Larger Purpose of Coriolanus' Characterization in Act 1

Coriolanus, the protagonist of Shakespeare's play has been characterized by Shakespeare with complexity, in which he has been characterized in various ways throughout the play. Initially, Coriolanus, Caius Martius at the time, is portrayed with an unlikeable attitude and acts as the contrast character of Menenius Agrippa. This is evident in which Coriolanus interact with the common people or the plebeians, as seen in "What's the matter, you disgusting rogues, That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, Make yourselves scabs". Coriolanus is seen to frequently verbally assault the plebeians and is not fond of them being politically represented by a tribune, while in contrast, Menenius is seen as the loving patrician which is admired by the common people, as seen in "Worthy Menenius Agrippa, one that hath always loved the people". When one the citizens suggests that they should take it easy on him for what he has done for his country, it is also revealed that he has done this for his own pride, as evident in "he did it to please his mother and to be partly proud, which he is, even to the altitude of his virtue". He is also harsh towards the Roman army where he insulted and threatens them in a lecture he gave them during battle. Being a political play, Shakespeare characterizes Coriolanus to be an individual with power and dignity but also disliked by the citizens at the same time. However, Coriolanus' negative characteristics become complicated as seen in the battle between the Romans and Volsces, in which Coriolanus is portrayed as a great leader, leading the Roman army to victory, where his hard lecture for the Roman army stated earlier inspired them to achieve victory. Nevertheless, he is a great soldier himself despite being all wounded and injured in the battle, he insisted to carry on fighting against Aufidius. Coriolanus is also characterized in Scene 3 through his mother Volumnia where she continuously rants about his achievements in the battlefield, suggesting Coriolanus to be brought up around war and violence, hence resulting on the influence on his personality today where he becomes awkward when not in war. As a result, this develops sympathy on the audience for Coriolanus, by having a possible reason that lead to his negative outcome. In addition to that, she expects him to be honored and have fame as a result of his achievements in the battlefield. With two contrasting characterization of Coriolanus creates his complex personality. This also concludes the character of Coriolanus to be a great military leader but a terrible political leader due to his social flaws. After the victory of the Romans against the Volsces, Coriolanus decided to run for consul. Despite leading the army to Rome's victory, he is still unable to interact with the plebeians peacefully in order to gain their votes, leading to his rage and his banishment from Rome. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Coriolanus and the plot of the play in order to reestablish the idea of political power. 

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 4, 2018 at 8:11 PM

    You supported your arguments with good choices of dialogue from the play. I appreciate the part where you attributed the reason behind the plebeians disliking Coriolanus due to his status, pride and of course, the fact that it is a political play. I feel like you could improve on language usage- when you said the Volumnia 'rants' about her son's achievements, I wasn't quite sure if it was the right word, since 'rant' has a negative connotation to it. Overall, I like how you shaped your argument using evidence from the text and built it up gradually. Good job! :)

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