Titus Andronicus

Shakespeare uses the symbolic imagery of animals throughout the play. In line with The Paradigm of “Civilized” Rome against “Barbarian” Other, the Roman characters frequently compare the outsider characters to animals. The Romans dehumanize the non-Roman characters whose actions they view as inhumane, creating an entrenchment of opposing groups who are increasingly alienated from each other’s humanity.

The raven is mentioned multiple times in the play, building tone through its literary association with death and status as a bad omen. Lavinia compares Tamora to a raven during her fruitless appeals for compassion, suggesting she embodies doom and terror. The raven’s dark wings connect to its characterization as a symbol of evil, with both Lavinia and Titus describing Aaron as a raven, referencing his skin color and suggesting it is a signifier of his wickedness. Tamora also uses the image of a raven in her speech about the pit in 2.2, alongside other animals like snakes and toads, turning the pit into a portal of death and destruction with her words before prompting her sons to turn it into one physically by dumping Bassianus’s body there.