IOC Coriolanus

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Theme of Power In Coriolanus

"Coriolanus"is a play written by Shakespeare that has a recurrent political theme throughout the acts, as it is set to be in a time in Ancient Rome where the concept of democracy has been unfamiliar until now and is slowly being applied. With the political nature of the play also comes a theme of power, in which different characters that have various types of authority or political power are characterised in different ways, and would eventually foreshadow their possible fate in the end of the play, which Shakespeare denounces the nature of power in this specific context.

Within the characters that display any type of power, they can be categorised into two groups; the first being the militarily and physical power in which is seen with Coriolanus and Aufidius as well as the more indefinite power that Volumnia, Menenius and Tribunes have. With the "physical power" the generals have force on their army as well as the higher class, but what differs between them is that Coriolanus is unable to change his behaviour under different circumstances, giving him an unadaptable rigid personality which will cause him to never appeal to the plebeians. Aufidius is more of an opportunist politician and his personality is more lenient.Volumnia on the other hand, being also one of the only women with a true say and unpassive in a Shakespeare play displays a power that is built on wit, but is also malleable as she is able to adapt to different situation. These kind of power show a trajectory as even if they may be different under circumstances, but shows how Coriolanus has a straight line whereas both other characters deviate in the sight of possible danger. This shows that respective fates for Volumnia and Aufidius is life whereas Coriolanus will be killed.
Menenius is shown to have wisdom and wit but only uses it in truthful situations contrarily to the Tribunes that uses their power to represent the plebeians to their advantage to lead them against Coriolanus for their own benefit. 

Shakespeare from a holistic and neutral view shows the nature of power and politics as it is constantly evolving especially with the fickle nature of the plebeians, and that the only way they can be satisfied is by appealing to them whether it is in a truthful or untruthful matter.  From the perspective of an evolving England, the fight for democracy is shown with the elections, the attitude of leniency that politicians must have and the nature of the citizens

Characterisation of Martius in Act 1

What is Shakespeare’s larger purpose in his characterisation of Coriolanus in Act I?

  Shakespeare gives purpose to the characterisation of Coriolanus in Act 1 as he introduces a character that is easily recognisable with his similarities to classical hero and also accentuates the complexity of Coriolanus’ character’s attributes. He also does so to be able to show the importance of language in political matter that is different than the warlike language and behaviour that Coriolanus uses only of, seemingly showing this may be the only language he is able to communicate in. This shows the setting of two different worlds which are the battlefield and the city, which will eventually lead to the establishment of upcoming conflict that Coriolanus will have to face.

 From the beginning of Scene 1, Shakespeare shows the hatred the Plebeians, common citizens of Rome affected by increase of prices of corn, have for Coriolanus and the notable reciprocal attitude Coriolanus has for them. Coriolanus is immediately described as ”chief enemy to the people (1.1. 7)”  Afterwards he is defended by Menenius and shortly after enters the scene, he proceeds to insult the plebeians “What's the matter, you dissentious rogues, That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, Make yourselves scabs? (1.1.164)” 

 The character of Coriolanus is immediately shown as both as protagonist and antagonist as the people of Rome have contrasting views about him and this could establish a conflict which may lead to him being kicked out of Rome in upcoming acts as well as show the political and the start of political debates. This could be largely justified due to his lack of control and shift of behaviour as he acts and speaks of the same warlike language in all situations which could also hint his honesty as he stays true to himself, causing him to respect more those who are familiar in that and has no respect for the plebeians, who are seen as "fickle".

Although his attitude may not be the most pleasant towards all characters in the play and he is certainly not the perfect hero as he is flawed in many ways, Coriolanus is shown to be fearless, brave, skillful, motivational, strong, proud, loyal and a natural leader. Shakespeare characterizes him in a way that his exploits are similar to those being given to demigods in Greek mythology in which some skills may almost be seen as supernatural, giving him the classical hero aspect to the character which may portray a tragic ending.

 Surprisingly, Coriolanus despises praise and is a bad speaker with a bad temper and this foreshadows the fatal political mistakes he will later on make in which he will have much more struggles to receive confirmation from the people as he acts tend to be spontaneous and unreflective as he lacks self awareness.