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Characterization Purpose - Act 1

Being one of Shakespeare's final plays, Coriolanus is set in Ancient Rome in its stages of an early Republic. In his play, Shakespeare reflects on the political context of England during the authoritarian rule of King James I (1603 - 1625). The play heavily discusses social and political issues, emphasizing on those between the plebeians and the patricians. In this setting, Act I function as the foundation of the entire play where the setting is framed, the characters are introduced and the main external conflict is constructed. Shakespeare builds Coriolanus' struggle for power through his lack of verbal self-control. In his characterization of Coriolanus in Act I, Shakespeare displays Coriolanus' lack of political insight, leading to the larger purpose - to draw a strong parallel between the two figures Coriolanus and King James I.

In Act I, Shakespeare sets the play in a revolt, where the Roman plebeians riot against the patricians due to food shortages. In this revolt, Shakespeare introduces two contradictory characters Menenius and Coriolanus through direct and indirect characterization. Coriolanus is presented as the 'chief enemy to the people' (Act 1, Scene1). The plebeians mention Coriolanus with hatred and vitriol as if he is the main cause of their starvation and food shortage. This contempt brings about the first conflict of the play - Coriolanus is hated by the common people. Later in the scene, when Coriolanus first confronts the plebeians he shows his enmity against them as he mocks them, showing his ill-tempered and inflexible characteristics. In contrast to Coriolanus, Shakespeare presents Menenius as ‘one that hath always loved the people’ (Act I, Scene I). Unlike Coriolanus, Menenius is loved by the people regardless of the fact that he a patrician. He is a very shrewd character and through his metaphor of a “belly” easily assuages the plebeians. Shakespeare deliberately places the two characters in the same spot to emphasize the attributes of Coriolanus, which eventually lead to his death and tragic ending.

In stark contrast to Coriolanus as a politician, Shakespeare places Coriolanus in the battlefield where he is respected and thought even as a demi-god figure. Shakespeare depicts Coriolanus as a brave and great warrior, respected by all soldiers and generals. From this portrayal of Coriolanus on the battlefield, we can see how his heroic traits as a warrior are directly shown in the capitol. Although framed as an ignorant, self-centred and ill-tempered by the plebeians, he is portrayed as a hero and courageous warrior by the generals and soldiers.


By the end of the play, Shakespeare creates two different images of Coriolanus. He is far from being a good rhetoric and outspoken in the field of politics while he is a demi-god figure in the field of war. Shakespeare draws a strong parallel between Coriolanus and King James I through this portrayal. King James’ totalitarian style of ruling, despite the political situation of England (becoming democratic), parallels with the flawed Coriolanus. On the other hand, his achievements such as maintaining peace are the Coriolanus in a battlefield. 

Comments

  1. FernandaMarch 4, 2018 at 8:11 PM

    I think your description of Coriolanus as a demi-god in the battlefield is highly accurate as he is almost portrayed as invincible in war. What is interesting to think about is that this invincibility is only flawed by his ill-temper towards the plebeians, which linking it to what we have done previously in class, could be considered his 'Achilles heel'. I think what you did well was draw the connection between King James' England as there is a strong parallel between the two time periods (Rome and England). The only thing I would say to just consider is to develop more your idea on the contrasting personalities of Coriolanus and explicitly, how the interaction of different personality traits with the different settings led to his downfall (foreshadowing)

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