Coriolanus

“Who deserves greatness

Deserves your hate.”

Coriolanus insults the plebeians through a paradoxical statement, one that seems contradictory or impossible. By using repetition, telling the people that those who deserve greatness also deserve to be hated by them, he implies that their judgement is totally opposite from moral truth. If a person who is genuinely great will always be hated by the commoners of Rome, he argues, then the will of the plebeians should be disregarded by the senate and they should have no power in the Roman government. Coriolanus’s arrogance helps to fuel The Dangers of Internal Political Conflict in the play.

“He is a lion

That I am proud to hunt.”

Coriolanus describes his rival Aufidius using a metaphor, a literary device that compares the man to a lion. Lions are typically associated with bravery, fierceness, and nobility, suggesting that Coriolanus’s desire to fight Aufidius is a sign of his respect rather than just his anger towards an enemy. By stating that he would be proud to hunt Aufidius, Coriolanus indicates his admiration for Aufidius, but also asserts his own superiority. He frames himself as the hunter in this metaphor, putting himself in the more powerful position.

“Such a nature,

Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow

Which he treads on at noon.”

The tribune Sicinius warns against Coriolanus’s growing success, suggesting through symbolic imagery the absurdity of pride and The Problem of Masculine Violence. A shadow at noon is very small and appears directly below an object, suggesting that Coriolanus would be ironically insulted by even his own shadow. Symbolically, shadows often imply an opposite or a dark side, and Sicinius uses this to argue that if Coriolanus’s pride grows any larger, he will be insulted by the notion that he has any faults at all, however small they may be.

“The breasts of Hecuba,

When she did suckle Hector, looked not lovelier

Than Hector’s forehead when it spit forth blood

At Grecian sword, contemning.”

Volumnia’s speech includes an allusion to Greek mythology, referring to the mythical Trojan warrior Hector and his mother Hecuba. Volumnia praises the blood running from Hector’s head after being wounded in battle, saying that it was more lovely than the sight of his mother’s breasts nursing him as a baby. This comparison reveals Volumnia’s character and values, indicating that she sees prowess in war and masculinity as more valuable than gentleness or femininity, reflecting The Problem of Masculine Violence in the play.

“He that retires, I’ll take him for a Volsce,

And he shall feel mine edge.”

During the siege of Corioles, Coriolanus threatens his own troops with violence if they retreat. He uses a synecdoche, a part of something that refers to a whole, when he describes his sword as his “edge.” His words help to establish his character as someone whose greatness is also frightening if it is turned against his own people. This foreshadows how he later will attack the Romans rather than the Volsces.

“The blood I drop is rather physical

Than dangerous to me.”

Coriolanus returns from defeating the Volsces in Corioles alone and asks the consul Cominius to be allowed to fight in a second battle, despite the fact that he is wounded and covered in blood. By saying that his bloodloss is “physical,” Coriolanus refers to the Renaissance concept of humoral medicine, which often prescribed bleeding as a cure for disease. His words indicate that the wounds he has received are actually beneficial to his health, characterizing him as a man whose nature has made him an ideal soldier. 

“O, me alone! Make you a sword of me?”

After giving a speech to request that other soldiers join his attack on Aufidius, Coriolanus realizes that he is the only man brave enough to go and fight the Volscian leader. He uses a rhetorical question to shame the other Romans, asking if they intend to simply use him as a sword rather than to risk themselves. The metaphor of Coriolanus as sword suggests the tragedy of his nature and The Role of Personality in Individual Behavior—he is used as a weapon, dehumanized, and considered dangerous by those who cannot control him.

“You know neither me, yourselves, nor anything.”

Menenius’s condemnation of the tribunes employs hyperbole, a form of rhetorical exaggeration. He claims that the tribunes do not know “anything,” which is not literally true, but indicates the extent of his scorn for them. His words also contain an allusion to the Delphic maxim “know thyself,” which was seen as the root of virtue in ancient Greek philosophy.

“VOLUMNIA. Death, that dark spirit, in ’s nervy arm doth lie, Which, being advanced, declines, and then men die.”

Volumnia praises the combat prowess of her son Coriolanus. Her words feature personification, referring to the concept of death as a spirit that inhabits Coriolanus’s arm as he fights. Her words employ an oxymoron, a poetic device where words with contradictory meanings are combined. By placing the word “advanced” next to the word “declines,” she literally means that when Coriolanus’s arm strikes forward, his sword moves downward to kill his enemies. By placing the opposing terms next to one another, Shakespeare increases the poetic beauty of this speech.

“When blows have made me stay, I fled from words.”

Coriolanus demonstrates his discomfort with hearing his deeds praised when he leaves before Cominius can recount his heroism to the senate. His words are highly ironic, highlighting the unexpected outcome that a person would not fear being physically hurt, but would run away from something harmless like words. This ironic statement foreshadows later events in the play, when Coriolanus will find words to be his undoing. His inability to use persuasive rhetoric damages him more than any military threat does.

“He covets less

Than misery itself would give, rewards

His deeds with doing them, and is content

To spend the time to end it.”

Cominius’s speech to the Roman senate emphasizes Coriolanus’s selfless service to the nation and his lack of greed. This quote personifies the concept of misery, treating it as though it were humanlike and could give out gifts. Cominius does this to exaggerate the extent of Coriolanus’s virtue, suggesting that Coriolanus acts only to perform the action and not because he expects any later benefit.

“You speak o’ th’ people

As if you were a god to punish, not

A man of their infirmity.”

The tribune Brutus uses a simile when he speaks to Coriolanus, calling out his pride. The language of this quote emphasizes that Coriolanus sees himself as so innately above the plebeians that he behaves towards them as though he were a god. By associating the idea of man with infirmity, Brutus points out that weakness is inherent in humans and that Coriolanus’s refusal to humble himself makes him behave inhumanely, which risks The Dangers of Internal Political Conflict in Rome. Throughout the play, Coriolanus is often dehumanized, both in a positive and a negative sense, communicating how his nature seems to separate him from other Romans.

“This is the way to kindle, not to quench.”

Menenius warns Coriolanus that his words and actions are only increasing the people’s anger towards him, using figurative language that compares anger to fire. While Menenius wishes for Coriolanus to modify his usual behavior to win over the populace, Coriolanus clings to his usual habits, reflecting The Role of Personality in Individual Behavior.

“Put not your worthy rage into your tongue.

One time will owe another.”

Menenius’s words employ short, simple sentences, creating an impression of wisdom. His advice contains a metonym, which refers to a whole concept using another related term. He does not literally refer to Coriolanus’s tongue, but rather to Coriolanus’s power of speech, recommending that he not speak when he is angry and that he should wait and seek out justice later.

“Thy valiantness was mine; thou suck’st it from me,

But owe thy pride thyself.”

When Volumnia admonishes her son for his pride, she attributes his bold nature to her influence, but takes no responsibility for his arrogance. She uses figurative language and imagery relating to breast-feeding a baby, evoking notions of maternal love and care as she seeks to persuade her son to apologize. Her words combine the masculine trait of valiantness with the feminine process of raising a baby, showing how she embodies both masculine and feminine aspects as a character.

“Well, mildly be it, then. Mildly.”

As Coriolanus prepares to go and apologize to the people of Rome, Shakespeare ends the scene with a slightly comedic moment. As Coriolanus has never previously behaved in a mild manner, his repetition of the word “mildly” indicates that he is already struggling to follow this advice. This brief moment of levity comes at the turning point of the play, after which the tragic conclusion becomes inevitable.

“But with a grain a day, I would not buy

Their mercy at the price of one fair word.”

Coriolanus uses the metaphor of grain allotment to indicate his unwillingness to beg for the mercy of the people. Grain distribution has been a major source of conflict between the plebeians and patricians, as the plebeians demand that more be distributed immediately. Coriolanus treats their hunger with scorn, indicating that he would not try to buy the mercy of the people even if it only cost him a single nice word and he was starving. Through his words, he attempts to show how superior he is to the plebeians due to his lack of appetite and his unwillingness to beg.

“I shall be loved when I am lacked.”

Coriolanus proclaims these words before he is banished from Rome, predicting that the people will begin to “love” him again once they need his military strength. This quote employs alliterative words that begin with the same initial sound, in the pairing of “loved” and “lacked.” Through alliterative language, Shakespeare creates a feeling of balance and connection between being loved and being lacked, indicating that the highly mutable feelings of the common people make considering public opinion dangerous to a nation.

“O world, thy slippery turns!”

Coriolanus is notable as one of the only tragic protagonists in Shakespeare who does not deliver many soliloquys, speeches made directly to the audience to reveal a character’s internal feelings. This quote begins one of Coriolanus’s only soliloquys, revealing that he is grappling with the unexpected events that have led him into the unlikely scenario of asking the Volsces for help. His syntax, particularly the word “slippery,” indicates how duplicitous and precarious he realizes fate can be.

“One fire drives out one fire, one nail one nail;

Rights by rights falter; strengths by strengths do

Fail.”

Aufidius meditates upon the danger that Coriolanus poses to his own authority, despite the fact that they have become military allies. This quote includes instances of repetition and parallel sentence structure to communicate the way that many things in the world can cause their own destruction. By concluding with the idea that even strength can cause strength to fail, Aufidius points out the irony of the play’s theme that Coriolanus’s own extraordinary nature will cause his destruction while echoing The Problem of Masculine Violence.

“He was a kind of nothing, titleless,

Till he had forged himself a name o’ th’ fire

Of burning Rome.”

Cominius’s description of Coriolanus after he has been banished from Rome and joined the Volsces indicates the culmination of his dehumanization. Employing figurative language, Cominius calls Coriolanus “nothing,” a man without any meaning or purpose after he loses his duty to his home. These words suggest how Coriolanus’s identity has always been precarious, based upon his culture’s values and his role as part of a larger whole. Cominius extends the metaphor to the process of forging metal, indicating that Coriolanus can only find meaning again if he remakes himself by destroying Rome.

“Mine ears against your suits are stronger than

Your gates against my force.”

When Coriolanus denies Menenius’s plea for peace, he uses figurative language and parallel sentence structure to emphasize the weakness of Rome against his forces. Using the analogy of Menenius’s words as being like soldiers trying to break down a gate, he indicates that his own mental defenses are stronger than the physical defenses of the city when he attacks them with Volscian soldiers.

“Down, ladies! Let us shame him with our knees.”

As Volumnia pleads with her son to make peace between the Volsces and Rome, her words use intentional irony to imply how unnaturally he is treating his own family. While kneeling before someone usually indicates submission, Volumnia frames the action as a way to shame Coriolanus, reversing the balance of power. The image of kneeling also connects back to the tribune’s earlier accusation that Coriolanus sees himself as godlike, so above common people that they should worship him. By harkening back to that accusation, Volumnia reminds Coriolanus not to be so proud.