Coriolanus Characterisation

Coriolanus Characterisation 

In the beginning of Act 1, Shakespeare presents Martuis as an arrogant leader. Not only with the use of his own dialogue, but also reflecting his character in the way the citizens of Rome view him. The play begins with the citizens rioting against his authority. The audience then begins to have preconceived conceptions about Martuis and his values. As act 1 proceeds and the battle of the Volsces unfolds we see Martuis characterised in a different light. His bravery is represented as he provides motivational words for his soldiers before the battle. Shakespeare foreshadows the hero that lies in Martius as the audience witnesses his courageous fight and his battle wounds that were left from it. Shakespeare also introduces Martuis’ perseverance as he bleeds from battle wounds but is still determined to continue fighting and approach the Cominius troops who are fighting against Tulles Aufidius. As the Romans celebrate their victory we see Martuis showing humble characteristics as he won’t accept or refuses to accept his share of the war spoils (which is one tenth). When reading this one can conclude that when it comes to battles and his troops Caius Martuis is very noble and patriotic to his people and most importantly differs or contrasts to the characteristics that were represented in the beginning of the play. To reinforce this, Martuis delivers a very heartfelt victory speech explaining how he shouldn't be thanked and this was just his moral duty, making him look like an even bigger war hero. 

In Act I, Shakespeare sets the play in a revolt, where the Roman plebeians riot against the patricians due to food shortages. Shakespeare then is bring in two characters that go against each otherMenenius and Coriolanus through direct and indirect characterization. Coriolanus is shown as he is the 'chief enemy to the people' The plebeians have anger towards Coriolanus and approach him with hatred in their hearts as if he is the main cause of their starvation and food shortage. This arrives us to the next conflict- Coriolanus its not admired as her should be . 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.