Titus Andronicus
... Tamora Olympus’ top, / Safe out of fortune’s shot, and sits aloft, / Secure of thunder’s crack or lighting flash, / Advanced above pale envy’s threatening reach. / As when the golden sun salutes the morn, / And having gilt the ocean with his beams, / Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach / And overlooks the highest-peering hills…” (Tit. 2.1.1-8). I believe Gould would feel that this passage fully consists of anthropocentric language. From this passage, I am able to comprehend the idea that Aaron sees Tamora above everyone else. Mount Olympus is represented as the home of the Gods. Tamora is the empress who surpasses everybody else just as Mount Olympus rises above some of the tallest hills in its surroundings. Aaron says that even something as dangerous as thunder or lightning cannot be in her way. The golden sun rises from behind Mount Olympus. Aaron implies that Tamora is given first attention for everything she does just as Mount Olympus is the first to see the sunrise. Line six talks about how the sun shoots a beam over the peak of the mountain and lights up the ocean. Shakespeare uses Mount Olympus as a metaphor to represent power above all else. There’s a myth about Mount Olympus which says that this mountain is a safe haven; one can climb and escape all the evils in his or her life. Shakespeare relates thunder and lightning to the evils and weaknesses of Tamora. This exactly falls under Gould’s definition of “ascribing human characteristics to nature.” Gould would relate the “golden sun” to a harmless behavior in a human characteristic. Line seven says that Tamora is living a great life like someone who would gallop through the zodiac in a coach. A coach in this case, represents a form of transportation. Line eight talks about how Mount Olympus overlooks even the tallest hills in the area. In act 2 of scene 3, Tamora says “My lovely Aaron, wherefore look’st thou sad / When everything doth make a gleeful boast? / The birds chaunt melody on every bush, / The snake lies rolled in the cheerful sun, / The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind, / And make a checkered shadow on the ground…” (Tit. 2.3. 10-15). In this passage, Aaron feels sad and Tamora is trying to make him feel better. Shakespeare uses anthropocentric language in a couple of these lines. In line eleven, Tamora shows Aaron how everything around them has a joyful display. In line twelve, Tamora tries to cheer up Aaron by telling him that the birds on every bush are chanting melodies. By doing so, she made Aaron feel content. In line thirteen, Tamora relates the sun to the snake and shows Aaron that even the snake is comfortable and enjoying the sunny day. Tamora is incorporating animals in her words for Aaron to make him feel like he’s loved by many people. Like Shakespeare, Gould would also relate the sunshine to an animal characteristic. Tamora mentions that the leaves are green and not brown. Green is a sign of healthiness and happiness. The “cooling wind” describes the flawless movement of the leaves and a sense of calmness. The “checkered shadow” on the ground is probably a metaphor used to show that it is an ideal place to lay the bag of gold that Aaron wants to bury. I noticed that the passage near the end of scene 3 in act 2 consisted of anthropocentric language. Martius says “Doth shine upon the dead man’s earthy cheeks, / And shows the ragged entrails of this pit. / So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus / When he by night lay bathed in maiden blood” (Tit 2.3. 228-32). This passage has to do with how Martius and Quintus were incriminated as Bassianus’s murderers. Both Martius and Quintus are trying to figure out who must have committed this crime. Martius points out the ring that Bassianus is wearing on his bloody finger. The ring lights up the pit in which Martius and Quintus are in. In line 228, Martius says that the shining of the ring is lighting up the pit just as a candle would light up a tomb. Martius says that the shine on the ring is reflecting off of Bassianus’s cheeks. I think this symbolizes how Bassianus’s own powers hurt himself. Line 230 describes the interior of the pit. The inside of the pit is very rough and rigid. Martius relates the moon to Pyramus because he didn’t have great power like Bassianus. Pyramus killed himself because he thought that Thisbe, his lover, was dead. In this case, the symbol of the moon gives a gloomy and sad feeling to the read...