Link to the Practice IOC on Coriolanus
https://soundcloud.com/cedric-schmitz-659850634/practice-ioc-1
(Little belated upload)
Thursday 16 March 2017
Sunday 12 March 2017
Shakespeare's theme of Power in Coriolanus
In the play Coriolanus by William Shakespeare, the reader/audience is faced with the reoccurring theme of power coming in different forms and styles. We are mostly familiarised with this theme by the main character Caius Martius Coriolanus himself, as the whole plot of the story revolves around him.
The story centres around two main conflicts. The conflict between plebeians and patricians, and the Romans fighting the Volsces. Both of these conflicts are vital throughout the story as they drag from beginning to end and really portray different aspects of power within the play.
Coriolanus being the main character, the contrast between battlefield, and city and capital is easily identified. He is what many consider to be a classical battle hero, yet when it comes to the overall picture, many consider him to be a so called anti-hero. By this I mean that he is a ruthless fighter who is essentially a one-man-army. Extremely powerful and strong, and is able to take the city of Coriolis by himself. Contrasting to this, the audience finds his lack of power within the city and capital. Despite his respect as a war hero, he lacks the ability to convince crowds of common people to support him. He is incapable of ruling a country, as his pride always gets in the way of reasonably solving any conflict.
Most other powerful figures found within the play all have different form of power. The other characters like Volumnia, Aufidius, Menenius or the Tribunes all possess the power of manipulation and talking. They would all be beaten by Coriolanus if physical power were to be compared. Each of them are able to reach out to their people and even convince Caius Martius to do things which principally go against his basic set of own rules.
The story centres around two main conflicts. The conflict between plebeians and patricians, and the Romans fighting the Volsces. Both of these conflicts are vital throughout the story as they drag from beginning to end and really portray different aspects of power within the play.
Coriolanus being the main character, the contrast between battlefield, and city and capital is easily identified. He is what many consider to be a classical battle hero, yet when it comes to the overall picture, many consider him to be a so called anti-hero. By this I mean that he is a ruthless fighter who is essentially a one-man-army. Extremely powerful and strong, and is able to take the city of Coriolis by himself. Contrasting to this, the audience finds his lack of power within the city and capital. Despite his respect as a war hero, he lacks the ability to convince crowds of common people to support him. He is incapable of ruling a country, as his pride always gets in the way of reasonably solving any conflict.
Most other powerful figures found within the play all have different form of power. The other characters like Volumnia, Aufidius, Menenius or the Tribunes all possess the power of manipulation and talking. They would all be beaten by Coriolanus if physical power were to be compared. Each of them are able to reach out to their people and even convince Caius Martius to do things which principally go against his basic set of own rules.
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