Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were extremely popular with audiences throughout the 16th century.
First page of The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus from the First Folio, published in 1623
Gravelot illustration of Aaron cutting off Titus's hand in Act 3, Scene 1; engraved by Gerard Van der Gucht (1740)
Illustration of the death of Chiron and Demetrius from Act 5, Scene 2; from The Works of Mr. William Shakespeare (1709), edited by Nicholas Rowe
Tereus Confronted with the Head of his Son Itylus (1637) by Peter Paul Rubens
Shakespearean tragedy is the designation given to most tragedies written by playwright William Shakespeare. Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the history of England, they were classified as "histories" in the First Folio. The Roman tragedies—Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus—are also based on historical figures, but because their sources were foreign and ancient, they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories. Shakespeare's romances were written late in his career and published originally as either tragedy or comedy. They share some elements of tragedy, insofar as they feature a high-status central character, but they end happily like Shakespearean comedies. Almost three centuries after Shakespeare's death, the scholar F. S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the "problem play," for plays that do not fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending. Scholars continue to disagree on how to categorize some Shakespearean plays.
Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, Joshua Reynolds (1784). Sarah Siddons (1755–1831) was an esteemed performer of Shakespearean tragedy.
Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) King Lear, Cordelia's Farewell
The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Hamlet and his Father's Ghost, William Blake (1806)