Aaron
A Moor, Tamora's lover, whose strategems drive much of Titus' tragedy. Aaron is witty, eloquent - and inescapably wicked. Ultimately, a modern reader might see much that is admirable in Aaron: his refusal to apologize for the color of his skin, for example, or his tender love for his newborn son.
Aemilius
A noble Roman.
Alarbus
Tamora's oldest son, sacrificed by order of Titus Andronicus, whose death motivates Tamora's vengeance against the Andronici.
Bassianus
The late Roman emperor's second-born son. He is betrothed to Lavinia.
Caius
Kinsman to Titus Andronicus.
Captain
A Roman military leader.
Chiron
Tamora's son, a Goth prince, who ascends to a princely position in Rome following his mother's marriage to Saturninus. Chiron, like his brother Demetrius, is a bored, dangerous, and violent youth.
Clown
A pigeon-keeper whom Titus charges to deliver Saturninus a message.
Demetrius
One of Tamora's sons, just as violent and bored as his brother, Chiron.
Lavinia
Titus Andronicus' only daughter, to a great degree her father's property. Lavinia is at the center of much of the conflict and violence in the play: she is promised to Saturninus and then whisked away by Bassianus; she is raped and mutilated by Chiron and Demetrius; she is killed by her father.
Lucius
One of Titus' sons, and the only one still alive at the end of the play. He is a popular war leader who is ultimately elected emperor.
Marcus
Titus Andronicus' brother, the tribune of the Roman people. His lofty state falls with the fortune of his family.
Martius
One of Titus' sons, falsely executed by Saturninus.
Messenger
A bearer of bad news.
Mutius
One of Titus' sons. When he defends Bassianus' right to flee with Lavinia, Titus kills him in the streets of Rome.
Nurse
A woman who brings Aaron's newborn son to him, asking him to kill it. Aaron kills her instead.
Publius
Marcus Andronicus' son.
Quintus
Another of Titus' sons, also executed by Saturninus after being framed by Aaron.
Saturninus
The eldest son of the late Roman emperor. He is a corrupt, entitled, weak-willed emperor. When his decision to take Lavinia for his wife is foiled, he takes the captured Goth queen, Tamora, instead, thus elevating her and her violent companions to positions of power.
Sempronius
A kinsman of Titus'.
Tamora
Once the Queen of the Goths, she becomes the Empress when Saturninus takes her for his wife. Titus' sacrifice of her eldest son, Alarbus, spurs her to use her imperial power to ruin the Andronici.
Titus
A triumphant Roman general who loses twenty-four of his twenty-five sons by the play's end. He declines to accept the Roman empery, instead instilling Saturninus with that power, only to have Saturninus and his followers ruin his family. His revenge is slow in coming, but gruesome.
Valentine
A kinsman of Titus'.
