Coriolanus

Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, likely written around 1607-1608. The play is set in Ancient Rome, much like Shakespeare’s other plays Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, and Antony and Cleopatra. Coriolanus dramatizes the life of the legendary Roman soldier Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, a patrician who was exiled from the Roman Republic in the 5th century BC after an unsuccessful bid to become consul. Through this narrative, Shakespeare explores themes of the difficulties of controlling human nature, the dangers of political divisions within a state, and the problem of masculine violence. In 2011, Coriolanus was adapted into a film by Ralph Fiennes.

This guide uses the 2016 Folger Shakespeare Library edition.

Content Warning: The source text contains discussions of death by suicide and historical events involving sexual violence.

Plot Summary

Coriolanus begins with a scene depicting a riot in the city of Rome. The common people of Rome are angry because of grain shortages, demanding that the senate open up the stores of grain to the citizens of the city. A patrician senator named Menenius Agrippa tries to calm the rioters, using an allegorical story about the human body to persuade the rioters that the senate is not withholding the grain to harm them, but rather to ensure that it is equally distributed. Another patrician, Caius Martius, dismisses the rioters, claiming that the people are greedy and unworthy of making such decisions due to their lack of military service. The senate agrees to restore peace by appointing two tribunes who will represent the people’s voice in government. The tribunes, Brutus and Sicinius, privately worry that Caius Martius will attempt to subvert their power.

Caius Martius goes to fight the Volsces, a rival Italian tribe who rule over nearby cities. Under the command of the consul Cominius, Caius Martius is ordered to besiege the city of Corioles, while Cominius and his army go to fight the Volscian leader Aufidius. When the Volsces open the gates of Corioles and attack, the Romans begin to flee back to their trenches, but Caius Martius commands them to press forward and then leaps through the gates of the city alone to continue the fight. He successfully kills many Volsces within the city gates and sets fire to the buildings around the walls, opening the gates so that the other Romans can enter. As the other Roman soldiers loot the city, Caius Martius goes to Cominius and asks to fight against Aufidius. He battles Aufidius in single combat until Aufidius’s own soldiers intervene to pull their leader back to safety. Cominius is so impressed with Caius Martius’s courage that he gives him the honorific nickname “Coriolanus” in reference to his deeds in Corioles.

When Coriolanus returns, his mother Volumnia is delighted by his deeds and proud of his heroism. While his wife, Virgilia, appears more concerned by the risks of battle, Volumnia sees valor as the highest virtue a man can possess. Coriolanus is encouraged by his friends and family to run for the position of consul, the highest commander in Rome. Cominius supports his bid by praising his actions before the senate. While the patricians support him, Coriolanus faces problems when he must go to the common people and ask for their assent. While candidates for consul typically promise to help the people and display their war wounds, Coriolanus refuses to do this, behaving in an arrogant manner towards the commoners.

As a result, the tribunes are able to stir up another riot against him. Coriolanus is furious at the opposition and condemns the idea of giving the people any political authority, prompting the tribunes to declare that he is a traitor. They attempt to have him arrested. Menenius, Cominius, and Volumnia attempt to calm Coriolanus and convince him to apologize for his outburst, but he is reluctant to engage in any form of dishonesty or flattery. He attempts to go before the people to apologize, but is goaded into anger again by the tribunes, resulting in his banishment from Rome.

Coriolanus leaves Rome and goes to the city of Antium, where Aufidius and the Volsces live. He pledges to serve in the Volscian army if Aufidius will give him the chance for revenge against Rome. Aufidius agrees and embraces him; the two then begin to lead a successful military campaign against Rome. Realizing their mistake, the tribunes panic and the people regret banishing such a skilled soldier. Cominius and Menenius both try to plead with Coriolanus to spare Rome, but he turns them away coldly without listening to their suits.

Finally, Volumnia, Virgilia, Coriolanus’s son, and a gentlewoman friend named Valeria go out to plead with Coriolanus. Volumnia urges Coriolanus to restore his honor without breaking his oath to Aufidius by making peace between Rome and the Volsces. The tears and prayers of the women break Coriolanus’s resolve and he agrees to spare the city. When the peace treaty is concluded, however, Aufidius turns against Coriolanus. Aufidius fears a rival to his own authority and is resentful that Coriolanus gave up a chance to destroy Rome. He orders a group of conspirators to kill Coriolanus, who fights them furiously until he is finally killed. Aufidius, filled with sadness, orders Coriolanus’s body to be buried properly.