Titus Andronicus

Themes- Primogeniture vs. Merit

Bassianus and Saturninus are involved in the very first fight in a drama that is filled with
them. Which of the two sons of the emperor—the eldest or the more deserving—should replace
Titus as emperor? Titus, a staunch traditionalist, decides in favor of primogeniture, which sets off
a chain of events that makes Rome weak and corrupt and brings about awful misery for the
Andronici. Shakespeare appears to believe that talent should take precedence over primogeniture;
one could even argue that the entire play is a defense of democratic rather than aristocratic lineage.

The argument between Chiron and Demetrius about who should court Lavinia at the start
of Act Two demonstrates how the Goths' perverted view of the primogeniture versus merit dispute.
Demetrius disagrees with Chiron's claim that he ought to because he is the oldest, arguing that he
is not worthy. Shakespeare makes a statement about the perilous, petty childishness of the political
process as a whole by echoing the Bassianus/Saturninus debate in the argument of two violent
rapists. Of course, their argument is merely bravado, a fact that painfully becomes painfully
obvious when Aaron suggests that they "both should speed."