Coriolanus by William Shakespeare (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 23

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Coriolanus with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare, a historical play set in the Roman Republic. The play centres on the titular character of Coriolanus, a well-respected general whose pride in his own military genius and aristocratic background has fostered in him a deep disdain for the common people. This pride leads to his downfall: when Coriolanus launches into an ill-considered tirade against the plebeians while running for consul, the crowd turns violently against him and he is exiled from Rome. Hell-bent on revenge, Coriolanus forms a temporary alliance with his former nemesis, the Volscian general Aufidius, and turns the full might of his fury towards the city he once called home. Coriolanus is a lesser-known play by William Shakespeare, who is widely considered to be one of the most influential writers in the history of the English language.

Find out everything you need to know about Coriolanus in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT AND POET

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.Died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.Notable works:King Lear (1623), playA Midsummer Night’s Dream (1600), playRichard III (1597), play

William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet and is generally considered the most influential writer in the English language. He worked in several modes, including comedy, history, tragedy, the narrative poem and the sonnet, and was active during an extraordinary flowering of creativity during the Elizabethan Renaissance – not just as a playwright, but also as an actor and as the eventual co-owner of the Globe theatre in London. Shakespeare spent 20 years in London, where he wrote all of his famous works and staged them with his own acting company, The King’s Men, and others. Shakespeare’s plays are universal in their scope, as they explore all the complexities of the human experience, from politics to love and death. Played constantly all around the world and revered for their complex characters and deft use of language, Shakespeare’s plays are now considered one of the crowning jewels of English and international literary heritage.

CORIOLANUS

TRAGIC DRAMA

Genre: playReference edition: Shakespeare, W. (2013) Coriolanus. London: The Arden Shakespeare, ed. by Peter Holland.1stedition: 1623Themes: power, ambition, class, the State, masculinity, family, war and violence, heroism

Written late in Shakespeare’s career (c. 1608) and seen as one of his major tragedies, Coriolanus concerns the story of a Roman general and his struggles with his city of Rome and his own family. Shakespeare based the plot on a legendary figure, Caius Martius, whose existence (whether real or not) is generally dated to around the 5th century BCE. Shakespeare’s most verifiable source is the “Life of Coriolanus” section from Plutarch’s (Greek biographer and essayist, c. 46-120) The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (written in the 2nd century CE) in Thomas North’s translation from 1579. Shakespeare may also have made use of other sources including Livy’s (Roman historian, c. 59 BCE-17 CE) History of Rome (written in the 1st century BCE). Shakespeare wrote three other ‘Roman Plays’ – Titus Andronicus (1594), Julius Caesar (1623) and Antony and Cleopatra (1623) – with Coriolanus being the last. Coriolanus had a mixed reception from audiences prior to the 20th century, when it began to be championed (by the Anglo-American poet T. S. Eliot [1888-1965], among others) as one of his masterpieces. Perhaps part of this complicated history is due to the often unpleasant and off-putting nature of Coriolanus as a protagonist and the play’s ambiguous, complex presentation of politics.