Theatre / Coriolanus

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As the play is Older Than Steam and most twists in Shakespeare's plots are now widely known, all spoilers on this page are unmarked.

Coriolanus is a play by William Shakespeare. It is one of his plays set in Ancient Grome (alongside Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra) and is considered to be Shakespeare's "last tragedy" before he turned to his final phase of serious romance problem plays. The play is an adaptation of the "Life of Coriolanus" from Plutarch's Parallel Lives and is set in the early Roman Republic.

Caius Martius is a Roman general, who is an excellent soldier, brave commander, and brilliant on the battlefield but incorrigibly conservative, arrogant, and openly contemptuous of the ordinary folk. He is so unpopular personally that when we meet him at the start of the play, there are food riots going on in Rome and Caius Martius is being blamed for taking the grain supplies for the army. While others try and calm the situation, Martius simply retorts that the commoners aren't worthy of having the grain as they have not done military service. After defeating the army of the Volsces tribe and capturing the city of Corioles, Martius is given the name "Coriolanus" as a reward, and is persuaded to run for Consul. However, two of his opponents conspire to whip up the commons against him and he is hounded out of Rome for sedition when he levies calumnies against the power of the tribune of the plebs, at which point he gives a bitter speech about the evils of democracy and the ingratitude of the rabble. Caius Martius, now hungry for revenge against his homeland, offers his services to the Volsces and their leader Tullus Aufidius. Marching on Rome, he has the city at his mercy, but is persuaded by his wife and mother to spare the city. When he returns to Aufidius, he is murdered for his betrayal.

The play stands out as being among Shakespeare's most overtly political works, lacking the cerebral exploration of the human state common to his other historical-based plays, instead following a protagonist as they are beholden to society and the social environment of populist thinking. Moreover, it deals not with aristocracy as Shakespeare would be most familiar with, but with democracy as codified by Ancient Rome, illustrating and analyzing the failings of widespread power systems based on both the flaws of individual leaders and the population at large, with irreconcilable differences in understanding between the two leading to tragedy and devastation. It has the reputation of being the only Shakespeare play banned by a modern democracy — specifically France in the 1930s, because it was being co-opted by fascist groups. It was also briefly banned in West Germany but was the subject of a notable production and adaptation in East Germany under Bertolt Brecht's Berliner Ensemble.

This work provides examples of:

• Adaptational Villainy: In Shakespeare's play, the "rabble" are painted as being unfairly harsh on Coriolanus, as in the opening scene where shortage of grain is blamed on Coriolanus as an example of irrational mob phobias. In Plutarch's original history, it is made clear that Coriolanus was always extremely unpopular and antagonistic to the Roman people and populace, opposing the rights of the plebians and the power of the tribunate well before the grain incident. Furthermore, Plutarch reports that when the mob initially proposed to throw him off the Tarpeian Rock, this was immediately voted down by the people, whereas Shakespeare takes this brief passing remark to make it a constant threat to Coriolanus' life.
• Always Someone Better: When Coriolanus joins the Volscians as Aufidius' "partner", but ends up being more popular with the soldiers than Aufidius, the latter realises that Coriolanus really is better than him. He's not happy about it.
• Ambition Is Evil: This, along with Pride is the root of most of the problems, on both sides of the commoners vs dictators debate.
• Badass Boast: "Cut me to pieces, Volsces; men and lads, stain all your edges on me. Boy! False hound! If you have writ your annals true, tis there, that like an eagle in a dove-cote, I flutter'd your Volscians in Corioli. Alone I did it, BOY!" Which also turns out to be Tempting Fate.
  Aufidius: Let him die for it.
• Berserk Button: Coriolanus can, with some effort, hold on to his temper when he knows it's the right thing to do, but not when someone calls him a traitor. Ironically this ultimately leads him to betray Roman and Volscian alike.
• Blood Is the New Black: Coriolanus in both Plutarch and Shakespeare is described as being covered in blood after a battle. In the 2013 Donmar adaptation, Martius is covered in blood after the battle at Corioli.
• Blood Knight: Coriolanus lives for combat, and it's frequently pointed out that it's the only thing he really knows. Unfortunately, he is quite open about his total contempt for anyone who does not fight.
• Break the Haughty: Both Coriolanus and his mother suffer greatly for their pride.
• Broken Ace: The title character is a phenomenal soldier, and one who fought with honor and led his men with the same moral standards, but was unfortunately poor in everything else, including the positions of political power offered for his efforts. The play illustrates at great lengths how much Coriolanus doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere outside of war, being unable to understand peace or those around him, not even his family and "loved ones," and especially not the common folk who he believes mutually refuses to understand him.
• Byronic Hero: Coriolanus is somewhere between this or a straight-up Villain Protagonist. A brilliant soldier, but his inability to be anything but a soldier is the core to much of his tragedy, leading him to see the public as ungrateful and beneath his respect, the politicians he becomes equated with to be selfish frauds, and he's unable to connect with his own wife and son as he would clearly much rather be returning to war and fighting. He's played as not being strictly wrong about his assumptions, but his stubbornness to change any of them proves to be his downfall.
• Covered with Scars: Following his victory at Corioles, Coriolanus has a total of twenty-seven scars. It's not stated how severe they are, but that's still an impressive number.
• Democracy Is Flawed: A core theme of the play, with Shakespeare basing his interpretation of democracy off that of The Roman Republic and Athenian Commonwealth. Coriolanus has nothing but contempt towards democracy and especially towards the plebeians, believing they are too stupid, petty, and unworthy to decide their leaders, which quickly causes problems once he's given political power and becomes beholden to them. On one hand, he, at least in the logic of the play, is accurate in his assessment that the common folk are easily manipulated by populist tricks and corrupt, self-serving tribunes, and his upfront attitude is his way of eschewing the pretense of maintaining a peaceable facade and instead going about electioneering the truly honest way. However, his arrogance, stubbornness, and open hostility wins him little favor, and while they are manipulated by the chicanery of the tribunes, the plebeians are framed as being well within their right minds to reject what they see as a sociopathic, warmongering despot as a member of Consul, ousting him from Rome altogether. The play ultimately is more sympathetic to democracy, portraying Coriolanus' ostensibly noble logic as still riddled with contradictions — he doesn't wish to lie to the public to make them like him, yet he hates them whichever which way — and that ultimately, a good leader has to win them over regardless, and his refusal to do so is his own downfall.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: To the point that Coriolanus' mother is the only one able to talk him down from invading Rome.
• Evil Matriarch: Volumnia may not be exactly evil, but she is certainly extremely cunning and manipulative.
• Fatal Flaw: Coriolanus' biggest failing that gets in the way of his ability to adjust to a life without war is arrogance and contempt for those he see as beneath him, which encompasses virtually the entire common population of Rome and fellow politicians. The play illustrates that he's not exactly unjustified for it — his hatred of politicians in specific stems from him correctly deducing that they're self-centered hypocrites who only play nice to the masses for skeezy personal reasons — but he nevertheless digs his own grave by stubbornly refusing to do anything to make the people see him with favor, and the rejection he faces ultimately brews a desire for revenge, and in turn setting the groundwork for more violence and destruction. What ultimately changes his mind and saves Rome is a heartfelt plea from his family to let go of his hunger for war, but by then, it's too late for him.
• Foe Romance Subtext:
  • Very few people who are familiar with the play would say there is anything remotely ambiguous about the tension between Coriolanus and Aufidius. Despite being introduced as mortal enemies, they have nothing but utmost respect for each other, and the dialogue and stating for when they end up allying to claim revenge on Rome is extremely close and intimate. This serves a very deliberate purpose in highlighting how the only place Coriolanus truly feels alive is when dealing with war, where even in allying with an enemy, their shared passion for violence is exponentially more thrilling than anything he experiences with his actual wife (which is to say, distant and passionless). Aufidius even outright says this about Coriolanus to Martius:
    Aufidius: ...but that I see thee here, / Thou noble thing! more dances my rapt heart / Than when I first my wedded mistress saw / Bestride my threshold.
  • In the 2013 Donmar Warehouse production, Aufidius (Hadley Fraser) plants a welcoming kiss on Coriolanus (Tom Hiddleston) and it lingers suggestively long. The production leaves out a scene in which the Volsces decide that Martius has to die, which turns his death from a state-sanctioned assassination into a crime of passion carried out by Aufidius and his men in the immediate wake of Martius' betrayal.
• Grammar Nazi: Menenius has a moment in Act 2, Scene 1.
  Menenius: I can't say your worships have delivered the matter well, when I find the ass in compound with the major part of your syllables.
• Gray-and-Gray Morality: Coriolanus' total contempt for the common people is clearly shown to be a serious fault, but he makes some good points (see Democracy Is Bad above) and the two men who claim to be "voices of the people" are described as ambitious by Menenius, and are manipulative toward the people they "speak for".
• Honour Before Reason: While the boundary between "honour" and "pig-headed stubbornness and pride" is quite blurred in Coriolanus' case, his honour is the reason he always gives for his refusal to play the political games.
• Hot-Blooded: Depends to some extent on the actor playing him, but Coriolanus' temper is a serious problem especially when his Berserk Button gets pressed.
• Humble Hero: Coriolanus subverts, and arguably deconstructs this. He's regularly praised for his work as a soldier and War Hero, but he never seems particularly comfortable with it, despite possessing extreme stubbornness and ego. This is regularly assumed to not be a display of humility or modesty, but a reluctance to receive praise given not on his own terms (ie, he dislikes meditated comments representative of the opinions of the state or the population), meaning he likely assumes it to be Condescending Compassion. Just about the only genuine rapport he's able to form on such a basis is with Aufidius, his opponent, and in turn how they both want nothing more than to fight.
• Hypocritical Humor: While provoking the Volscians into killing Coriolanus, Aufidius contemptuously mocks him for giving in to women's tears, despite admitting at the time that he would have done the same.
• Insult Backfire: While it's meant more as constructive criticism than as a true insult, various people tell Coriolanus that he is not respectful enough towards the people in the hope that he will change his tune. Unfortunately, his contempt for the commoners (and for lying, two-faced politicians) is such that he considers it a good thing that he is totally open about what he thinks of them.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Could be applied to pretty much everyone at some point but the main examples are Martius (despite his Democracy Is Bad beliefs, his judgment of the people is a very accurate description of their behaviour within the play) and the Tribunes (while clearly only interested in furthering their political careers, again their description of Martius as hating the common people, prone to instability and rash decisions and generally not the sort of person you want as Consul — basically the equivalent of a President — is very accurate).
• Love Redeems: Coriolanus seems dead-set on claiming his revenge on Rome by leading the Volscians into a campaign of ruination across the empire, but he ends up being confronted by his family, who beg him to negotiate peace and come home, successfully reaching his heart by reminding him that it's possible to live a life without war. He ends up signing a peace treaty, ending the war between the Volscians and the Romans, but meets a tragic end by Aufidius and his men, punishing his "weakness" with death.
• Manipulative Bastard:
  • Volumnia (Coriolanus' mother) is an absolutely brilliant emotional manipulator. She plays her son like a fiddle in every major conversation they have.
  • The tribunes manipulate Coriolanus just as much as his mother, but not to his advantage.
  • Likewise Aufidius at the end; the Volscian lords are at least willing to hear Coriolanus' side of things, but Aufidius provokes him into losing his temper again and he's killed by the mob.
• Momma's Boy: Despite having nothing but contempt for virtually everyone else, Coriolanus holds tremendous respect for his mother, Volumnia, with it being framed that his rigid adherence to Roman virtue is an effort to impress her (who herself wants the vicarious glory of raising the greatest War Hero in Roman history). Arguably the biggest factor for why Coriolanus breaks down and abandons Rome is because of her denouncing his failures as a politician who could lead the city, and conversely, the biggest reason why he changes his mind is her sincerely begging for him to return and seek peace.
• Never My Fault: The nobles who banished Coriolanus act this way. "...though we willingly consented to his banishment, yet it was against our will."
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The play ends with Coriolanus ultimately reneging on his alliance with the Volscians, his family successfully appealing to his human side and convincing him to make peace. For this, the Volscians kill him.
• No Place for a Warrior: An overarching theme of the play is that Coriolanus is a phenomenal soldier, but he's only exceptional in a world that's almost entirely divorced from the common folk, and his inability to reintegrate into "normal" society beyond war — from his failure to win over the population (partially from their fickle populism but also because of his own stubbornness and refusal to play ball) to simply being emotionally absent to everyone, even his own family — leads to disastrous consequences.
• No, You: Coriolanus responds to his banishment by shouting at the commoners, "I BANISH YOU!"
• Not Helping Your Case: Every effort Menenius and Volumnia make to stop Coriolanus turning the people against him fail due to his obstinacy and quick temper. This is a rare case where the person is not making matters worse because of not understanding the situation, and is well aware that he's losing support, but keeps going anyway.
• Officer and a Gentleman: During his campaign against the Volscian city of Corioli, Martius insists his men behave themselves and commit no war crimes, and he insists on treating the Volscians honorably.
• One-Man Army: Coriolanus. This guy charges alone into an enemy city and emerges alive and victorious. Given his rank, an example of a Four-Star Badass.
• Only Sane Man: What Menenius is, what Coriolanus sees himself as.
• Patriotic Fervour: Coriolanus gets his from his mother, who openly states she would prefer her sons die in battle for Rome rather than live long lives not serving their country.
• The Peter Principle: Plutarch's biography and Shakespeare's play both present this as Coriolanus' tragedy. His virtues in the battlefield and a warzone, as an excellent commander and noble general who doesn't commit war crimes, translates in peacetime into vices that make him unfit for public office, a terrible politician, and a man whose patriotism combined with a contempt for people has him openly proclaim that he would try to repeal or abolish the office of the tribune.
• Powder Keg Crowd: It seems that every single time a crowd appears, it only takes a few sentences to rile them to murderous fury.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Coriolanus flips out and delivers a nuclear one to the people at large when they come to oppose his rise as counsel and call for his banishment, calling them out as Ungrateful Bastards who don't realize how important he as a soldier is to them. It irreparably destroys his reputation among the public.
  Coriolanus: You common cry of curs! Whose breath I hate as reek o' the rotten fens, whose loves I prize as the dead carcasses of unburied men that do corrupt my air! I banish you; And here remain with your uncertainty! Let every feeble rumour shake your hearts! Your enemies, with nodding of their plumes, fan you into despair! Have the power still to banish your defenders; till at length your ignorance, which finds not till it feels, making not reservation of yourselves, still your own foes, deliver you as most abated captives to some nation that won you without blows! Despising, for you, the city, thus I turn my back: There is a world elsewhere.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Menenius makes a heroic effort to keep Coriolanus' temper in check (especially in public), and genuinely seems to be trying to do what's best for Rome. Sometimes verges on Only Sane Man territory, except that there are other figures (like Volumnia) who seem to actually understand what's going on.
• Redemption Equals Death: Coriolanus' decision to make peace rather than sack Rome for the Volscians lets Aufidius provoke them into killing him. Unusually, Coriolanus is well aware of this likelihood, telling his mother that she has probably killed him when she convinces him to spare Rome.
• Revenge Before Reason: Seems to be being played dead straight after Coriolanus' exile, but ultimately subverted when Coriolanus' family manage to talk him down and make him agree to a peace, even at the cost of his own life.
• The Rival: Coriolanus and Aufidius are well matched, and always in competition.
• Rousing Speech: Coriolanus makes several of these, though they often contain threats to his own soldiers if they don't keep going.
• Shaming the Mob: Menenius tries this a few times, constantly reminding the people of everything Coriolanus has done for them, and that he has not actually committed any crime worthy of death or exile. Unfortunately, his efforts are undermined by Coriolanus' pride and short fuse.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: While it's difficult-to-impossible to truly call what Coriolanus suffered to be PTSD due to it not being codified until centuries after the play was written (and millennia after the supposed historical figure died), Coriolanus nevertheless shows many shades of this. His emotionally distant, blunt behavior hints to some degree of trauma from his experience in war, and his point-blank refusal to actually discuss any of the battles he won is likely a sign of him refusing to open old mental scars. It's a complicated and especially tragic case due to the fact that he simultaneously obsesses over returning to the battlefield to sate an insatiable lust for war, being extremely uncomfortable with the idea of settling down into a now-unfamiliar world that doesn't want him, which even he at times seems to be aware is self-destructive and will only lead to a bloody end.
• Slave to PR: Coriolanus refuses to become this, even when he actively needs to appeal to the public to win election as Consul. Far from humility, Coriolanus' refusal to appeal to the people by making himself palatable and appealing to popular interests is a symptom of his overwhelming arrogance and pride.
• Sleazy Politician:
  • Both of the tribunes, who, despite claiming to stand for the people, stand for themselves, and manipulate the people for their own gain.
  • Subverted with Menenius. Despite being snarky and absolutely scathing toward those he does not respect, he is a good man who truly wants what's best for Rome.
• Smug Snake: Dependent to some extent on the actors, but the two tribunes are likely to come across as this.
• The Social Darwinist: Coriolanus is established right from the get-go of the play that he's a proponent of this, openly denying the plebeians grain that he intends to give to his men, entirely on the grounds of them not being "worthy" due to their lack of military service (said even as the commoners are outright rioting because of his actions).
• Tempting Fate: The now-betrayed Volscians stab Coriolanus to death after his Badass Boast above.
• Those Two Guys: The tribunes, Brutus and Sicinius, who do their best to mobilize the Roman people against Coriolanus during his campaign for Consul.
• Took a Level in Badass
  Menenius: This Martius is grown from man to dragon. He has wings. He's more than a creeping thing.
• Turncoat: Coriolanus turns against Rome, then against the Volsces. Predictably, he is killed for being untrustworthy to either peoples.
• Vicariously Ambitious: Volumnia, Coriolanus' mother, is sort of a proto-Roman equivalent of a Stage Mom who raised her son to be the greatest War Hero in history, and pressures him to strive for political power that he doesn't necessarily want in order to accrue the highest honor and glory in the eyes of Rome. Unfortunately for her, he's far too good of a soldier to consider anything else beyond a life of war, and his efforts to be a politician quickly go south.
• War Is Hell: While it's never directly articulated, an overarching theme behind Coriolanus' character is that his experience as a soldier changed him dramatically, arguably destroying much of his humanity, to a point where he can't imagine a life beyond that of constantly fighting for your life (especially since he's really good at it). Coriolanus doesn't seem to be able to explain himself what that means — the closest he gets is ruminating that "there is a world elsewhere" that he feels more at home with than in Rome with his family, even though he knows it will kill him (and eventually, it does, when Aufidius murders him for his weakness).
• Worthy Opponent: Coriolanus and Aufidius acknowledge quite near the start that they respect each other greatly ("He is a lion I am proud to hunt"), which is why Aufidius immediately accepts Coriolanus' offer of an alliance.