Original: Know, thou sad man, I am not Tamora;
Modern: Listen, you grief-stricken man, I am not Tamora;

Original: She is thy enemy, and I thy friend:
Modern: She is your enemy, but I am your friend:

Original: I am Revenge: sent from the infernal kingdom,
Modern: I am Revenge: sent from the kingdom of hell,

Original: To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind,
Modern: To ease the torment that’s eating away at your thoughts,

Original: By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.
Modern: By bringing destructive revenge upon your enemies.

Original: Come down, and welcome me to this world’s light;
Modern: Come down here, and welcome me into this world;

Original: Confer with me of murder and of death:
Modern: Talk with me about murder and death:

Original: There’s not a hollow cave or lurking-place,
Modern: There isn’t a single empty cave or hiding place,

Original: No vast obscurity or misty vale,
Modern: No dark wilderness or foggy valley,

Original: Where bloody murder or detested rape
Modern: Where violent murder or horrible rape

Original: Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;
Modern: Can hide in fear, because I will hunt them down;

Original: And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,
Modern: And I will whisper my terrifying name in their ears,

Original: Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake.
Modern: Revenge, which makes evil criminals tremble with fear.

In Act V, Scene ii of Titus Andronicus, Tamora arrives at Titus’s house disguised as Revenge, accompanied by her sons Chiron and Demetrius, who are disguised as Rape and Murder respectively. Tamora attempts to convince the seemingly mad Titus that she is the supernatural embodiment of Revenge come to help him against his enemies. She proposes that he invite Lucius to a banquet where she claims they will destroy his foes. Titus appears to play along with the deception, but his responses suggest he may recognize the disguised Tamora and her sons, though he maintains the pretense of believing their false identities.

When Tamora leaves to fetch Lucius for the proposed banquet, Titus reveals his true awareness of the situation and seizes the opportunity to capture Chiron and Demetrius. He calls for his brother Marcus and his son Lucius (not the one Tamora went to fetch, but another son), and with their help, he binds the two young men. Titus then reveals his plan for revenge, informing the captured sons of Tamora that he intends to kill them and use their blood and bones to make a pie, which he will serve to their mother. The scene ends with Titus’s preparations for his gruesome revenge, as he cuts the throats of Chiron and Demetrius while instructing Lavinia to catch their blood in a basin.

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.