Original: Stay, Roman brethren! Gracious conqueror,
Modern: Wait, Roman brothers! Noble victor,

Original: Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed,
Modern: Triumphant Titus, feel sorry for the tears I’m crying,

Original: A mother’s tears in passion for her son:
Modern: A mother’s tears of desperate love for her son:

Original: And if thy sons were ever dear to thee,
Modern: And if your sons were ever precious to you,

Original: O, think my son to be as dear to me!
Modern: Oh, then understand that my son is just as precious to me!

Original: Sufficeth not that we are brought to Rome,
Modern: Isn’t it enough that we’ve been brought to Rome,

Original: To beautify thy triumphs and return,
Modern: To make your victory celebration more impressive,

Original: Captive to thee and to thy Roman yoke,
Modern: As your prisoners under Roman control,

Original: But must my sons be slaughter’d in the streets,
Modern: But must my sons also be killed in the streets,

Original: For valiant doings in their country’s cause?
Modern: For fighting bravely for their homeland?

Original: O, if to fight for king and commonweal
Modern: Oh, if fighting for king and country

Original: Were piety in thine, it is in these.
Modern: Was considered honorable when your sons did it, then it’s honorable when mine did it too.

Original: Andronicus, stain not thy tomb with blood:
Modern: Andronicus, don’t stain your grave with blood:

Original: Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods?
Modern: Do you want to be like the gods?

Original: Draw near them then in being merciful:
Modern: Then be like them by showing mercy:

Original: Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge:
Modern: Kind mercy is the real mark of a noble person:

Original: Thrice noble Titus, spare my first-born son.
Modern: Most noble Titus, please spare my eldest son.

In this opening scene of “Titus Andronicus,” Rome is in political turmoil following the death of the emperor. Saturninus and Bassianus, the late emperor’s sons, both claim the right to succeed their father. However, Marcus Andronicus intervenes on behalf of the Roman people to nominate his brother Titus, who is returning victorious from a ten-year war against the Goths. Titus arrives in triumph with his surviving sons, prisoners including Tamora (Queen of the Goths), her sons, and Aaron the Moor. Despite Tamora’s pleas for mercy, Titus orders her eldest son Alarbus to be sacrificed according to Roman ritual to honor his own sons who died in battle. Titus then places the remains of his dead sons in the family tomb.

When offered the imperial crown, Titus declines, claiming he is too old and war-weary for such responsibility. Instead, he supports Saturninus as emperor. The newly crowned Saturninus announces he will marry Titus’s daughter Lavinia as his empress, but Bassianus claims Lavinia is already betrothed to him and takes her away with the help of Titus’s sons. Enraged by what he perceives as betrayal, Titus kills his own son Mutius who tried to prevent him from pursuing Bassianus. Saturninus then rejects Lavinia and chooses to marry Tamora instead. Though Tamora publicly counsels forgiveness toward Titus and his family, she privately vows revenge for the sacrifice of her son. The scene ends with a fragile peace as Saturninus invites Titus to a hunt the following day.

Titus Andronicus opens with the Roman general Titus returning victorious from war against the Goths, bringing with him prisoners including Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her three sons. Despite Tamora’s pleas, Titus sacrifices her eldest son Alarbus in revenge for his own sons killed in battle. The Emperor Saturninus chooses Tamora as his bride, and she secretly plots revenge against Titus. Meanwhile, Titus’s daughter Lavinia is betrothed to Bassianus, the Emperor’s brother, though Saturninus had wanted to marry her himself.

Tamora’s sons Demetrius and Chiron, aided by the villainous Aaron the Moor, murder Bassianus and brutally assault Lavinia, cutting off her hands and tongue to prevent her from identifying them. Aaron tricks two of Titus’s sons, Quintus and Martius, into falling into the pit where Bassianus’s body lies, and they are arrested for his murder. Aaron then deceives Titus into believing that if he cuts off his own hand and sends it to the Emperor, his sons will be spared. Titus complies, but receives back his severed hand along with the heads of his executed sons.

Lavinia manages to reveal her attackers’ identities by writing in the dirt with a stick held in her mouth. Titus feigns madness while plotting revenge and sends weapons with threatening messages to Tamora’s sons. When Tamora gives birth to Aaron’s child, Aaron flees with the baby but is eventually captured. In the final act, Titus kills Tamora’s sons and serves them to her baked in a pie at a banquet. He then kills Lavinia to end her suffering, murders Tamora, and is immediately killed by Saturninus. Titus’s surviving son Lucius kills Saturninus and is proclaimed the new Emperor, ordering Aaron to be buried alive and vowing to restore order to Rome.