Coriolanus: SparkNotes Literature Guide by SparkNotes

Author:SparkNotes [Sparknotes Editors]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Study Guides
ISBN: 9781411474598
Publisher: Spark
Published: 2014-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

Act III, scenes ii-iii; Act IV, scenes i-iv

Summary

Coriolanus tells a group of Roman nobles that he has no intention of changing his character to suit the desires of the mob. Volumnia comes in and berates him for his intransigence, and then Menenius arrives with the Senators and advises him to go the marketplace and make peace with the people: he must recant what he has said about the plebeians and their tribunes, and then perhaps they will allow him to be consul. Coriolanus refuses, preferring to keep his honor, but his mother advises him to act humbly, even if his humility is dishonest, and ask for pardon, even if he does not mean this. He remains obdurate for a long while but eventually relents and agrees to make peace with the plebeians.

In the marketplace, Brutus and Sicinius prepare for Coriolanus's arrival, planning to bait him into losing his temper. The war hero enters, accompanied by Menenius and Cominius, and declares that he will submit to the will of the people. However, when Sicinius accuses him of planning to tyrannize the Roman state, he immediately becomes furious and again launches into a tirade against the tribunes and plebeians. As his friends watch helplessly, Sicinius and Brutus, supported by the entire populace, and over the protests of Cominius, declare that he must be banished from Rome forever. Coriolanus replies that he will go gladly, and he prepares to leave the city, pausing only to bid farewell to his wife, Virgilia, and to his mother and friends. Volumnia weeps and curses the city for casting him out, while Cominius offers to accompany him for a time, but Coriolanus refuses these offers and departs.

Brutus and Sicinius dismiss the people, and then try to avoid encountering Volumnia, Virgilia, and Menenius, who are returning from bidding farewell to Coriolanus. Volumnia spots the two tribunes, however, and denounces them, saying that they have exiled the best man in Rome. Brutus and Sicinius accuse her of having lost her wits, and they depart, leaving the friends of Coriolanus to their grief.

Meanwhile, a Roman in the pay of the Volscians meets up with another Volscian spy and reports that Coriolanus has been banished. The two men agree that this will give Tullus Aufidius an excellent chance to gain some revenge against Rome for the defeats he has suffered. At the same time, Coriolanus himself comes to the city of Antium, where Aufidius is staying. He informs the audience that he plans to ally himself with Aufidius against his native city and become Rome's greatest enemy.

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