Coriolanus
Thomas North published his translation of Plutarch's Lives in 1579, and Shakespeare mined that volume for the bones of Coriolanus. The playwright borrowed heavily from the Life of Caius Martius Coriolanus found within those pages. Menenius Agrippa's famous speech about the body politic comes directly from William Camden's Remaines of a Greater Worke Concerning Britaine, which appeared in 1605. Camden described a well-run government as a body where all parts functioned except the stomach, which consumed everything while doing nothing. This fable also appears in John of Salisbury's Policraticus and William Averell's A Marvailous Combat of Contrarieties from 1588. Scholars suggest Shakespeare might have consulted Livy's Ab Urbe condita through Philemon Holland's translation. He may have used Lucius Annaeus Florus's digest of Livy or Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy available in manuscript form. Some researchers point to Dionysius of Halicarnassus's Roman Antiquities as another possible source. These texts provided the historical framework for a story about a man who became an enemy of his own city.
Most scholars place the composition of Coriolanus between 1605 and 1610, with late 1608 to early 1609 being the most likely window. The earliest date rests on Menenius's belly fable derived from Camden's book published in 1605. Later evidence comes from texts like Ben Jonson's Epicoene and Robert Armin's Phantasma that seem to allude to the play around 1610. One line may be inspired by George Chapman's translation of the Iliad from late 1608. References to coal upon ice could reflect Thomas Dekker's description of the freezing Thames during 1607, 08. Hugh Myddleton's project to bring water to London via channels began in 1608, 09 and might have influenced lines about squabbles over water ownership. The surviving text divides into acts, suggesting it was written for the indoor Blackfriars Theatre where Shakespeare's company performed starting in 1608. Political tensions surrounding the Midland Revolt of 1607 affected Shakespeare as a landowner in Stratford-upon-Avon. Debates over the City of London charter also impacted the legal status near Blackfriars. R.B. Parker suggests late 1608 to early 1609 while Lee Bliss proposes composition by late 1608 with first performances in December 1609 or February 1610. The play appeared in print only in the First Folio published in 1623.
Caius Marcius stands before the Volscian city of Corioli exhausted yet forcing open its gates alone. He fights Tullus Aufidius until Aufidius's soldiers drag him away from their single combat. When Cominius names him Coriolanus after this feat, he receives an official nickname that defines his public identity. His mother Volumnia urges her son to run for consul despite his hesitation. Brutus and Sicinius scheme to defeat him by instigating another plebeian riot. Coriolanus rails against popular rule comparing plebeians to crows pecking at eagles. He declares it is he who banishes Rome from his presence rather than being banished himself. In exile he travels to Antium seeking revenge upon his former home. Aufidius embraces him as a blood enemy turned ally allowing him to lead a new assault on Rome. Volumnia arrives with Virgilia and their child to dissuade him from destroying the city. He concludes a peace treaty between the Volscians and Romans but returns to Antium where conspirators kill him for betrayal. The warrior rarely pauses to soliloquise or reveal motives behind his proud isolation.
A.C. Bradley described this play as built on the grand scale like King Lear and Macbeth yet differing in important ways. Frank Kermode called Coriolanus probably the most fiercely and ingeniously planned of all tragedies in Shakespeare's Language. T.S. Eliot proclaimed Coriolanus superior to Hamlet in The Sacred Wood calling it one of the Bard's greatest tragic achievements alongside Antony and Cleopatra. Eliot wrote a two-part poem about Coriolanus titled Coriolan and alluded to the character in The Waste Land when writing Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus. Readers often find the protagonist unsympathetic due to caustic pride balanced by reluctance to be praised. The play is less frequently produced than other later tragedies and not universally regarded as great. Bradley declined to number it among his famous four tragedies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Modern critics have banned the work briefly in France during the late 1930s because fascists used its themes. Slavoj Žižek noted its prohibition in Post-War Germany due to intense militarism. Some scholars argue the text was prepared from a theatrical prompt book based on uncommonly detailed stage directions.
No recorded performance exists prior to the Restoration period after 1660. Nahum Tate presented a bloody adaptation at Drury Lane in 1682 that remained faithful through four acts before becoming a Websterian bloodbath in the fifth act. John Dennis's The Invader of His Country received booing after three performances in 1719. David Garrick returned to Shakespeare's original text in a 1754 production at Drury Lane. Laurence Olivier first played the part at The Old Vic in 1937 and again at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1959. In that 1959 production he performed Coriolanus's death scene by dropping backwards from a high platform suspended upside-down without wires. Anthony Hopkins played Coriolanus in a 1971 National Theatre production directed by Manfred Wekwerth and Joachim Tenschert with Constance Cummings as Volumnia. Alan Howard, Paul Scofield, Ian McKellen, and Ian Richardson have all taken the title role over decades. Tom Hiddleston starred in a December 2013 Donmar Warehouse production directed by Josie Rourke that received very strong reviews. Michael Billington called it fast witty and intelligent while Variety praised Deborah Findlay's maternal pride. Ralph Fiennes directed and starred in a modern film adaptation released on DVD and Blu-ray in May 2012. Slavoj Žižek argued this version portrayed Coriolanus as a raw figure for the radical left comparable to Che Guevara.
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Common questions
When was Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives published?
Thomas North published his translation of Plutarch's Lives in 1579. Shakespeare mined that volume for the bones of Coriolanus and borrowed heavily from the Life of Caius Martius Coriolanus found within those pages.
What is the most likely composition date for William Shakespeare's play Coriolanus?
Most scholars place the composition of Coriolanus between 1605 and 1610, with late 1608 to early 1609 being the most likely window. The earliest date rests on Menenius's belly fable derived from Camden's book published in 1605.
Why did Caius Marcius receive the name Coriolanus?
Caius Marcius received an official nickname after he fought Tullus Aufidius until Aufidius's soldiers dragged him away from their single combat while forcing open the gates of the Volscian city of Corioli alone. Cominius named him Coriolanus after this feat to define his public identity.
Which critics have praised or criticized the literary value of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare?
T.S. Eliot proclaimed Coriolanus superior to Hamlet in The Sacred Wood calling it one of the Bard's greatest tragic achievements alongside Antony and Cleopatra. A.C. Bradley described this play as built on the grand scale like King Lear and Macbeth yet differing in important ways.
When was the first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play Coriolanus?
No recorded performance exists prior to the Restoration period after 1660. Nahum Tate presented a bloody adaptation at Drury Lane in 1682 that remained faithful through four acts before becoming a Websterian bloodbath in the fifth act.