Dramatis Personae
CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS: A proud Roman general.
MENENIUS AGRIPPA: A wise and respected senator.
COMINIUS, LARTIUS: Roman generals.
SICINIUS VELLUTUS, JUNIUS BRUTUS: Tribunes of the people.
VOLUMNIA: Coriolanus's mother.
VIRGILIA: Coriolanus's wife.
CITIZENS OF ROME: Common people.
AUFIDIUS: General of the Volscian army, Coriolanus's rival.
ACT I
SCENE I. A street in Rome. A crowd of angry citizens with staves and clubs.
FIRST CITIZEN
Before we suffer thus, let us take arms!
We are famished, the granaries are full,
And the Senators do keep their grain from us!
SECOND CITIZEN
The price of corn is high, the people starve!
We blame Caius Martius, the proud general,
He scorns the people, calls us "curs" and "rabbles."
THIRD CITIZEN
We'll kill him first, and then demand our rights!
He is a dog to us, and we are dogs to him.
Enter MENENIUS AGRIPPA, a senator.
MENENIUS
Citizens, where are you going with this rage?
The gods do know I have always loved the people.
But this is madness, this is civil strife!
FIRST CITIZEN
We starve, Menenius, whilst the Senate eats!
MENENIUS
The Senators are like the belly in the body,
Which, though it seems to do no work,
Doth feed the veins and all the body's parts.
You are the discontented members, plotting
Against the heart, the state, the very Rome itself!
SECOND CITIZEN
We want no fables, we want corn and bread!
Enter CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS, with officers.
CORIOLANUS
What is the matter here, you curs, you rabble?
He that will give good words to this is a fool.
They seek a head, and if I had my way,
They'd have it from their shoulders!
FIRST CITIZEN
The proud Martius! He scorns us to our face!
CORIOLANUS
I would they were as all of you were, so
I could beat you all, having no man else
To hate but you! The Volscians are in arms,
They come to fight us, and you stay at home,
To bite the hand that feeds you!
MENENIUS
Peace, Martius, peace! The people are in need.
CORIOLANUS
The Volscians have the news that Rome is weak,
Divided by this faction and this rage.
To the war, you dogs! And earn the bread you eat!
Exit Coriolanus with his officers
SCENE II. A street in the Volscian city of Corioli.
Enter AUFIDIUS, the Volscian general, and soldiers.
AUFIDIUS
The news from Rome is good: the people rage
Against their Senate and their proudest general,
Caius Martius. He is the only man I fear.
My heart is full of hate for this one Roman.
We march on Rome while they are weak and split!
Exeunt.
SCENE III. A room in Martius's house in Rome.
Enter VOLUMNIA and VIRGILIA.
VOLUMNIA
My son is gone to war against the Volscians.
I am a happy mother, for my son
Shall come home crowned with laurels and with fame,
Or he shall die a noble, Roman death.
A wound on the front is a badge of honour, girl!
VIRGILIA
I pray the gods he comes home safe and sound.
I fear the war, I fear the loss of him.
VOLUMNIA
Fear not, my child. He is a man of honour.
He lives for Rome, for glory, and for pride.
This war shall make him Consul, Rome's greatest man!
Exeunt.
ACT II
SCENE I. The Volscian city of Corioli. Alarms and battle cries.
Enter CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS, bloody and alone, having breached the gates.
CORIOLANUS
The city is mine! The gates are open wide!
They run like sheep, these Volscian dogs they are!
Cominius, Lartius, help me in this breach!
We must secure the city, take their general!
Enter COMINIUS and LARTIUS.
COMINIUS
Brave Martius! Thou art a man of steel!
The day is won, the Volscians flee in fear!
Aufidius is nowhere to be found.
CORIOLANUS
He hides like a rat, the coward that he is!
I sought to fight him in a single combat,
But he doth run and hide. The city's ours!
For this good service, Rome shall honour me.
I have earned the name of Corioli's conqueror!
Caius Martius Coriolanus is my name!
Exeunt triumphant.
SCENE II. A street in Rome.
Enter SICINIUS VELLUTUS and JUNIUS BRUTUS, the tribunes of the people.
SICINIUS
The war is done, and Martius comes home a hero.
The people cheer his name, forget their hunger.
This is a dangerous thing for our small power.
BRUTUS
He scorns the people still, he hates the tribunes.
He will not show his wounds to win their favour,
He is too proud, too arrogant a man.
SICINIUS
We must exploit his pride, his fatal flaw.
If he seeks the Consulship, the people's vote,
We'll make him beg for it, and then deny him.
A proud man brought to beg is a weak man.
BRUTUS
A cunning plan, my friend. The pride that made him great
Shall be the very thing that breaks his fall.
Exeunt.
ACT III
SCENE I. A palace hall in Rome.
Enter VOLUMNIA, VIRGILIA, MENENIUS, COMINIUS, and LARTIUS.
VOLUMNIA
My son is home, a hero of great fame!
He is Rome's saviour, the conqueror of Corioli!
He shall be Consul, the greatest man in Rome!
COMINIUS
He earned the honour with his sweat and blood.
He fought a hundred men, all by himself,
And won the city for the Roman state.
Enter CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS, covered in laurels.
CORIOLANUS
I have done my duty, nothing more, nothing less.
The wars are over, I seek a quiet life.
MENENIUS
The people wish to make you Consul, Martius.
You must go to the Forum, show your wounds,
And beg for their approval, their kind voice.
CORIOLANUS
Beg? Beg for their approval? I'd rather starve!
I cannot play the humble man, the actor!
I hate the rabble, I despise their voice!
VOLUMNIA
Son, for Rome's sake, for my sake, for your wife's,
Play the part! Be humble for a moment!
The power is yours if you can say the words.
CORIOLANUS
O, mother, you do force me play a part
I hate with all my soul. I'll do it, but my heart
Is full of rage. The proud Martius shall beg.
Exit Coriolanus to the Forum.
SCENE II. The
SCENE II. The Roman Forum.
Enter CORIOLANUS, TRIBUNES, CITIZENS.
CORIOLANUS
I have the wounds, the service for the state.
I ask for your approval, for your voice.
SICINIUS
You must beg for it, Martius, beg the people.
Tell them you love them, tell them you are humble.
CORIOLANUS
Humble? Love them? I hate the dogs, the curs!
They are not worthy of a single word of mine!
To the tribunes
You rogues! You villains! You do shame all Rome
With your demands! The people are a beast
That only knows its hunger, nothing more!
BRUTUS
He scorns the people! Hear him, citizens!
He calls you dogs, you curs, you worthless things!
CITIZENS
Down with the tyrant! Kill the proud Martius!
He is a traitor! Banish him from Rome!
CORIOLANUS
Banish me? I banish you! I banish Rome!
There is a world elsewhere!
DUKE
Entering, trying to restore order
Peace, citizens! The law must take its course.
Caius Martius, you are banished from the city,
For evermore!
CORIOLANUS
Farewell, you city of envenomed souls!
I seek a world where honour is a thing of worth!
Exit Coriolanus, full of rage and pride.
ACT IV
SCENE I. A street in the Volscian city of Antium.
Enter CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS, a beggar, covered in rags and dirt, his face hidden.
CORIOLANUS
The city that I fought, the people that I slew,
Do now give me refuge. The bitter irony!
My name is stripped, my honour is undone,
My pride, my life, all lost to Rome's foul rabble.
I seek Aufidius, my eternal rival.
He is a soldier, he shall understand.
He shall give me aid against my traitorous home.
Enter a guard.
GUARD
Beggar, you stand in hallowed ground.
This is the house of our great general, Aufidius.
Begone, or I shall have you flogged and whipped.
CORIOLANUS
I am no beggar, but a Roman, and a man.
I seek Aufidius, for a greater purpose.
He shall know my name when I reveal my face.
Exit GUARD, to tell Aufidius.
CORIOLANUS
My life is in his hands, my enemy's.
The gods have set me on a course of vengeance,
To turn my sword against my native land.
A man's true home is where his honour lies,
And Rome has robbed me of all honour now.
SCENE II. A room in Aufidius's house.
Enter AUFIDIUS, with the GUARD.
AUFIDIUS
A Roman beggar, seeking me? A likely tale.
Throw him in the stocks!
Enter the GUARD with CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS, who reveals his face.
AUFIDIUS
Martius! Caius Martius! My hated rival!
My heart is full of rage, my sword is out!
CORIOLANUS
Nay, hold thy hand. I come not here to fight.
I come to join thee, to conspire with thee,
To turn my sword against my traitorous home.
Rome has cast me out, the people scorned me.
I offer you my skill, my general's hand,
To lead your armies and to sack my home.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
AUFIDIUS
Thou art a Roman, a man of pride and war.
I hate thee still, but I do love thy cause.
Rise, Martius, rise! We shall be brothers now!
We'll march on Rome and burn it to the ground!
CORIOLANUS
My heart is with the sword, my mind is with the plan.
The vengeance shall be swift, the justice clear.
I will have my revenge against my home.
Exeunt.
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