Coriolanus
1623
Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1623. The play follows Caius Martius Coriolanus, a Roman general whose pride and contempt for the common people lead to his downfall. It explores themes of power, social class, and the conflict between patricians and plebeians, particularly during a time of civil unrest in Rome. The narrative highlights the tensions between Martius and the citizens he once defended, culminating in a dramatic confrontation with the Volscian leader Tullus Aufidius.
Editions
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“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
