Поэтика зооморфных сравнений в трагедии Уильяма Шекспира "Тит Андроник"

Poetics of zoomorphic comparisons in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus"

The article is devoted to the analyses of zoomorphic comparisons in one of the earliest Shakespeare's tragedies - “Titus Andronicus”. Though the tragedy was considered immature by many critics, it reveals Shakespearean disposition to the most vital philosophical questions, such as loyalty and betrayal, vice and innocence, justice and revenge. Zoomorphic parallels in the text help to create the most important images in the text, likening the villains to predators and victims to helpless and meek animals. One of the most important motifs of the play is that of human hunt, in which the place of the prey is taken by the main character, Titus, and his family, and the hunters are represented by his enemies. Some of the zoomorphic images of the tragedy can be traced back to ancient myths and classical literature, while the others could be borrowed from some medieval bestiaries or literary sources. A lot of zoomorphic images from this text would reappear in Shakespeare's later plays, becoming a typical feature of late Shakespearean imagery and poetics.