Figure 1.--This image illustrates a climactic scene in Shakespeare's Roman tragedy of "Coriolanus". It is an engraving from a painting by William Hamilton (1751- 1801). Outraged by the ingratitude of his own people, the Roman soldier Coriolanus joins forces with their enemy Aufidius and marches with an army against Rome. As he enters the city with his troops, intent on destroying it, he is greeted by his wife Virgilia, his mother Volumnia, and his little son Marcius who together plead with him to spare Rome and his own family from destruction.

One of Shakespware's lesser known plays is "Coriolanus". I am not sure why this play has received so little attention. An image illustrates a climactic scene in Shakespeare's Roman tragedy of "Coriolanus". It is an engraving from a painting by William Hamilton (1751- 1801). Outraged by the ingratitude of his own people, the Roman soldier Coriolanus joins forces with their enemy Aufidius and marches with an army against Rome. As he enters the city with his troops, intent on destroying it, he is greeted by his wife Virgilia, his mother Volumnia, and his little son Marcius who together plead with him to spare Rome and his own family from destruction. At first Coriolanus is deaf to their entreaties but ultimately he yields to the emotional appeal of his mother Volumnia, thus destroying himself in his own image and of course betraying his confederate Aufidius. Hamilton's painting shows Coriolanus's family pleading with him to spare their city. Volumnia stands at the right pleading while Coriolanus looks down upon his wife and young son. Hamilton's costuming of the scene shows the figures in Roman dress although in Shakespeare's original theatre, the Globe on London's bankside, Roman characters, based on history (in this case Plutarch), usually wore mainly Elizabethan costumes with only some symbolic indication of the classical setting--a sash, a garland, or some suggestion of a toga, for instance, over their doublets and hose.

Created: May 1, 2004
Last updated: May 1, 2004