Coriolanus Critic Flashcards

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1
Q

Class

Jagendorf Hatred

A

“The hatred between the ruling class and common people”

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2
Q

Martius

Granville Martius

A

“Martius is by no means a sympathetic character

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3
Q

Tragedy

Oliver Tragic

A

“The greatest tragic moment… is his decision to join the volscians”

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4
Q

Rome

Oliver Induviduals

A

“The Rome you attack is made of induviduals”

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5
Q

Politics

Sinclair Tribunes

A

“The tribunes want political authority”

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6
Q

Blood

Norton Wounds

A

“Obsessed with Coriolanus’ blood and wounds”

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7
Q

Blood

Norton Love

A

“The commoners… love his blood”

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8
Q

Politics

Sinclair Destruction

A

“The tribunes esnsure Coriolanus’ destruction”

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9
Q

Blood

Norton Owning

A

“The blood coursing through his veins and the wounds it escapes from seems to be the only thing Coriolanus can truly call his own”

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10
Q

Blood

Norton Consume

A

“they [commoners] need to consume it”

Martius is a sacrifical lamb

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11
Q

Blood

Norton Entitled

A

“the people act absolutely entitled to full viewing of his wounds”

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12
Q

Blood

Norton Memory, Voyeurism

A

“wounds taken as symbols to memory”
“Coriolanus’ wounds are the vehicle to voyeurism”

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13
Q

Blood

Norton Hungry

A

“mob is a hungry mouth”

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14
Q

War and Violence

Jagendorf Rome

A

“war for Rome is a kind of relief”

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15
Q

Blood

Norton Love

A

“It has been made evident that the commoners do not love Coriolanus… but love the painting, his blood”
“nutrience for the body is blood”

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16
Q

War and Violence

Faedo Meat

A

“Anger becomes his meat as well as his Mother’s”

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17
Q

Martius

Bloom Child

A

“Coriolanus is an overgrown child… at best, a disaster waiting to happen”

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18
Q

Martius, Politics

Lindsay Balance

A

“Coriolanus shows the necessity of carefully balancing personal needs and the common good”

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19
Q

War, Politics

Jagendorf War

A

“the war between the plebians and the patricians”

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20
Q

Class

Oliver Detest

A

Coriolanus “detests the people”

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21
Q

Fiennes Intrepretation

A
  • Coriolanus is clean-shaven and cold-hearted sporting a constant frown
  • Ambigous modern/contemporary setting in eastern europe, juxtaposition between old English and modern eastern-European setting
  • Much more violent and bloody protest at the beginning, only Coriolanus, no Menenius
  • Grows a beard after his banishment from Rome, a competely break with his previous self
  • use of broadcasts and TV news in place of messengers
  • drawn attention to facism & emphaisise difference between soldiers work/ home life
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22
Q

1965 Wekevert & Tenscher, Coriolan Intrepretation

A

For them the central concern was man vs mankind. They placed the battle scenes at the centre of the story.

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23
Q

Tragedy

A C Bradley Calamity

A

A tragedy is a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man in high estate.

24
Q

Tragedy

Aristotle

A

“A tragedy should succeed in arousing pity and fear in such a way as to accomplish a catharsis of emotions.”

25
Q

Martius

Kenneth Muir Self

A

“Coriolanus never has a moment of self-examination or self-reflection.”

26
Q

Class

John Heilpern Class

A

“The play is as much about class warfare as the blood of war itself.”

27
Q

War and Violence

Maurice Hunt Dominate

A

“The play’s main emphasis is upon… the unending struggle of human beings to dominate one another.”

28
Q

Class

Coote Class

A

“Play which goes far beyond the other Roman plays in its concern with class conflict.”

29
Q

Class

Kenneth Muir (1972) on democracy

A

“The story of Coriolanus was nearly always told to illustrate the evils of the democratic form of government.”

30
Q

Context

Shannon Miller Context James

A

James as suppressor of rebellion - the play offers King James as image of a traitor. James saw his MP’s, who he often called tribunes, political voice as inappropriately in competition with the authority traditionally invested in Roman patriarchs. Such parallels (seen through alterations to Plutarch source) show the play to be actively reflecting and even negotiating the political situation of England during 1607-8.

31
Q

Class

Brian Vickers on aristocracy

A

“The aristocracy were just as monstrous as the people.”

32
Q

1623 first staged, last of tragedies

A

On backdrop of unrest in England.

33
Q

1951-1953 Brecht’s Interpretation

A

Brecht emphasizes class struggle rather than what he calls the bourgeois theatre’s depiction of Coriolanus as a hero and of the plebeians as merely comic figures.
It is his contention that too much emphasis has been put on the hero - conventional way of seeing the hero led to an over-romanticising, an exaggerated stress with audience identification with hero - led to dangerous affinities with cult worship, led to direction of fascism.

Brecht adds to the integrity and the dignity of the tribunes. - he omits their chicanery in 2.3, omits their ‘If I cry Fine…’, and tribunes are far more authoritative and querulous

34
Q

Martius

Hazlitt Complete

A

“Coriolanus is a complete character: his love of reputation, his concept of popular opinion, his pride and modesty are consequences of each other.”

35
Q

Pride

Harold Bloom on pride

A

“Both the pride and wrath of Coriolanus can be admirable as well as detestable.”

36
Q

Pride

Haydn Gwynne on pride

A

“He’s a bully. You can condemn him for his pride and arrogance and lack of empathy.”

37
Q

Audience

Kenneth Muir (1972) on sympathies

A

Modern audiences find it more difficult to sympathise with him than with those who commit murder or adultery.
Coriolanus does the things he does out of a sense of absolute moral righteousness he derives from the privilege of birth.

38
Q

Martius

Gordon Williams on immaturity

A

“There is immaturity in Coriolanus’ predictable lack of control.”

39
Q

Martius

Ralph Fiennes on sympathy

A

“You can’t make him easy to sympathise with - it weakens him as a character”

40
Q

Martius

Kevin Dowling on Coriolanus’ role

A

“The tragedy of Coriolanus is peculiarly his own.”

41
Q

Martius

Ralph Fiennes on vulnerability of Corio

A

“He’s a boy inside and he weeps at his mother’s feet, and we see his extreme vulnerability.”

42
Q

War and Violence

D A Trawerski Mechanical

A

“Mechanical warrior; a man turned into an instrument of war”

43
Q

Martius

Bertolt Brecht Enemy

A

“Coriolanus’ switch from being the most Roman of Romans to their greatest enemy is due precisely to the fact that he stays the same.”

“I am constant” - Martius

44
Q

Auf & Corio

Michael McCanley Love/Hate

A

“Coriolanus and Aufidius experience a destructive dialectical love/hate relationship.”

45
Q

Auf & Corio

Ralph Berry Sex

A

“A prolonged homosexual duet.
Dominance is what both seek.
Sex is seen as an alternative to war”

46
Q

Auf & Corio

Rex Gibson Homoerotic

A

“Homoerotic imagery, blending the sexual with the military.”

47
Q

Auf & Corio

2011 Ralph Fienne’s Film

A

Close personal contact in fight scenes, sexual tension, intimacy in the shower shaving his head. Becomes forefront of film through shot at the beginning of sharpening sword.

48
Q

Tribunes, Class

Paul Foot Hypocrites

A

Productions without exception have featured the tribunes as self-serving hypocrites.

49
Q

Volumnia

Haydn Gwynne on Volumnia

A

“Coriolanus is very much a character that Volumnia has created.
Lives vicariously.
She’s manipulative.”

50
Q

Martius

Paul Taylor Machine

A

“Turned into a killing machine by his ambitious, domineering mother.”

51
Q

Martius

Garber Submissive/Mechanical

A

“A boy in uncritical submission to Vlumnia; he is either her submissive son or a mechanical man.”

52
Q

2011 RF film Volumnia

A

Volumnia’s masculinity is visually most striking in her clothing. She wears suits of muted colors (mainly gray and black). Her clothing is similar to that of the other men in the film. It also reinforces Volumnia’s martial characteristic, as her clothing is more specifically the style of the military clothing the men wear. At the moment when Coriolanus is returning victorious from battle, wearing a military badge/metal.

53
Q

Volumnia

Harold Bloom on Volumnia

A

“Dominating and devouring mother.”

54
Q

Volumnia

Robert Humphrey on Volumnia’s patriotism

A

She ultimately sides with Rome over Coriolanus. Her insatiable need to please the patriarchal society in which she lives ultimately lead to destructive consequences for Corionlanus’s life. It is the consequences of Volumnia’s patriarchal ideals and lack of nurturing maternity that plays one of the greatest factors in her son’s death.
It is in this paternal, masculine patriotism of Volumnia’s character that she becomes a fierce mother for Rome and a tragic mother for Coriolanus.
She is the giver of life to all of Rome and a staunch supporter, a patron, of Rome.
Between Rome and Coriolanus, even the general public understand that Volumnia does more for Rome than she does for Coriolanus.
The primary difference between mother and son is unwavering loyalty.

55
Q

Martius, Polictics

Christina LuckyJ on Corio’s downfall

A

“Politics, not his mother, kills Coriolanus.”

56
Q

George Gerwig Volumnia

A

“Characteristically feminine. It is the living, concrete man she loves, not the abstract ideal of patriotism.”

57
Q

Furness on Menenius

A

Menenius acts as a foil to the protagonist.