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The Tragedy of Coriolanus (Shakespeare Project Lecture) (Patreon)

Published:
2024-10-19 20:20:23
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2026-06
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Content

'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!'

Our journey through the works of William Shakespeare continues with the tragic masterpiece that is Coriolanus.

We’re discussing pride as tragic flaw, the voice of the people, contemporary commentaries, biographical readings, the four humours, leadership vs service, the warrior spirit, and much more.

Timestamps:

0:00 Coriolanus as tragic masterpiece

2:00 T. S. Eliot’s thoughts on Coriolanus

4:00 contemporary social comments

6:00 Midlands Riots in Jacobean England

8:00 comparing the bard’s Roman plays

10:00 is Coriolanus hero or villain?

12:00 appreciating the play’s opening

14:00 ‘get you home, you fragments’

16:00 ‘who deserves greatness…’

18:00 Martius on the burden of power

20:00 Coriolanus personality analysis

22:00 discovering Shakespeare in this play

25:00 Coriolanus’ relationship with Aufidius

29:00 the conspiracy of Brutus & Sicinius

31:00 stock types vs Shakespeare’s humans

34:00 mother Volumnia vs wife Virgilia

37:00 the victorious siege at Corioli

39:00 Coriolanus ‘was a thing of blood…’

41:00 on the pride/hubris of Coriolanus

43:00 Caius Martius becomes Coriolanus

45:00 voicing contempt for the populace

46:00 thinking of leadership as service

48:00 consulship in the Roman Republic

50:00 hearing one’s nothings monstered

51:00 further biographical readings

53:00 ‘it is a part I shall blush in acting’

55:00 the Ralph Fiennes film adaptation

58:00 Coriolanus in a gown of humility

1:02:00 four humours in Renaissance era

1:04:00 Coriolanus banished for treason

1:07:00 the warrior spirit of Volumnia

1:09:00 weakness of unswerving integrity

1:10:00 ‘you common cry of curs…’

1:12:00 revenge of Coriolanus & Aufidius

1:15:00 the ending & death of Coriolanus

1:17:00 advice for approaching our next work

1:18:00 what did you make of Coriolanus?

Recommended Resources:

  • Film Adaptation: I highly recommend the 2011 directorial debut from Ralph Fiennes, who stars as Coriolanus, alongside Gerard Butler as Aufidius here. You can appreciate the opening here. What do you make of the modernisation? And modern adaptations in general?

  • Arden Edition: The Arden edition of this play is excellent. Peter Holland has done a tremendous job with the critical introduction and annotations. If you would like a slimmer volume, then the Pelican editions are also a fabulous choice.

  • Plutarch's Lives: Will certainly got a lot of mileage out of his trusty copy of Plutarch's Lives. He would have been working from the Sir Thomas North translation, though the John Dryden makes for an excellent choice too. For a modern translation, the Ian Scott-Kilvert in the Penguin paperback The Makers of Rome is very good.

  • Theatre Adaptation: The great Tom Hiddleston, who we have seen as Hal/Henry V in the Hollow Crown series, played Coriolanus in an extraordinary production at the National Theatre, which you can stream at their site. Watch the trailer and tell me if that entices you.

  • Our Journey Thus Far: If you want to jump into any specific play, you can check out the works we've enjoyed thus far as part of our read-through here.

Questions for You:

1) Should Coriolanus be discussed in the same breath as Shakespeare's other great tragedies?

2) Do you sympathise with the character of Coriolanus?

3) What line, passage, idea, or character most resonated with you? And what is your personal grading for Coriolanus?

Happy reading, Bardolators!

Files

Previews only

Comments

Constance Stanton

This was my first exposure to this play. What a surprise! From the outset I was impressed by the writing….no evidence of a hack co-writer here! I agree it is absolutely one of Shakespeare’s best tragedies. I did not like Coriolanus (the man) but appreciated his honesty and commitment. Volumnia…what a great role, in a man dominated play. Very timely play for us in the US right now. Will look for the Fiennes film.

Joe Beaulieu

This play is a C for me for now. I’m willing to revisit it and change my mind somewhat, though I’m currently alienated from my Shakespeare books. On my reading (a year ago), it had little emotional resonance for me because I didn’t care at all about Coriolanus. He has half the emotional intelligence of the Tasmanian Devil and is a bigger solipsist than Howard Roark. Can it really be a tragedy if I channel my inner Ivan Drago, “If he dies, he dies.” As I whinged on the Nietzsche thread I really don’t get confused about someone being great in one sphere having to be great in all spheres. So I’m perfectly fine with him getting shunted to the side when the war-time emergency is over. Where I think there’s room for discussion that the play is better than a C is whether Coriolanus is the tragic figure of the play or Volumnia. Channeling her inner Joan Crawford, she created a war-fighting machine to mass produce permanent public honor, sacrificing her own natural identity as a mother. But when it produces the opposite by threatening the destruction of Rome, she has to essentially kill his identity, and in actuality, kill him. An ending scene going back to her after he dies, maybe she’s happy that what people will think of him is now set in stone, maybe she’s torn (despite assertions she wouldn’t be) because he’s dead, would be interesting.

Shelley Riden

Since I'd never heard of this play, I expected it to be subpar. I was, however, only half-way through the first scene before I found myself hooked. It's so readable! Scrumptious.

David

I just watched the movie adaptation that you referenced. It was extremely enjoyable, entertaining it and so creative how they brought things forward to the current day. Also, imo, there is no better way to understand Shakespeare’s words than to hear them acted out by professionals!

Charles S.

At this point I have neither finished reading the play nor listening to the lecture. But I had a strange moment of nostalgia when, opening my old, tattered “Major Plays and Sonnets,” I found in “Coriolanus” that every line or word mentioning animals was marked. I must have written a paper about beast imagery. Though I can’t remember that for sure, I do remember the professor telling us about a different play she had acted in: when the inner curtain opened prematurely, Othello and Desdemona were revealed in a most compromising position! In another, Macbeth accidentally began the famous couplet that starts “Lay on, Macduff” as “Lay on, Macbeth.” In his dilemma (preserve the rhyme or the meaning?) he opted to finish “And damned be him who first cries ‘Hold, e-neth!’” I’m not sure whether to be glad or sorry I never wanted to be an actor!

Ellen M

So late to the chat and like many of you, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this play. I’ve been afraid of it for some time, no idea why This definitely falls into the great trajedy category for me. Coriolanus is nothing if not the ultimate tragic antihero of sorts. Who is more of a resentful object of fame and glory? His incapacity to simply play the game if just for a moment is almost comical. There are times when you I want to shake him and say ‘just say the right thing for a second it won’t kill you!’ Yes his pride is his downfall. Sadly, because at the core it’s simply his brutal honesty more than his pride that he won’t let go of. I adore the women and once again, Will outdoes himself with a strong matriarch that will not be messed with. I am not a fan of modern interpretations at all (simply hate the Luhrman R&J, Stewarss wartime Macbeth meh, Hopkins Lear etc) but have to say the the Ralph Fiennes adaptation is very well done and he is a formidable Coriolanus. Very happy to have finally read this one. Solid A-

Shelley Riden

First, Aufidius' description of his dream encounters with Coriolanus reminds me of the scene in the movie "Brokeback Mountain", in which the two men initiated physical contact by aggressively wrestling, and then... Second, I LOVE hearing Benjamin reading the scenes; it reminds me of why I fell in love with Shakespeare long before I studied him. It was the passion and the poetry of the language that caught me up, even when I barely understood the sense of it. Finally, I'm excited now to seek out the movie version. I can hardly believe I had never seen/read this play before.

Terri Matter

Coming into the discussion late on this one, but I can’t resist commenting. Here more than ever, Benjamin shines most brightly in his lectures on Shakespeare. I came into the lecture disliking this play, largely due to the themes of war and politics, and the difficulty in liking the hero—though I did recognize the supreme readability and brilliance of the language and I loved the scenes with the women. After the lecture, so much further depth was illuminated. Also, I highly recommend the free National Theater version with Tom Hiddleston. Current grade: B

Terri Matter

This play hits a bit too close to home in the U.S. as we are on the verge of a terrifying election that may leave us at the mercy of a true “viper that would depopulate the city and be every man himself.” Please keep America in your good thoughts as we face this critical moment in our history.