Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Theme of Power in Coriolanus
In the play Coriolanus, it is very evident that the main theme of the play is power; this is demonstrated but Shakespeare's characterisation of Martius in the opening and throughout the entire play, however as the play goes on, the audience can comprehend that in fact every character is powerful in their own way, even the citizens who are the lowest section of the power hierarchy, however the audience also understands that Volumnia gave all her power to Martius, however never got credit for it (until the end of the play) because of her gender and society at the time.
Some may argue that Shakespeare attempts to empower certain characters for a larger purpose (represent the context of the revolving England and/or Italy).
How are each of the characters powerful?
Coriolanus: he has the potential to be voted as 'Consul'- which is a very powerful title; he is mostly compared to a 'God'- which suggest he is on top of everyone else
Volumnia: she is the one who gave Coriolanus all of his power and assisted him to get to where he is
Aufidius: he is leader of the Volscian army; he is shown to have the capability to take down the most powerful man in Rome- when no one else (including his mother) could
Citizens: they are the ones who make the decision about who is voted 'Consul'
Tribunes (Brutus & Sicinius): they manage to convince the citizens to change their minds about voting Coriolanus; they feel most powerful in scenes where they are winning over the citizens
Some may argue that Shakespeare attempts to empower certain characters for a larger purpose (represent the context of the revolving England and/or Italy).
How are each of the characters powerful?
Coriolanus: he has the potential to be voted as 'Consul'- which is a very powerful title; he is mostly compared to a 'God'- which suggest he is on top of everyone else
Volumnia: she is the one who gave Coriolanus all of his power and assisted him to get to where he is
Aufidius: he is leader of the Volscian army; he is shown to have the capability to take down the most powerful man in Rome- when no one else (including his mother) could
Citizens: they are the ones who make the decision about who is voted 'Consul'
Tribunes (Brutus & Sicinius): they manage to convince the citizens to change their minds about voting Coriolanus; they feel most powerful in scenes where they are winning over the citizens
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