Animal Imagery Running through Coriolanus are images of animals. When Aufidius calls him ‘‘boy,’’ Coriolanus responds that he, Aufidius, is a false hound and that he, Coriolanus, has been like an eagle who has attacked the Volscians as if they were doves in a dovecote. The Roman tribunes compare Coriolanus to a wolf and the…
Tag: William Shakespeare
Coriolanus – Themes
The Conflict between Honor and Loyalty The concepts of honor and loyalty usually seem to be interconnected. Loyalty to one’s family, to one’s country, to one’s core values seems to be the mark of honor. It is a mark of dishonor to betray family, country, and core values. In Coriolanus, however, rather than being interconnected,…
Coriolanus – Characters
Menenius Agrippa Menenius is an aged patrician. He opposes the demands of the people for grain or political power. Nevertheless, he attempts to remain a gentleman in his confrontations with them. He is a friend of Coriolanus, but is rebuffed by him when he pleads with him to spare Rome. Tullus Aufidius Aufidius is the…
Coriolanus – Act Wise Summary
Act 1, Scene 1 Coriolanus opens with a revolt of the plebeians in ancient Rome. They are out in the streets shouting for bread and the death of Caius Marcius, whom they blame for being the cause of their suffering. They accuse the patricians, members of the upper class, of hoarding the grain for themselves….
The Comedy Of Errors – Explained – Essay
(In the following excerpt, McDonald first surveys previous criticism on the play regarding its classification as a farce and its position in Shakespeare’s canon. He notes that critics have tended to ‘‘elevate’’ the play above the ‘‘vulgar’’ level of farce in explaining its meaning (although its farcical elements are obvious) because it is sometimes perceived…
The Comedy Of Errors – Analysis
(This essay argues that The Comedy of Errors is unusual among Shakespeare’s plays because of the way in which specific locations in the play are related to the transformations of characters. The critic analyzes settings such as the Centaur Inn or the Phoenix Tavern by comparing them to Antipholus of Syracuse, his twin brother Antipholus…
The Comedy Of Errors – Historical Background – Setting
Room and Board In general, aspects of the historical situation at the time of Shakespeare’s writing his play, and the historical period in which the play takes place, bear little relation to the plot. That is, in what was quite possibly his first dramatic effort, Shakespeare seemed to have been executing a sort of exercise…
The Comedy Of Errors – Literary Devices
Comedy, from Farce to Romance The Comedy of Errors has widely been interpreted as not just a comedy but a farce; a comedic work that features satire and a fairly improbable plot can be considered farcical. In the nineteenth century, the British poet and scholar Samuel Taylor Coleridge affirmed that the play was in fact…
The Comedy Of Errors – Themes
Identity The way the various characters in The Comedy of Errors view their respective identities is perhaps the play’s most prominent theme. The central quest for identity, of course, is that of S. Antipholus, whom the audience understands from early on to be seeking himself, to a great extent, in his twin brother; this understanding…
The Comedy Of Errors – Luciana
The unmarried sister of Adriana, Luciana counsels her jealous sister to suppress her negative emotions and have patience with her possibly adulterous husband. When Luciana in turn counsels S. Antipholus to be more loving to Adriana, S. Antipholus falls in love with Luciana herself. Luciana then tells Adriana about S. Antipholus’s affection, greatly upsetting her…