Act I

The play is set in Rome at an unspecified time, perhaps the fourth or fifth century A.D. In a public place near the Senate House, a struggle for political power is underway between Saturninus and Bassianus, sons of the recently deceased emperor. Addressing the assembled senators and tribunes, Saturninus points out that he should succeed to the throne because he is the late emperor's first-born son. Bassianus argues that he should be the next emperor because his merits are greater than his brother's. Their debate is interrupted by the arrival of a nobleman, Marcus Andronicus, who declares that "the people of Rome" (I.i.20) have chosen his brother Titus to be the new emperor. A military procession enters with a flourish. Its most prominent figure is Titus Andronicus, whose Roman army has recently won a decisive victory over the Goths. He is accompanied by four...