Look Who's Talking

I think that Titus is trying desperately to connect with his daughter despite the grief that they are both feeling. He says here that he will try and interpret the signs she makes, despite the fact that she has not hands and no tongue with which to speak. Earlier in the speech he tells us that he is able to understand what she is trying to communicate and speaks for her. I can't help but notice that Lavinia's position now that she has been mutilated is not so different from her position before. Throughout the play she has had people speaking for her and, despite Titus's good intentions, I think Shakespeare wants us to be at least a little suspicious of whether or not his interpretation of her signs are accurate. This play seems to be concerned with speech in general. When Titus first murders Tamora's son, he's doing so to appease the dead who "ask [for] a sacrifice" (1.1.127). Later in the play Aaron writes a letter that, falsely, speaks for Quintus and Martius. Later Aaron comes and lies to Titus about Saturninus's willingness to pardon Titus's sons if he cuts off his hand and gives it to him. Throughout this play we have characters speaking for each other and manipulating each other's words. This problem with speech leads to many of the problems that the characters face.