Coriolanus

By William Shakespeare

Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Martius Coriolanus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WS
• Release date: Sep 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9782291049975

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

Reviews for Coriolanus

[phredfrancis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The secondary characters were the best part. I would have preferred spending more time with Menenius and Aufidius and having been spared some of Coriolanus's haughty declarations. I'm no scholar of Shakespeare's works, but it seemed to me that much of his poetry fell short in this play. Rarely did I stop to savor the language or to marvel at an elegant turn of phrase. I did appreciate some of the political themes, but even the best of these pale in comparison with Shakespeare's vast array of more poignant and personal observations.

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The citizens of a republic run their greatest soldier out of town because they can't stand him and he can't stand them. As it happens, they can't live without each other - literally. This may be the greatest political drama written. It is also one of the great mother and son stories.

[le.vert.galant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a timely play in that it captures something of the American political zeitgeist wherein popularity and playing to the crowd trumps ideals and personal integrity. One can't help hearing the voices of pundits on the left and right in the petty complaints of the tribunes Brutus and Sicinius.

Marcius (Coriolanus):
Thanks. What's the matter, you dissentious rogues,
That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion,
Make yourselves scabs?

[nycke137 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this book on audio in preparation to see the performance. I wanted to familiarize myself with it since I didn't get into Shakespeare much in high school or after. If I had known that his plays were also gruesome and bloody, I would have been enjoying Shakespeare a long time ago.

[tzelman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Personal code of honor admits no compromises; Shakespeare's strong argument against republican government

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I couldn't have followed this story if my life depended on it. Something about a talented warrior who has mama manipulating him on one side and his cohorts betraying him on the other. Who knows? Who cares? Definitely the weakest of all the Bard's works I've read thus far.

[neverstopreading-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

 Coriolanus is worth the read, but there's also a reason why you may be unfamiliar with it. Compared to, say, Julius Caesar, it's nothing. But don't let the Bard set the bar too high on himself.

[aulsmith · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Tragedy usually centers on someone with a tragic flaw, but I'm not sure being an asshole counts as a tragic flaw. There's a reason this one wasn't covered in my Shakespeare courses. Give it a miss unless you insist on reading all of Shakespeare.