Sheikh's Spear - Coriolanus

The character of Coriolanus is commonly considered representative of Shakespeare’s play by the same name, critically regarded as unpopular and lacking emotion. This, however, does not take away from the complexities of the context and characterization of the play. In his play Coriolanus, Shakespeare characterizes Caius Martius Coriolanus as a war-minded hero in order to emphasize the disparities between military and political success, and the typical struggle to gain both.

When the word ‘hero’ is mentioned, images of quintessential heroes such as Superman or King Arthur may be evoked, however Coriolanus embodies a more realistic hero: the anti-hero. This suggests that although displaying heroic traits (which will be discussed), he also possesses notable flaws, perhaps even overpowering his heroism. From the beginning of the story, Coriolanus (or Caius Martius as he is known at this point) is portrayed as unlikeable, or in fact hated, by the general public, being described as “chief enemy to the people” (Act 1 Scene 1). This is a result of his distaste, even considered to be fear by some scholars, for the plebeians, or “curs” (Act 1 Scene 1), “rogues” (Act 1 Scene 1) and “parasites” (Act 1 Scene 9) as he refers to them among a multitude of names. This detrimental relationship, along with his excessive pride, is a prominent fault characterized within Coriolanus in the first act which foreshadows the hero’s inevitable downfall. It is the way in which this anti-heroic character is implemented by Shakespeare into the story of Coriolanus however, which provides the play with the complexity which it has.

The fact that Coriolanus is a political play and not that of war is frequently discussed when talking about Shakespeare’s characterization of his characters. As aforementioned, Coriolanus depicts a typical anti-hero, or tragic hero, therefore his role has greater significance as you delve further into the play. What seems to be the primary notion presented is that being a war hero rather than a distinguished political figure, the traits and attributes which provide so much success for Coriolanus on the battlefield are those which cause him to fail in the political battlefield. Although telling his soldiers, “You shames of Rome! you herd of – Boils and plagues” (Act 1 Scene 4) may motivate them to continue fighting for him and their country, speaking to the public saying, “Go, get you home, you fragments!” (Act 1 Scene 1) will not engender the same results, but rather enrage the plebeians due to his hostility and disregard for them.

In this way, Shakespeare uses Coriolanus as a tool, almost like the Roman society who consider the hero to be a war machine as seen when he exclaims “make you a sword of me?” (Act 1 Scene 6), to embody the disparity between military and political success, contrasting with characters such as Cominius who resides in the political game rather than that of war. Through the faults that Coriolanus exudes, Shakespeare intends on showing the audience that success in one thing may cause a fiasco in another, and success doesn’t always carry over.