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If any such be here—
As it were sin to doubt—that love this painting
Wherein you see me smeared; if any fear
Lesser his person than an ill report;
If any think brave death outweighs bad life,
And that his country’s dearer than himself;
Let him alone, or so many so minded,
Wave thus to express his disposition
And follow Martius. (1.6.86–94)
During the battle against the Volscian army in Corioles, Caius Martius appears before Cominius’s troops covered in blood and invites them to join him in another attack. Not only do these words demonstrate Martius’s bravery and valor, but they also showcase his eloquence—at least, when he is addressing his fellow soldiers. This rhetorical finesse is something he will clearly lack when speaking in the guise of a politician. But for now, it serves him well, helping to lead the Romans to a victory that will earn him the honorific “Coriolanus.”
What must I say?
“I pray, sir?”—plague upon ’t! I cannot bring
My tongue to such a pace. “Look, sir, my wounds!
I got them in my country’s service when
Some certain of your brethren roared and ran
From th’ noise of our own drums.” (2.3.53–58)
The newly dubbed Coriolanus addresses these lines to Menenius just before he meets with plebeian citizens to ask them for their votes. Coriolanus is humiliated at having to perform this ritual, an act made more hateful to him due to the fact that he must wear a toga, also referred to in this scene as “a gown of humility” (2.3.42). In a way, Coriolanus is genuinely humble, insofar as he feels uncomfortable with showing off his wounds to prove his heroism. But even as his humility is on display, so too is his disdain for the plebeians. He is evidently disgusted by the idea that he must address his social inferiors with feigned politeness. Thus, his humility exists in tension with his sense of pride. This tension will prove destructive and lead to his banishment from Rome.
O mother, mother!
What have you done? Behold, the heavens do ope,
The gods look down, and this unnatural scene
They laugh at. O, my mother, mother, O!
You have won a happy victory to Rome,
But, for your son—believe it, O, believe it!—
Most dangerously you have with him prevailed,
If not most mortal to him. But let it come. (5.3.205–212)
In the play’s final act, when none of the most senior patricians have been able to dissuade Coriolanus from breaking off his campaign against Rome, they send his mother, Volumnia, to get the job done. In a triumphant series of speeches, she expertly manipulates him, laying down an elaborate guilt trip that finally convinces Coriolanus to submit to her iron will. With the lines quoted here, Coriolanus finally submits to his mother. The pained cries uttered here make these lines his most baldly emotional in the play, showing that, at base, he is essentially a boy with a childlike dependence on his mother. With these words, Coriolanus effectively confirms Volumnia’s earlier claim: “There’s no man in the world / More bound to ’s mother” (5.3.180–81).
