Coriolanus, part 14

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: Banished from Rome, Coriolanus heads straight for the Volscian city of Antium and meets with his nemesis, Tullus Aufidius. Angry at the citizens of Rome, he offers to team up with Aufidius to help the Volscians conquer Rome.

Why is it so endearing to hear Shakespearean characters say "thwack"? I love it. Anyways, these are Aufidius's servants, and, like all good servants, they stick around and gossip a bit after Coriolanus and Aufidius leave. They're all really, really excited about the prospect of war.

Coriolanus is a massive prick for most of the play, but you really do have to agree with his assessment of the people. "Well, yes, we said "banish him", but really we thought it was a terribly idea at the time." I suppose it's an accurate depiction of an electorate as any.

Things are picking up steam now. Join me again on Monday when we enter the home stretch! 

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 13

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: After repeatedly antagonizing the common people, Coriolanus is banished from Rome. But it's OK, because he's not the kind of person who would hold a grudge or anything, right? Right?

One has to hand it to Coriolanus: he's got guts. The first thing he does after being banished is walk into the stronghold of the Volscians. 

It is worth noting that "O world, thy slippery turns!" is Coriolanus's only soliloquy. Normally I would say that it is therefore the only time we hear exactly what Coriolanus is thinking, but actually Coriolanus is a pretty straight-talking fellow, so I'm pretty sure 90% of the time his non-soliloquies are accurate representations of his inner thoughts. 

The first thing Coriolanus does in Antium is head straight to Aufidius's house and get into a shoving match with the servants there. He's consistent, our Coriolanus is. 

This is another one of the great scenes, with Coriolanus revealing his desire to take revenge on Rome by teaming up with Rome's enemies, the Volscians. Aufidius is just beside himself with delight here. It's really very adorable.

Stay tuned tomorrow, when the new Martius-Aufidius alliance starts marching on Rome! What should we call this new celebrity power couple? Marfidius? 

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 12

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: After his ham-fisted attempts to placate the angry mob of plebeians fails spectacularly, Coriolanus is banished from Rome, effective immediately.

Coriolanus does not waste time with long goodbyes. He barely speaks to his wife in this scene, apart from asking her to stop lamenting so loudly. He does, however, have a great line to say to his mother:

Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say,
If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labours you'd have done, and saved
Your husband so much sweat. 

That's Volumnia for you. I can just see her now... "Hercules, you're slaying that Nemean Lion all wrong, you let me do that! .... Hercules, that's not how you behead a Hydra! This is how you behead a Hydra!"

In case you think my portrayal of Volumnia is over the top, I just want to point out that the reaction of the tribunes when they see her coming is, in fact, "Let's not meet her." Everyone in Rome knows how intense Coriolanus's mum is.

Shakespeare sticks this little scene with the Roman spy and the Volscian spy in to remind people what's going on, in case they fell asleep earlier in the play. It also reminds people that the Volscians are still around, even though we haven't seen them since Act 1. 

Tune in again tomorrow, when Coriolanus meets Aufidius once again! Ooooo, drama!

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 11

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: The people of Rome, riled by the tribunes, decide to revoke their support of Coriolanus as consul. The tribunes confront him and, in typical Coriolanus style, he totally loses his rag and goes off on a long rant about how lousy and useless the people are and how their tribunes are a blight upon the noble senate of Rome. The tribunes are furious, and declare him a traitor who should be put to death. Menenius urges Coriolanus to go home and attempts to reason with the tribunes, promising them that he will bring Coriolanus to meet them and the people and resolve their differences. 

Coriolanus doesn't listen to anyone. Except his mother. He listens to his mother. This is one of the things you need to take away from this scene. 

"Don't lose your temper, Coriolanus."  Possibly the five most futile words in the English language? A strong candidate, anyways.

Everyone always talks about Coriolanus's reaction to his banishment, namely his "I banish you!" proclamation. It's a classic "You can't fire me - I quit!" moment, and is a perfect reflection of how his mind works. He's completely in control of his banishment, a fact that comes back to bite Rome in the proverbial butt soon enough...

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 10

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: Having returned triumphant from Rome, Coriolanus is prompted by his mother to stand for the position of consul. This requires him to go before the people and ask them for their support. He does so, but in a very grudging manner. Still, the rather malleable populace give him their voices. However, the tribunes then remind the people just exactly how much Coriolanus hates them, and how much they hate him, and the whole pack of them rush off to stop Coriolanus from becoming consul. 

This was a really difficult scene to cartoonify, as it is mostly people ranting furiously at each other, but one of the great moments is when one of the lowly tribunes tries to tell Coriolanus what he "shall" do. The resulting diatribe is scathing. 

Coriolanus may be a fantastic soldier, but he just does not know when to keep his big mouth shut. Here's a quick quiz for you:

Q: When a rival political faction attempts to strip you of power, do you:

A. Accept their judgement and relinquish the office that you didn't want in the first place?
B. Attempt to come to a reasonable compromise?
C. Fight in the courts to clear your name and retain power?
D. Insult everybody and rant about wanting to eliminate the people's representatives from the Republic?

If you answered "D", congratulations! You might just be a stiff-necked, stubborn, self-righteous prick, just like Coriolanus!

In other news, the line "Triton of the minnows" is fantastic. It has all the connotations of "big fish in a little pond", but with added scorn and derision. Try using it at work this week!

There is actually a fully-fledged brawl here, where the patricians all rally around Coriolanus and force the tribunes and the plebeians to retreat, but my artistic talents can't quite handle brawls yet.

Spare a thought for Menenius, who is trying so hard to be the voice of reason and conciliation here, but is thwarted at every turn by the man he is trying to defend. 

Stay tuned tomorrow to see if Coriolanus is able to sweet-talk his way out of this very large mess!

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 9

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: Having returned in triumph from the wars, Coriolanus is prompted by his mother to run for the office of consul. His wartime heroics make him the frontrunner for the job, and he is quickly approved by the Senate. However, according to tradition, he must now put on "the gown of humility" and speak to the people, showing them his wounds in order to gain their voices in support. But will the fickle people forgive him for being such a hard-nosed bastard?

OK, so maybe the people are a little fickle. In their defense, the whole "giving your voices to the consul" ceremony is almost entirely pro forma, so it's not like they're used to the idea that their voices actually count for something. 

This is a fantastic and rather hilarious section, where you have Coriolanus, all brimming with righteous indignation and dressed up in an incredibly filthy and torn outfit, attempting to beg the people whom he despises for their support. The people, it must be said, are remarkably accommodating, and never say anything like "Hey! Aren't you the guy who is always saying how stupid and worthless we are, and how we should all be hanged?" 

Of course, just when it looks like Coriolanus has gotten away with it, the tribunes come back and remind everyone that they're always complaining about how much Coriolanus hates them, and that actually, yes, he wasn't very nice when he asked us for our voices, was he? Now, I try to stand up for the common people as much as possible, but in this case they really are a lot like sheep, instantly following whoever was the last person to speak to them. 

Tune in again next Monday, when the public grumbling stirred up by the tribunes finally explodes. And so does Coriolanus's temper. There's a surprise.

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 8

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: Caius Martius, now known as Coriolanus, returns in triumph to Rome, where his war heroics are thought to make him a shoe-in for the position of consul. 

These two random guys come on stage to put cushions out for the Senate and have a cheery little conversation about the merits of Coriolanus. The chief take-away message is "Coriolanus: he hates the people, but at least he's honest about it". 

Did we mention Coriolanus hates the people? Oh, we have? Well, have you gotten the message yet?

Here we have another one of Coriolanus's little tantrums, as he storms out of the senate rather than sit and listen to himself be praised. I mean, it's all admirable and stuff not to want people to make a big deal of what you perceive as just being your job, but Coriolanus really does manage to take this attitude into new levels of petulance. 

Also, Cominius has a great speech about how Coriolanus is a fantastic solider and is really good at killing people, but he never once says anything remotely resembling "Oh, and he'd be a really good civilian administrator". Apparently that's not a required skill. 

Coriolanus is annoyed for several reasons. First, as we've already established, he doesn't like people making a big deal of his military accomplishments, so he's not exactly thrilled about having to show off his scars to the people to convince them that he's a great war hero. Secondly, he doesn't believe the people should even have any role in the appointment of consuls, given how fickle and pointless they all are. 

Stay tuned tomorrow, when Coriolanus has to wear"the vesture of humility" and ask the people nicely if they would approve him as consul. As I'm sure you can see, this is heading towards a great, old-fashioned showdown in the next couple scenes...

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 7

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: After helping the Romans seize the city of Corioles, Caius Martius is awarded the honorific name of "Coriolanus". Triumphant, he returns home to Rome. However, the tribunes of the people are worried about what his new-found glory will allow him to achieve...

I absolutely love this scene. One the one hand, it's deeply disturbing to hear a mother sound so happy upon learning that her son has terrible gaping wounds, and comparing his overall wound tally with his friend. On the other hand, it's morbidly hysterical to hear a mother sound so happy upon learning that her son has terrible gaping wounds, and comparing his overall wound tally with his friend.

Virgilia doesn't actually faint in this scene, I should point out. That was dramatic license on my part. But if I were her, I would seriously examine what life choices led to me being tethered to such a sick family. 

Volumnia is one of those mothers who vicariously lives through her son. She's so proud of him... but she's also sure he could do jusssssst a little bit more and become President of the United States, isn't that right, don't you want to make your old mother happy?

The tribunes of the people. On the one hand, it looks like they're concerned entirely about maintaining their own political power. On the other hand, they know exactly how much Coriolanus hates the common people, and want to prevent him from being in a position to do anything bad to them. Serving their constituents or serving their self-interests? I'll let you decide.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some more political wheeling and dealing! 

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage