Coriolanus
1623
Coriolanus
1623
Translated by Paavo Emil Cajander
A classic tragedy written in the early 17th century. The play primarily explores themes of pride, power, and the complex relationship between a leader and the populace, focusing on its main character, Cajus Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman general whose arrogance leads to his downfall. As he grapples with the expectations of the Roman people and the influence of political structures, the play delves into the tension between duty and personal ambition. The opening of ''Coriolanus'' introduces a setting of civil unrest in Rome, where a group of angry citizens armed with weapons expresses their desire to confront the nobleman Cajus Marcius, whom they see as the source of their suffering. As they plot against him, Menenius Agrippa attempts to intervene, using a parable to represent the relationship between the people and the Senate. He argues that the city must unite for mutual benefit, drawing attention to Marcius's past heroic deeds while hinting at the growing divide between the nobility and the common folk. The initial scenes effectively set the stage for the conflict between Marcius, who is portrayed as fiercely proud and contemptuous of the commoners, and the political machinations that will ultimately challenge his ideals and influence.
Editions
X-Ray
“More of your conversation would infect my brain.””
— William Shakespeare
“There is a world elsewhere.””
— William Shakespeare
“They lie deadly that tell you have good faces.””
— William Shakespeare
“You common cry of curs! whose breath I hateAs reek o' the rotten fens, whose loves I prizeAs the dead carcasses of unburied menThat do corrupt my air, I banish you;And here remain with your uncertainty!””
— William Shakespeare
“I talk of you:Why did you wish me milder? would you have meFalse to my nature? Rather say I playThe man I am.””
— William Shakespeare
“Let it be virtuous to be obstinate.””
— William Shakespeare
“Let me have war, say I: it exceeds peace as far as day does night; it's spritely, waking, audible, and full of vent. Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy; mulled, deaf, sleepy, insensible; a getter of more bastard children than war's a destroyer of men.””
— William Shakespeare
“Let me twineMine arms about that body, where againstMy grained ash an hundred times hath broke And scarr'd the moon with splinters: here I clipThe anvil of my sword, and do contestAs hotly and as nobly with thy loveAs ever in ambitious strength I didContend against thy valour. Know thou first, I loved the maid I married; never manSigh'd truer breath; but that I see thee here,Thou noble thing! more dances my rapt heartThan when I first my wedded mistress sawBestride my threshold.””
— William Shakespeare
“Why did you wish me milder? would you have meFalse to my nature? Rather say I playThe man I am.””
— William Shakespeare
