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Coriolanus

Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare

that was first performed around 1609.
Like Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, it
is a Roman play.
Coriolanus is also an unusually political play. It
portrays a patrician-plebeian conflict that in some
ways echoed the ongoing political struggle between
King James and the English Parliament when the
play was written.

Caius Martius (“Coriolanus”)

A Roman general, he is given the name “Coriolanus”
after he leads the Roman armies to victory against the
Volscian city of Corioles. Brave, fearsome in battle, and
extremely honourable, he is also overly proud,
immature, inflexible, and stubbornly aristocratic. These
faults, combined with a fierce contempt for the lower
classes of Rome, lead to his exile from his native city.

Volumnia
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A Roman noblewoman and the mother of Coriolanus.

She is devoted to her son and delights in his military
exploits, having raised him to be a warrior; he, in turn,
often allows himself to be dominated by her iron will.

Menenius
A Roman nobleman, or patrician, and a friend to
Coriolanus. Gifted with a clever tongue, he has a
reputation as a great wit, which he uses adeptly to
avoid conflict.

Brutus
One of the tribunes elected by the common people, or
plebeians, of Rome to serve as their representative in
the government. A clever politician, he regards
Coriolanus as a great danger to the class he represents
and to the Roman state and works to keep him out of
power.

Sicinius
A Roman tribune, a clever politician, and Brutus' ally in
the struggle against Coriolanus.

Tullus Aufidius
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A general of the Volscians, Rome's enemy. He is

Coriolanus's great rival in warfare but is not quite the
equal of the Roman general, and his inability to defeat
Coriolanus rankles him.

Cominius
A patrician of Rome and a former consul. He is a friend
of Coriolanus, and he's one of the generals who leads
the Roman army against the Volscians.

Titus Lartius
An old Roman nobleman. He is appointed, along with
Cominius, as a general against the Volscians.

Virgilia
A Roman noblewoman and Coriolanus's loyal wife

Valeria
A Roman noblewoman, she is close friends with Virgilia
and Volumnia

Young Martius
Coriolanus and Virgilia's son
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In ancient Rome, in the aftermath of a famine,

the common people, or plebeians, demand the
right to set their own price for the city's grain
supply. In response to their protests, the ruling
aristocracy, or patricians, grant the plebeians five
representatives, or tribunes--a decision that
provokes the ire of the proud patrician soldier Caius
Martius, who has nothing but contempt for the
lower classes.
At this time, war breaks out with a
neighbouring Italian tribe, the Volscians, who are
led by Martius' great rival, Tullus Aufidius. In the
campaign that follows, the Volscians are defeated,
and the Rome takes the Italian city of Corioles,
thanks to the heroism of Martius. In recognition of
his great deeds, he is granted the name Coriolanus.

Upon his return to Rome, Coriolanus is given a

hero's welcome, and the Senate offers to make him
consul.

In order to gain this office, however, he must

go out and plead for the votes of the plebeians, a
task that he undertakes reluctantly. At first, the
common people agree to give him their votes, but
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they later reverse their decision at the prodding of

two clever tribunes, Brutus and Sicinius, who
consider Coriolanus an enemy of the people.

This drives the proud Coriolanus into a fury,

and he speaks out intemperately against the very
idea of popular rule; Brutus and Sicinius, seizing on
his words, declare him a traitor to the Roman state
and drive him into exile.

Desiring revenge against Rome, Coriolanus

goes to his Volscian enemy, Aufidius, in the city of
Antium, and makes peace with him.

Aufidius is planning a new campaign against

the Romans, and he welcomes Coriolanus's
assistance, although he soon feels himself to be
falling into his new ally's shadow. Their army
proceeds to march on Rome, throwing the city into
a panic--Rome's armies are helpless to stop the
advance, and soon Aufidius and Coriolanus are
encamped outside the city walls.

Two of his oldest friends come pleading for

mercy, but Coriolanus refuses to hear him.
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However, when his mother, Volumnia, to

whom he is devoted, begs him to make peace, he
relents, and the Romans hail Volumnia the savior of
the city.

Meanwhile, Coriolanus and the Volscians

return to Antium. Aufidius, feeling slighted,
declares that Coriolanus's failure to take Rome
amounts to treachery; in the ensuing argument,
some of Aufidius' men assassinate Coriolanus.

Timon of Athens
(The Life of Tymon of Athens) is a play written
by William Shakespeare and likely also Thomas
Middleton in about 1606.
It was published in the First Folio in 1623.
The earliest-known production of the play was
in 1674, when Thomas Shadwell wrote an
adaptation under the title The History of Timon of
Athens, The Man-hater.
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Timon of Athens was originally grouped with

the tragedies, but recently some scholars name it as
one of the problem plays.

Timon is a wealthy and generous Athenian

gentleman. He hosts a large banquet, attended by
nearly all of Athens.

Timon gives away money wastefully, and

everyone around him pleases him to receive more,
except for Apemantus, a churlish philosopher
(whose name means "feeling no pain" whose
cynicism Timon cannot yet appreciate.

He accepts art from a poet and a painter, and a

jewel from a jeweler, only to later give his jewel
away to another friend.

Timon's servant, Lucilius, has been wooing the

daughter of an old Athenian. The Athenian is
furious with Lucilius' flirting, as a result, but Timon
pays him three talents to fund for the couple's
marriage, because the happiness of his servant is
worth the price.
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Timon is told that his friend, Ventidius, is in

debtors' prison. He sends money to pay for
Ventidius's debt, and Ventidius is released and
attends Timon's banquet.

Timon gives a speech on the value of

friendship, and later, the guests are entertained by
a masque, followed by dancing. As the party winds
down, Timon continues to wastefully give away to
his friends: his horses, as well as other possessions.

Unbeknownst to him, Timon has given away all

his wealth, and is deep in debt. Flavius, Timon's
steward, is upset by the way Timon is spending his
wealth; overextending his munificence by
showering patronage over parasitic writers and
artists, and saving his dubious friends from their
financial straits; Flavius confronts Timon when he
returns from a hunt.

Timon is upset that Flavius did not warn him of

his debt before, and begins to direct his anger onto
Flavius, who says that he has tried repeatedly in the
past without success, and now he is at the end: all
of Timon's land has been sold. Shadowing Timon is
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another guest at the banquet: Apemantus, who

terrorises Timon's shallow companions with his
caustic raillery. Along with a Fool, he attacks
Timon's creditors when they show up to make their
demands for immediate payment.

Timon has no money to repay his debt, thus he

sends out his servants to request for money from
those friends he considers closest.

Timon's servants are turned down, one by one,

by Timon's false friends.

Elsewhere, one of Alcibiades's junior officers, in

a rage, kills a man in "hot blood". Alcibiades pleads
with the Senate for his mercy, arguing that a crime
of passion should not carry as severe a sentence as
premeditated murder. The senators disagree, and,
when Alcibiades persists, banish him forever.
Alcibiades vows to seek revenge, with the support
of his troops. The act finishes with Timon discussing
with his servants the revenge he will carry out at
his next banquet.
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Timon hosts a smaller party, intended only for

those he feels have betrayed him. The serving trays
are brought in, only to reveal that the trays contain
rocks and lukewarm water. Timon ambushes his
false friends and flees Athens. The loyal Flavius
vows to find him.

Timon renounces society cursing the city walls,

Timon goes into the wilderness and makes his
crude home in a cave, sustaining himself on roots.
Here he discovers an underground trove of gold.

The knowledge of his discovery spreads.

Alcibiades, Apemantus, and three bandits are able
to find Timon before Flavius does.

Accompanying Alcibiades are two prostitutes,

Phrynia and Timandra, who trade barbs with the
bitter Timon on the subject of venereal disease.

Timon offers most of the gold to the rebel

Alcibiades to subsidise his assault on the city, which
Timon now wants to see destroyed, as his
experiences have reduced him to misanthropy. He
gives the rest to his whores, to spread disease, and
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much of the remainder to the poet and the painter,

who arrive soon after, leaving little for the senators
who visit him.

Apemantus appears and accuses Timon of

copying his pessimistic ways, and there is a
mutually misanthropic exchange of invective.

Flavius arrives. Flavius asks Timon for money as

well, but also asks for Timon to return to society.
Timon acknowledges that he has had one true
friend in Flavius, a shining example of an otherwise
diseased and impure race, but laments that Flavius
is a mere servant.

He invites the last set of envoys from Athens,

who hoped Timon might placate Alcibiades, to go
hang themselves, and then dies in the wilderness.

Alcibiades, marching on Athens, throws down

his glove, and ends the play reading the bitter
epitaph Timon wrote for himself, part of which was
composed by Callimachus:
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Here lies a wretched corpse of wretched soul bereft:

Seek not my name: a plague consume you wicked
caitiffs left!
Here lie I, Timon, who alive, all living men did hate,
Pass by, and curse thy fill, but pass and stay not here
thy gait.