Coriolanus

by Shakespeare

First published 1623

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3.7(20,125)

Caius Marcius wins fame fighting the Volscians and receives the name Coriolanus after the capture of Corioli. His military distinction makes him a candidate for consul, but his contempt for Rome’s ordinary citizens and his refusal to perform the rituals of popular politics bring him into conflict with the tribunes and lead to his banishment.

Coriolanus then allies with his former enemy Aufidius and marches against Rome. The tragedy places aristocratic honour, popular government and military loyalty in direct collision, using Rome’s early republican class struggles to ask whether exceptional service can excuse political arrogance and whether a state can survive when personal grievance becomes a weapon against it.