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.They were supposed to live in a land of eternal mist and gloom where the sun never shone.(One wonders if explorers brought back tales of the polar regions.)As a result, one speaks of "Cimmerian darkness" as expressing the ultimate in darkness.Aaron is a "Cimmerian" not because he comes from the Far North, but because his skin is so dark.Cocytus" misty mouthBut now the cruel machinations of Aaron begin to work.Tamora's two sons, Chiron and Demetrius, enter.Tamora tells them that she has been lured to the spot by Bassianus and Lavinia for evil purposes.The two Gothic princes promptly stab Bassianus, hide his body in a deep pit, and drag Lavinia offstage to rape her, each in turn, with Tamora egging them on fiendishly.She refuses the girl's pleas for mercy, reminding her of how Titus Andronicus had refused her own pleas for mercy for her oldest son.She leaves and Aaron enters, guiding Quintus and Martius, two of Andronicus' three remaining sons.Martius slips into the pit in which Bassianus' body is hidden and while Quintus leans over anxiously to find out if he is hurt, Aaron slips away.Martius discovers the body of Bassianus and is horrified.He says:So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus,When he by night lay bathed in maiden blood.O brother, help me with thy fainting hand-If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath-Out of this fell devouring receptacleAs hateful as Cocytus' misty mouth.—Act II, scene iii, lines 231-36Pyramus was an ill-fated lover in the ancient tale, who died by moonlight (see page I-23).Cocytus is one of the five rivers of the underworld and its name means "wailing." It is meant to symbolize the sorrow of death.A craftier Tereus.The horrors continue.Aaron brings the Emperor Saturninus on the scene and Quintus and Martius are found with Bassianus' body.The forged letter, prepared by Aaron, is produced to make it seem that the two had bribed a huntsman to kill Bassianus.The bribe in the shape of the bag of gold Aaron had planted on the scene is also produced.Titus' sons, having been effectively framed, are dragged off to imprisonment at once.All leave and Tamora's sons now emerge.They have raped Lavinia and have cut out her tongue to prevent her telling.They have, however, gone the old Greek myth one better, for they have cut off her hands as well.Chiron says, with sadistic humor:Write down thy mind, bewray thy meaning so,And if thy stumps will let thee play the scribe.—Act II, scene iv, lines 3-4The princes leave, and Marcus, the brother of Titus Andronicus, comes upon the scene and discovers Lavinia.He grasps the meaning of the sight at once and says:Fair Philomela, why she but lost her tongue,And in a tedious sampler sewed her mind:But lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee;A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met,And he hath cut those pretty fingers off,That could have better sewed than Philomel.—Act II, scene iv, lines 38-43In the Greek myth, Philomela had had her tongue cut out and been placed in the slaves' quarters.She could use her hands to reveal her secret, however, for she prepared a tapestry in which she wove the legend, "Philomela is among the slaves." This was delivered to her sister, Procne, who took instant action, liberating Philomela and preparing revenge.By cutting off Lavinia's hands, the villainous princes had deprived her of Philomela's chance.Marcus Andronicus finds it hard to believe anyone could have mangled so fair a person as Lavinia.Concerning the malefactor, Marcus says that… had he heard the heavenly harmonyWhich that sweet tongue hath made,He would have dropped his knife, and fell asleepAs Cerberus at the Thracian poet's feet.—Act II, scene iv, lines 48-51Orpheus, the sweet-singing minstrel from Thrace ("the Thracian poet"), descended into the underworld in order to win back his dead love, Eurydice (see page I-47).On approaching Cerberus (see page I-101), the three-headed hellhound who guarded the entrance, he sang so soft and sweet a lullaby that even that horrible creature fell asleep and let him pass unharmed.… Tarquin and his queenUnimaginable miseries now heap themselves on Titus Andronicus.His two sons, Quintus and Martius, are being led to execution and no one will hear his pleas on their behalf.His one remaining son, Lucius, has tried to rescue his brothers by force, has failed, and is sentenced to exile.Marcus then brings him the mutilated Lavinia and Titus breaks into fresh woe.All is interrupted by Aaron, who brings the news that if one of the Andronici, Titus, Marcus, or Lucius, will sacrifice a hand, that hand would be accepted as an exchange for the lives of Titus' two sons, who would then be returned free [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]