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Theme of Power in Coriolanus

The political play of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is depicted in Ancient Rome. It is set in a time where the Roman Empire transitioned from a monarchy to a democracy thus displaying a major power struggle as some were able to adapt better than others. At the start of the play the plebeians (citizens) are protesting in the streets while the ruling class has all the power. Tullus Aufidius, leader of the Volscian army wages war on Rome and Coriolanus known as the great war hero goes and defeats him. This play is significant in the way that the hero is portrayed. Rather than him being a noble, selfless war hero, Coriolanus is characterized as power-hungry, arrogant and proud which makes him a great warrior but leads to his downfall. Even though he is characterizes negatively, the audience starts feels empathy towards the protagonist as it becomes clear that his personality is a reflection of his mother’s power over him as she influences Coriolanus with her harsh ideologies. Shakespeare uses animal imagery and specifically the metaphor of a dragon to characterize the changing Coriolanus as by the end the play, Coriolanus is like a “lonely dragon”,  meaning he is incapable of living among Roman society. displaying how he his beliefs change to not being able to rule Rome.  Menenius has power over the plebeians as he is first successful in convincing them to vote for Coriolanus as consul. His downfall is believing he has power over Coriolanus as Shakespeare describes their relationship as being like a father and son. This however is then proven to be untrue as near the end of the play the only person Coriolanus listens to is his mother, Volumnia.  The power struggle for Rome is later to be taken by the plebeians as they are the majority, but their opinions are shown to be heavily swayed due to the different opinions of people influencing them. This is a foil to Coriolanus as they are able to adapt to the change but Coriolanus fails to do so. Coriolanus is a tragic hero who demonstrates that power driven by pride and arrogance does not lead to success. 


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