Marked by malicious deception, gruesome violence, and macabre humor, William Shakespeare's revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus illustrates the fall of a war hero through a cycle of brutal revenge. Shakespeare presents the Roman general, Titus, as a diplomatic and loyal defender of his state, unwilling to compromise the legitimate succession to the Roman throne; Titus rejects the opportunity to rule the country. However, Tito finds himself embittered towards Rome for every act of treacherous vengeance Tamara commits, Tito edging ever closer to madness. Developed for two key reasons, Shakespeare first uses Lavinia, Titus' beloved daughter, as a device to perpetuate the plot. However, underpinning the character's superficial value is its secondary function, which is to act as a symbolic device. As the embodiment of chastity and beauty, Lavinia materializes Titus' perception of Rome, both the physical body and the state. Thus, the violation and bodily mutilation suffered by Lavinia functions as a symbolic manifestation parallel to Titus's experiences of the riots in Rome. Thus, the significant episode in Act 5, scene 2, in which Titus captures Demetrius and Chiron in his house, describes his loss of control. Initially, lines 165-205 seem as if Titus is giving Lavinia the opportunity to take revenge on her attackers, but a closer reading reveals the scene as a climactic moment of revenge for Titus. Through satirical wordplay, black comedy, and subtle manipulations of verse, Shakespeare exposes the spread of Titus's psychological constitution. Shakespeare opens the passage with Titus calling Lavinia to join him in the pleasure of restraining and inevitably killing his attackers, brothers... ...middle of paper...in this he trusts." Yet the brothers do not specifically "betray" Titus ("Traitor, n. final.1). Although Chiron and Demetrius contribute to the destruction of his life and family, the antagonism revolves around a cyclical consequence of revenge as Titus captured the two brothers with their mother and returned to Rome with them as prisoners of war. Tito's use of the word "traitor" suggests a betrayal of trust, but the phrase begs the question; Did the brothers actually betray Tito or is the betrayal an act of revenge? Shakespeare's specific choice of words highlights Titus's loss of context regarding his personal motives for revenge, which are likely rooted in the fact that he has spent his life defending a country that ultimately fails him. However, despite the hateful physical attack on Lavinia, Chiron and Demetrius are not "traitors" to Titus..