Theme of Power in Coriolanus

“Coriolanus” is a political play written by the late famous English poet William Shakespeare. The main focus of this play is based on a brave, strong selfish warrior named Coriolanus. Coriolanus is famously known for singlehandedly capturing the Volscian City of Corlies, which is where his nickname “Coriolanus” comes from, his original name is Calius Martius. We are later introduced to Volumnia, his mother. Volumnia is a strong, powerful female character and the domineering mother of the roman warrior, Coriolanus. She cares about her son, but she mainly cares about his honor and success, she has also shaped Coriolanus’ personality, making him the unpredictable selfish warrior that he is. Coriolanus dominates in military power position but weakens in his role as a consul in Rome, he weakens in this government position since he refuses to accept praise for his accomplishments, nor does he believe in politics in general since he thinks that they are theatrical and dishonest. Also, his poor way of communicating with the common people is relatively low, this lead to him not being able to secure his position and ended up speaking very negatively towards the Roman virtues which lead to his banishment from Rome. We are then introduced to Tullus Aufidius, a Volscian general who also happens to be the mortal enemy of Coriolanus. Despite their hatred for each other, the two men openly honor each other, we can clearly see that when they meet in Act 4 (Scene 5), When Tullus Aufidus names Coriolanus “Noble Martuis” and also symbolizes him as a good when relating Coriolanus to Mars, the god of war. But Aufidus and Coriolanus really want to have a battle when they have the chance to on the battlefield.

Coriolanus is a character that has not changed throughout the play, he stays as the same character throughout the play. Aufidus, on the other hand, is different, though his fighting skills are equal as like Coriolanus’, Aufidius is still a better character, since he shifts his values and is very independent and is able to get what he wants.