself.
DEM. If thou hadst hands to help thee knit the cord. 10
[Exeunt Demetrius and Chiron.
Horns winded within. Enter MARCUS, from hunting
MAR. Who is this? my niece, that flies away so fast!
Cousin, a word; where is your husband?
If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake me!
If I do wake, some planet strike me down,
That I may slumber in eternal sleep!
Speak, gentle niece, what stern ungentle hands
Have lopp’d and hew’d and made thy body bare
Of her two branches, those sweet ornaments,
Whose circling shadows kings have sought to sleep in, 20
And might not gain so great a happiness
As have thy love? Why dost not speak to me?
Alas, a crimson river of warm blood,
Like to a bubbling fountain stirr’d with wind,
Doth rise and fall between thy rosed lips,
Coming and going with thy honey breath.
But, sure, some Tereus hath deflowered thee,
And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy tongue.
Ah, now thou turn’st away thy face for shame!
And, notwithstanding all this loss of blood, 30
As from a conduit with three issuing spouts,
Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan’s face32
Blushing to be encounter’d with a cloud.
Shall I speak for thee? shall I say ’t is so?
O, that I knew thy heart; and knew the beast,
That I might rail at him, to ease my mind!
Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp’d,
Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is.
Fair Philomel, why she but lost her tongue,
And in a tedious sampler sew’d her mind: 40
But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee;
A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met,42
And he hath cut those pretty fingers off,
That could have better sew’d than Philomel.
O, had the monster seen those lily hands
Tremble, like aspen-leaves, upon a lute,
And make the silken strings delight to kiss them,
He would not then have touch’d them for his life!
Or, had he heard the heavenly harmony
Which that sweet tongue hath made, 50
He would have dropp’d his knife, and fell asleep
As Cerberus at the Thracian poet’s feet.
Come, let us go and make thy father blind;
For such a sight will blind a father’s eye:
One hour’s storm will drown the fragrant meads;
What will whole months of tears thy father’s eyes?
Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee:
O, could our mourning ease thy misery!
[Exeunt.
* * *
4 Secure] Careless or fearless.
15 pitch] the full height to which a falcon soars; a hawking term.
17 charming] bewitching, in the literal sense.
23 Semiramis] a semi-mythical Queen of Babylon.
29 affected] loved.
30 thou dost over-ween in all] thou hast an excessive opinion of thyself in all regards.31 braves] brags, bravado.
36 approve] prove.
38 Clubs, clubs!] the common Elizabethan street cry summoning the watchman to stop a brawl.
39 unadvised] imprudently.
40 a dancing-rapier] a light sword worn by dancers for ornament, not for use.
42 your lath] your sword of lath or wood.
50 the ground of all this grudge] the source of all this ill feeling.
67 jet] encroach.
73 ground] a musical term for the simple melody on which the harmony of a song was developed.
84 achieve] win.
92 shive] slice; the expression is proverbial.
94 Vulcan’s badge] the cuckold’s badge. Vulcan was the deluded husband of Venus.
99 cleanly] neatly, adroitly.
100 snatch] hurried enjoyment.
107 square] quarrel.
111 join for that you jar] combine to obtain what you quarrel over.
118 lingering languishment] prolonged sentimental wooing.
124 by kind] by nature.
125 Single] Single out, isolate.
128 sacred] ironically used for accursed.
131 file our engines] help our projects, make them run smooth.
132 square yourselves] put yourselves in the attitude of fight, quarrel with one another.
141–143 Sit fas … vehor] The Latin words mean “Be it right or wrong, willy-nilly, … I am borne through the river Styx and through (the land of) disembodied spirits.”
1 The hunt is up] The cry of the huntsmen in starting the chase. grey] blue grey, or blue.
3 Uncouple] Slip off the leashes. make a bay] rouse a barking in unison.
3 inherit] possess.
8 for their unrest] to cause disquiet to those.
13 rolled] coiled.
20 yellowing] a form of “yelling.”
23 happy] opportune.
26 golden slumber] The epithet is conventional in poetry of earlier and later date.
31 Saturn] the planet of hate and moroseness.
32 deadly-standing eye] murderously glaring eye.
35 unroll] uncoil.
37 venereal] amorous.
43 His Philomel … to-day] There are many references in this play to the classical myth of Philomel, who was ravished by Tereus, husband of her sister Progne, and had her tongue cut out, so that the secret might no
t be revealed.
49 parcel] part, portion.
64 drive upon] rush upon.
95 O’ercome] Overspread. baleful mistletoe] mistletoe berries are poisonous.
101 urchins] hedgehogs.
110 Goth] “Goth” was usually pronounced like “goat.”
128 painted hope] specious assurance.
145 learn] teach.
227 embrewed here] steeped in blood
232 A precious ring … all the hole] The gem known as the carbuncle was commonly credited with emitting light.
235 ragged entrails] rugged interior.
241 Cocytus’] One of the six rivers of Hades.
260 chase] any unenclosed tract of land.
270 timeless] untimely; a very common usage.
286 kind] nature or strain.
310 Fear not thy sons] Have no fear about thy sons.
32 Titan’s face] The sun’s face.
42–44 A craftier Tereus … Philomel] In the Ovidian tale the outraged and tongueless Philomela embroiders on a piece of stuff words narrating her misfortunes and forwards it to her sister Progne.
ACT III.
SCENE I. Rome. A Street.
Enter Judges, Senators, and Tribunes, with MARTIUS and QUINTUS, bound, passing on to the place of execution; TITUS going before, pleading
TITUS. Hear me, grave fathers! noble tribunes, stay!
For pity of mine age, whose youth was spent
In dangerous wars, whilst you securely slept;
For all my blood in Rome’s great quarrel shed;
For all the frosty nights that I have watch’d;
And for these bitter tears which now you see
Filling the aged wrinkles in my cheeks;
Be pitiful to my condemned sons,
Whose souls are not corrupted as ’t is thought.
For two and twenty sons I never wept, 10
Because they died in honour’s lofty bed.
[Lieth down; the Judges, &c., pass by him, and Exeunt.
For these, tribunes, in the dust I write
My heart’s deep languor and my soul’s sad tears:
Let my tears stanch the earth’s dry appetite;
My sons’ sweet blood will make it shame and blush.
O earth, I will befriend thee more with rain,
That shall distil from these two ancient urns,
Than youthful April shall with all his showers:
In summer’s drought I’ll drop upon thee still; 20
In winter with warm tears I’ll melt the snow,
And keep eternal spring-time on thy face,
So thou refuse to drink my dear sons’ blood.
Enter LUCIUS, with his weapon drawn
O reverend tribunes! O gentle, aged men!
Unbind my sons, reverse the doom of death;