My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The tragedy of Coriolanus was a play by Shakespeare that I had heard of and upon finishing it was surprised at how good it was. The titular character is a prideful Roman patrician showing only disdain towards the common folk, who likewise resent him even though he is a military hero. Coriolanus gains his 'official nickname' in a war against Corioli and his rival Tullus Aufidius. After his military success, Coriolanus stands up for election as consul and seemingly gets consent from both patrician and plebeians for the office only for the tribunes to conspire against him leading to his banishment. Coriolanus goes to Corioli to die at the hands of his rival, only to be embraced to lead a campaign against Rome. The only thing that stops Coriolanus is bowing to the pleadings of his mother, on his return to Corioli his pride leads to his murder by Aufidius and his conspirators.
Throughout the play, Coriolanus' pride and resentment of the common people mirrored by the common people in their resentment of him is a strong theme throughout the play. In the end this prideful behavior is his undoing, but Coriolanus doesn't explain his reasons for his disdain which is a plus as the audience knows from the beginning he likes to isolate himself from his fellow Romans. Coriolanus' downfall is tied to his mother who encouraged him to stand for consul leading to his banishment and giving in to her to spare Roman leading to his death in Corioli, though his mother is spared this knowledge at the end of the play. Overall this tragedy stands up better than Hamlet with a titular character the audience understands from the beginning and remains himself throughout.
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