Coriolanus | Litsy

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

pan

No one likes this. Every critic in my signet edition begins saying something to that effect. And then they carefully breakdown why it‘s really a carefully written thoughtful thing - the warrior who never grew up, never learned to feel and empathize, never realized there was anyone else around other then mom. It just makes awful drama, all these men fawning over stiff imagined narrow greatness. Well, checked off. #shakespearereadalong

GingerAntics

merelybookish I feel the same way. This is no hidden gem. It has a terrible reputation for a reason. 2y

TheBookHippie 🏆 Review. I‘m looking at it as an accomplished goal. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The signet had wonderful information alas it still is a pan of a read.. 2y

TheBookHippie @merelybookish Well. Now we know. 2y

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GingerAntics I agree to all of that. 2y

Graywacke @merelybookish @TheBookHippie @GingerAntics I guess there was only one way to learn. ☹️ 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie i got really tired of the Signet info, but it was good info. Oddly I enjoyed the Plutarch part. (But the worst part was the last section, summarizing all the major performances, which I always find exhausting having no context to process any of the info, ended … and then had a several page post script update 😳) 2y

Cathythoughts I like this picture ! 2y

batsy I love a good pan! I feel like ol' Will escapes from ever getting a pan from me because he'll throw in a few lines that has me underlining them and thinking, "All is not lost..." ? 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke I kept having flashbacks to English class homework days 😂 I enjoyed it but it was work ! 2y

Graywacke @Cathythoughts Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh. 🙂 I thought captured the little boy inside. 2y

Graywacke @batsy There are a lot of those lines in this. What‘s odd is that despite not working (for a lot of people) it‘s actually really well written. 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie i certainly question my own self on why I needed to read every extra Signet bit. I do this every time. But ultimately I‘m always grateful I did, including with this one. 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke It‘s the forever student in me. 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie that sounds like a nice problem to me. I think I‘m compensating for the guilt of being such a terrible neglectful student. Forever trying to make it up. 🙂 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke 😂 I was a very good student grades wise but I had detention every single day 😅… quite often for arguing with teachers 🙃 the rest dress code violations 😇 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie 🙂 I‘m imagining you as making quite a impact on your poor teachers. I was a bad student with good (sorta) grades. Solid practical laziness. I wasn‘t a terrible kid otherwise, but really I was too introverted to get into too much trouble. (My daughter is like all this- except way smarter and not so introverted. hmm) 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke true. Plus, once it‘s all over, we can say we‘ve read them all, then never read the bad ones again. I really should have put my rating of each play on that master list for future reference. 2y

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batsy

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

so-so

I think like most of us doing the #ShakespeareReadAlong I was glad to get to the end of this. There's not much to say because it feels all-too familiar: greed, power, corruption. What's interesting is that Coriolanus seems like the perfect machine of power & authority, but when he finally shows some feeling it leads to his literal end. His mother Volumnia is also a fascinating "stage mother"-type character, but she can't really rescue the play.

batsy The bitter political rivalry between Aufidius & Coriolanus takes centre-stage. But while all of this is going on amongst the elite, ordinary people were left with nothing & were trying to set their own price for the grain supply: "Suffer us to famish, & their storehouses crammed with grain [...] If the wars eat us not up, they will". Sound familiar? The Signet supplementary material points to Shakespeare taking inspiration from the Midland Revolt. 2y

batsy @GingerAntics 2y

TheBookHippie This was a struggle ! You‘ve captured it beautifully. 2y

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batsy @TheBookHippie Thank you! 💜 2y

Cathythoughts Brilliant picture 💫 2y

batsy @Cathythoughts Thanks, Cathy 😘 2y

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GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

That was it?! Really? As you all know, I was hopping for a respectable body count, but that was it?! Wow. Thoughts on the slog fest?
#Shakespeare #Coriolanus #shakespearereadalong

merelybookish, Graywacke

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Lcsmcat I usually try to avoid ranking things. One of my least favorite questions is “What is your favorite… “ (sorry - couldn‘t resist) but this is my least favorite Shakespeare. I wanted them all to die. 2y

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batsy I've been trying to think about what to say but I'm just glad it's over. Despite that I still underlined stuff because some of the lines are great, like Aufidius's seething resentment: "He watered his new plants with dews of flattery" or when Volumnia goes off. But otherwise, yes, it was all pretty grim and the worst of humanity having all the power with ordinary citizens suffering. 2y

TheBookHippie Phew that was brutal. I‘m with @Lcsmcat I wanted them all dead. What a slog this was… @batsy review sums up my thoughts. 2y

TheBookHippie What‘s next? 2y

GingerAntics @Lcsmcat EXACTLY!!! If this is a tragedy, the true tragedy is that only one character died at the end. 2y

GingerAntics @batsy that‘s a good point. I was so happy it was over. Not much to like here. (edited) 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie if I remember correctly, it‘s Henry VIII. So I‘m guessing there will be a lot of beheadings in this next one. 2y

Graywacke I‘m also glad to be done.* Some decent lines though. I wrote down Coriolanus‘s sense of defeat before mom: “Like a dull actor now, I have forgot my part, and I am out” (*but I still plan to read all the Signet extra stuff) 2y

batsy @Graywacke Me too. Just read the source of the text bit at the end and it is fascinating to learn how Shakespeare created more in terms of Volumnia's character from a single line taken from Plutarch's Lives. It makes me appreciate some aspects of the play more despite not enjoying it! 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke that‘s my plan for this afternoon. 2y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics I thought so but I couldn‘t remember 😵‍💫 2y

Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie nerd up! 🤓💪 (but Bookly tells me it will take 6 hours, so not for this afternoon. It will take some days for me) 2y

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GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

pan

Probably my least favourite Shakespearean tragedy. This was a total slog. It was like wading through quicksand. In the end, far too few people died. In fact, it was just the one. I was so hoping for a decent body count.
#Shakespeare #Coriolanus #shakespearereadalong

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Daisey

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

so-so

No book and breakfast photo today, but I did finish a chocolate cake for a church dinner before listening to the rest of Coriolanus this morning. There‘s just too much flip flopping in this story for me. I was somewhat amused by the drama of the last two acts and appreciated how it all wrapped up.

#ShakespeareReadalong #ArkAngelShakespeare

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GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

I‘m sure it was a shock to the romans that a few women and a child could actually negotiate a peace deal. Well, it was a boy child, so I‘m sure they thought he did it.
#Shakespeare #Coriolanus #shakespearereadalong

merelybookish, Graywacke

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Lcsmcat Did I read the wrong Act? I don‘t remember a peace deal in Act 4. 2y

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GingerAntics @Lcsmcat after the V‘s and his son come to see him, his mother convinces him to make peace. So it is definitely the acts of a woman that brought about peace. Roman minds have been blown!!! (edited) 2y

batsy I was finding this act a slog (again) until we got to Aufidius's, er, racy bit. Am I nuts or was there some serious homoerotic tension there? "more dances my rapt heart than when I first my wedded mistress saw bestride my threshold" & "we have been down together in my sleep, unbuckling helms, fisting each other's throat" ? All that tension & back to being jealous of Coriolanus towards the end. Get a room, guys! This play would be a lot more fun. 2y

merelybookish @Lcsmcat I also missed that. Is that Act V? 2y

merelybookish @batsy OMG! Yes. The fisting line.🤨 it was hard not to read that as erotic. Especially after he went on about how he was more excited to see him than his wife on their wedding night. Found the servants wanting war as peace is dull interesting. And the mother got in a few good lines. But still a slog!! 2y

Lcsmcat @batsy Yes, that bit with Aufidius really jumped out! But the servants competing to show that they knew C wasn‘t a bum all along added some humor. 2y

Lcsmcat @merelybookish My edition has Act 4 ending with Aufidius‘ men worrying that Coriolanus has too much power. Maybe it‘s a different edition thing? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y

Daisey @batsy @merelybookish Yes, that part definitely caught my attention. I also found the servants‘ discussion of war and peace interesting. 2y

batsy @merelybookish @Daisey Yeah, the discussion between the servants was really intriguing. 2y

Graywacke @batsy @merelybookish i missed all the homoerotic fun…I‘ll have to reread that. 2y

Graywacke But i zoomed through, because, like @merelybookish I‘m finding this really a slog. 2y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat i think @GingerAntics couldn‘t stop. Seems she‘s read through the end. 🙂 2y

TheBookHippie @batsy I thought it was just me 😅😵‍💫 I agree that play would be a bit more fun! 2y

TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat mine is the same. Too much power. 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke that makes much more sense! I was lost too. 2y

TheBookHippie This one is slow for me or my mind is cluttered or both 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke @merelybookish @TheBookHippie I‘m finding it a bit of a slog too. I don‘t know if it‘s the war or the lack of humor or the generally un-likable characters or what. Glad I‘m reading it, but don‘t see myself rereading it. 2y

TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat I agree. It‘s all that. I don‘t intend to reread this one at least not in the near future .. 2y

merelybookish @Lcsmcat I feel detached from the play. Its operating on a level (war, politics) that I don't connect with. There's no character guiding us into the world, no Fool as @Graywacke said or schemer like Iago. 2y

Graywacke @merelybookish right. I‘m wondering what is missing. Maybe there isn‘t a strong dramatic element. There is a base story and everyone playing a role within that base story and so it feels very predictable in the sense that we read a think, of course he said that, what else would he say. In act 3 C says he will be good and play the masses and then we wait to see what happens - that was the only dramatic element in the play that stands out for me. 2y

Lcsmcat @merelybookish I need someone to make me care for sure! Like @Graywacke said, it also feels very predictable 2y

batsy @merelybookish @Lcsmcat @Graywacke @TheBookHippie I am very much struggling with this one and that's a good point about no character being a guide, like a Fool. There's not one POV counter to all of the events that the audience can attach itself to. There's a sense of watching all of this play out with a kind of detached distaste and disgust, somewhat like watching the parliamentary sessions in my country 🙃 2y

TheBookHippie @batsy 🙃 2y

GingerAntics @batsy 🤣😂🤣 I got the same impression. This play would be much more entertaining if they got a room. I agree, this is a slog fest. 2y

GingerAntics @batsy that sounds profoundly boring. Parliamentary sessions? Sheesh. I think cspan sort of does that here, but it‘s SO BORING!!! That‘s a good way to describe this play though. I feel like this play would make great background noise for falling asleep… or staying asleep. 2y

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LitStephanie

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Act 3. An illustration of why choosing your government leader shouldn't be based entirely on lifetime battle body count. #shakespearereadalong

merelybookish 🤣😂 2y

batsy Ha! Nicely put. 2y

GingerAntics 😂🤣😂 2y

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GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Things have certainly gotten interesting… and I‘m really feeling the parallels between Coriolanus and a few modern day politicians.
#Shakespeare #Coriolanus #shakespearereadalong

merelybookish, Graywacke

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batsy I'm still finding it a bit of a slog and kind of dense, but I liked how we got to see the citizens kind of see through Coriolanus' talk. Also all I keep thinking about is what an excellent politician Volumnia would make—I don't like her but she's certainly more savvy than her son. 2y

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Lcsmcat @batsy I agree. Volumnia has certainly backed away from her earlier hard-line stance on honor. Maybe because it‘s her skin in danger now? Menenius is the only one I even half respect. 2y

merelybookish I underlined "No more words, we beseech you" which sums up my feelings about this play. ? The scenes are so long and seem to repeat the same point over and over. Volumina at least is interesting, or I'm interested in what she has to say @batsy @Lcsmcat The introduction to my edition suggests lack of education is part of Coriolanus's undoing, which is alluded to a bit in this act. But snobbery and a short temper seem more the issue. 2y

Lcsmcat @merelybookish “no more words, we beseech you”😂😂 2y

jewright I found a fun insult. Coriolanus: “Hence old goat! .... Hence, rotten thing! or I shall shake thy bones / Out of thy garments!” 2y

Graywacke @merelybookish @Lcsmcat I highlighted C‘s “No, take more” 😂 2y

Graywacke I don‘t mind that C is a bullheaded dummy and that Shakespeare uses this extreme as an excuse for various attempts at reason. But I wish the play had had more fun with it. C needs a fool. 2y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Yes! Where‘s the Fool? This play cries out for one. 2y

Lcsmcat @jewright So many great insults in Shakespeare that I never think of in the moment. (Maybe not a bad thing. I‘m not sure how long I‘d keep a job if I used that one.) 2y

LitStephanie @Graywacke @Lcsmcat a fool would really improve this play. Not a lot of funny in this one. No great speeches so far either, although there is some dark humor in how WS portrays both the plebes and the patricians as stupid, self-righteous, and/or phony flatterers. 2y

LitStephanie Coriolanus eagerly asking Lartius if Aufidius said anything about him does nothing to quell my suspicion that C has a shirtless portrait of A in his study. I am hoping those two find each other, confess their true love, and run off to open an armor store together. In all seriousness, it is sad how C has taken his mother's molding and praise so far he only really respects another warrior of his abilities. Nothing else impresses him about people. 2y

GingerAntics @batsy it is a bit of a drag. I keep hoping everyone dies at the end (and it will happen sooner rather than later). 2y

GingerAntics @merelybookish that is the perfect quote for this play, honestly. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke yeah, this play isn‘t as fun or lively or entertaining as his other plays. This is just kind of plodding along. 2y

GingerAntics @LitStephanie yeah, nothing funny here. It‘s a little too close to current moments and politicians for that. That might have been what he was going for. I have a feeling politicians haven‘t changed much in 400 years. 2y

LitStephanie @GingerAntics I love that you are hoping everyone does, haha! 2y

GingerAntics @LitStephanie that‘s my guide to reviewing my less preferred plays. How long did it take to just want everyone to die? 🤷🏼‍♀️ I actually put it into a summary of the 5th act of one of the plays a while back. My summary for act 5 was literally “not enough people died.” 🤣😂🤣 2y

LitStephanie @GingerAntics 🤣🤣 2y

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GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

More bragging of military prowess. We find out where the name Coriolanus comes from. Public opinion sways easily. So much happened in this act.
@Graywacke @merelybookish
#Shakespeare #Coriolanus #shakespearereadalong

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GingerAntics FUN FACT: President Snow from the Hunger Games trilogy is named Coriolanus Snow. I‘m sure there will be a good reason Collins chose that name for him. 2y

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merelybookish I found that act a slog! It felt like the same conversation over and over again. Coriolanus is a great war hero AND he has disdain for the people. The people love him to their own peril. (Sounds a bit like a former US president.) But all the debate was dull. I would prefer to hang out with the Vs. The line "converses more with the buttock of the night than with the forehead of the morning" did stick out. 2y

batsy The 2nd act is much like the first; pretty dense & yes, at times a slog. I was once again pretty appalled by Volumnia and bizarre pride she took in her son's wounds as proof of his exceedingly manly manliness. Cominius' monologue on Coriolanus' "valour", in other words a kind of catalogue of bloodshed and violence, also made for grim reading in these times... 2y

TheBookHippie The reading along with this weeks Russia Ukraine was just GRIM. Nothing changes. So relevant on all the levels…. It was a slog, but was it me or the section?! 2y

TheBookHippie @batsy Volume seriously reminds me of some alt right women I know… GRIM is so the word. 2y

TheBookHippie @merelybookish I had these same thoughts!!! Much to their peril!!!! The Vs have it for me so far with this play. 2y

CoffeeNBooks @merelybookish I definitely agree- it seems like this act just kept repeating the same things about Coriolanus. 2y

CoffeeNBooks @batsy I thought the same thing about Volumnia! It almost seemed like she wished he'd gotten more wounds this time to prove his bravery. 2y

Graywacke It‘s a lot of text, but I appreciated the political manipulations of S and B. Coriolanus is no Putin though. I didn‘t think about that association. He‘s putty to be manipulated. 2y

Graywacke (Hoping that didn‘t come across the wrong way. I‘m horrified by the war. I just didn‘t associate it with this play.) 2y

GingerAntics @merelybookish 🤣😂🤣 it did feel like we were getting all of the buttock‘s speeches in this act. There was a lot of bla bla bla going on. I will give you that. 2y

GingerAntics @batsy manly manliness does seem like the perfect description. Can we get past waxing poetic about how awesome a war lord he is? I‘m over it, seriously. 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie oh you weren‘t the only one to draw the parallels with Ukraine‘s battle against Coriolanus… I mean Putin. Even Putin likes to wax poetic about his manly manliness, and don‘t forget the shirtless pictures he released. 🤮 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke I see what you mean about Coriolanus being more of a pawn. He‘s mouldable to the will of whoever has the power to step up. I think for me the parallel was all the needless bloodshed and violence, as well as the bragging about it. Putin would definitely be the type to be doing the manipulating, but I found it hard to not draw some parallels, especially with Russian tanks veering off course just to roll over cars for sport. 2y

Lcsmcat I‘m having trouble with this one because I don‘t like ANY of the characters. They all annoy or horrify me on some level. 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke I was thinking more of the manliness part of Putin 🤮🤢he tries to portray… 2y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics the manliness was my thoughts as well 🤢 2y

TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat Can‘t say I like one character 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y

GingerAntics @Lcsmcat right? Definitely not one of my favourites. I just don‘t feel positively about anyone. If every character is dead at the end, I‘ll be just fine. That might actually make me like the ending, to be honest. 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @Graywacke don‘t forget the shirtless pictures of himself Putin released a few years ago. Because everyone wants shirtless pictures of a 60 something. Yes, very alluring. 🤮 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @Graywacke I think I‘ve been traumatised by those pictures!!! I‘m scared for life now. I will never get those things out of my head. You just can‘t unsee that sort of thing… no matter how much you might want to. 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat they are all monsters. Every last one of them. 2y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics first pic in my head whilst reading 🤢🤮 2y

LitStephanie I am so glad I wasn't the only one who thought this act was a bit of a slog. The dialog just doesn't stir me. It was pretty funny when C was muttering about how the commoners need to wash their faces and teeth. He seems to be a cartoonish character showing the danger of taking the manly honorable warrior ideal too far. Rather than seeming humble for his refusal to listen to his deeds be sung, he comes off as dismissive of the peoples' interest. 2y

LitStephanie I do not like that the only two women are a meek house mouse of a wife and a cold mother who values her son's (and by extension hers) glory over anything else, including his life. 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie 🤮🤮🤮 so terrifying … they are haunting 2y

GingerAntics @LitStephanie Shakes is known for his strong, powerful female characters, but there are none of those in this play. It‘s painful. This is definitely the view of women of his time. 2y

merelybookish @Lcsmcat Very true! Everyone is awful 2y

Lcsmcat @GingerAntics A traditional tragedy ending with everyone dead would suit me fine. 2y

LitStephanie @Lcsmcat I dislike all the characters, too. This was probably Shakespeare's last tragedy, and he must have been feeling very disillusioned about politics. 2y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat 🙂 2y

mollyrotondo I actually was thinking more about Trump and the conservative right during the Forum scene. All the neglect and disrespect of the “common people” but the “common people” still are deceived by their mockery and essentially bullying. Like @TheBookHippie said, nothing changes. Also I have a question: Are all of Coriolanus‘s wounds a lie? He refused to show anyone and Brutus made it sound like he would want to hide his true role in battle. Wondered 2y

TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat I‘m for death for everyone 😂 2y

TheBookHippie @mollyrotondo It‘s unreal. 😩 2y

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LitStephanie

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

I love this quote so very much. Brilliant. I WILL find a way to use this in a contentious meeting. Somehow, I will find a way. #shakespearereadalong

sprainedbrain I would like to see that! 😂 2y

Reggie Lolol 2y

LitStephanie @sprainedbrain I will post about it when I make it happen. 😆 2y

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GingerAntics I can‘t wait to hear about that!!! 🤣😂🤣 2y

LitStephanie @GingerAntics I feel it would be excellent for when the tinhat brigade shows up to a public meeting railing about some ridiculous complaint that has nothing to do with the actual agenda items. 2y

GingerAntics @LitStephanie YEEEEEES!!! So fitting. 2y

18 likes6 comments

merelybookish

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Sunday morning. Catching up on bookclubs and buddy reads.
#nyrbbookclub #shakespearereadalong

Cathythoughts I did Coriolanus for my Leaving Certificate Exam. Our teacher made it a brilliant read. I loved it at the time. Memories ✨ 2y

merelybookish @Cathythoughts A good teacher can make such a difference! Just finished Act I and it feels very relevant to the current political moment. 2y

67 likes2 comments

Daisey

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Starting Coriolanus this morning with a battle in Act I.

#ShakespeareReadalong #ArkAngelShakespeare

52 likes

GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

One act in, and we‘ve got a class war and an invasion… sounds like this is happening right now. Thoughts?
#Shakespeare #TwoGentlemenOfVerona #shakespearereadalong

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jewright This definitely reminds me of Julius Caesar. How is Volumnia so unfeeling about her son? She doesn‘t care if he lives, only if he fights well and is brave. Virgillia is compared to Penelope. And, Shakespeare, why do you have to give the mother and daughter-in-law both names that start with V?! I feel like he does this a lot, and it‘s confusing. 2y

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Lcsmcat @jewright My thought exactly! Now I can‘t shorten them to V in my head while I read! And also the better dead than a coward stuff. 😁 2y

batsy This is a pretty sense first act with lots of tension simmering. I like that we're dropped straight into the group of "mutinous citizens"; it makes the action feel very immediate. I too was pretty taken aback by Volumnia—she's a pretty blood-thirsty mum ? 2y

merelybookish This was a long act! The opening discussion about how the belly feeds the body reminded me of trickle down economics. And the scene with the women did stand out, in part because it was contained and also because of the mother's ruthlessness. I liked that line about how Penelope's weaving resulted in lots of moths. Also in the fight scene, Monty Python's "but this is just a flesh wound" came to mind. ? 2y

Graywacke The belly thing. I was with the guy who said, “It was an answer. How apply you this?” 2y

Graywacke I lot of pomp and pompous talk. I felt this was somewhere between Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus and Henry V. I kept thinking, maybe these were his throw away lines for HV repackaged. But, despite all that, it‘s C‘s mom who really lays down the atmosphere of glory or nothing. 2y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat the V‘s! Shakespeare is not friendly to our Litsy character limits! 2y

Lcsmcat @batsy The opening did feel a bit like we were dropped into a story in progress, without the “previously in Coriolanus” help. Which means less exposition and more action. 2y

Lcsmcat @merelybookish @Graywacke That fable reminded me of a joke I probably can‘t spell out here 😂 and yes, “How apply you this?” 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke I was thinking Henry V after my HOLY COWS we‘ve done it again nothing like resting this and watching Russia/Ukraine 😫😳 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke How apply you this? 🏆 2y

TheBookHippie @jewright I was reading it as Volume and Virgin 😂🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️😳 2y

CoffeeNBooks I really liked that we were dropped right into the middle of the group and action- it made it more interesting than if there had been a lot of build-up to what was going to happen. It seemed like a really long act, though. 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie i like your translations of the v‘s. 🙂 2y

Graywacke @CoffeeNBooks in hindsight the opening with the mob is much more entertaining than the baffling battlefield stuff. (I kept wondering - couldn‘t they just sum up? Maybe there was some dramatic fighting on stage) (edited) 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke 😂 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke I got that feeling too, like some of these lines didn‘t make the cut for some other king somewhere. 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @Graywacke this TOTALLY made me think of Russia/Ukraine!!! 2y

Graywacke I was really struck by how terribly the starving mob was lectured. Coriolanus (under a different name) greets them: “What‘s the matter, you dissentious rogues/That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion,/Make yourselves scabs?” - definitely winning people over there. (edited) 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @jewright I‘m forever going to read them as volume and virgin now. 😂🤣😂 Vol and Vir for short, obviously. 2y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 2y

batsy @merelybookish The Penelope weaving = moths line made me chuckle 😆 And I like the link you made between the belly analogy and the trickle down economics. 2y

batsy @Lcsmcat It helped to make this quite dense and long act move along at a faster pace, which is nice :) 2y

merelybookish @CoffeeNBooks It was a very long act! 2y

LitStephanie I wonder if Volumnia's attitude about glory over all else (for men) is meant to create more contrast between the haves and have nots. The starving peasants don't have the luxury of worrying about their sons gaining glory in battle. 2y

LitStephanie I am late to the party here, but does anyone else really want to know the backstory of Caius Marcius and Aufidius? I feel like Caius Marcius definitely has a shirtless portrait of Aufidius in his study. 2y

LitStephanie @Graywacke I love the lecturing. It really sets the patricians up as ivory tower, out of touch a-holes. 2y

GingerAntics @LitStephanie 😂🤣😂 now there is a mental image. The more I think about it, though, I can kind of see the shirtless portrait and glancing at it to cheer himself up. 🤣😂🤣 2y

Graywacke @LitStephanie awe. That backstory is almost cute (except the killing and all that it leads to). 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke there is a lot of killing. lol 2y

mollyrotondo I like how this Act draws out this battle in order to strongly highlight Caius Marcius‘s glory and honor on the battlefield. The praise he is given is so over the top and his humble reaction is just as showy but it sets up the tragedy that is ahead so well. It‘s like Shakespeare waving a flag going “See? This is where he belongs. On the battlefield. Not as a political leader.” And I‘m going to love Aufidius‘s revenge plot I just know it 😆 2y

GingerAntics @mollyrotondo I hadn‘t looked at it that way. Have you read this before? 2y

mollyrotondo @GingerAntics I haven‘t read it before but I read the Introduction which gave the impression his political career ends up a failure. 2y

GingerAntics @mollyrotondo that would do it. I‘m going to have to go listen to that part of the play again now. 2y

13 likes36 comments

CoffeeNBooks

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Reading Coriolanus this morning for the #ShakespeareReadalong discussion tomorrow. It's been awhile since I've read with the group, so I'm looking forward to this one!
@GingerAntics

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Lcsmcat

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

I‘m ready, with possibly the oldest edition of any Shakespeare in my library. It‘s The Yale Shakespeare edition, copyright 1924, but printed in 1954. Can anyone beat that? #shakespeareteadalong @GingerAntics

GingerAntics That is a beautiful edition though. 2y

Lcsmcat @GingerAntics A bit faded. Someone must have had it on the end of a shelf close to a window. 😀 2y

GingerAntics @Lcsmcat I saw that. I prefer if they have to be faded that they‘re faded all over, like the book was always out being read and loved. 2y

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Graywacke It‘s a little older than my 2002 Signet. 🙂 2y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke It‘ll be interesting to see how different the footnotes are. I often get annoyed with editions for footnoting things that seem obvious to me. But then I grew up with Cranmer‘s prayer book and the King James Bible so I‘m not their target audience. 2y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat we can compare. I would surprised if Signet was less guilty of footnoting the obvious. 2y

47 likes6 comments

GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Just a reminder, we‘ll be starting discussion on Coriolanus next Sunday. Here is the schedule again for anyone who didn‘t get it before.
#Shakespeare #TwoGentlemenOfVerona #shakespearereadalong @merelybookish @graywacke

GingerAntics @readinginthedark @batsy @Lcsmcat @TheBookHippie @Sunraven @Trashcanman @IamIamIam @ladyneverwhere @MoonWitch94 @catebutler @CoffeeNBooks @jewright @saresmoore @rabbitprincess @Balibee146 @kathedron @Mtroiano @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MrsMalaprop @Gezemice @cuilin @erzascarletbookgasm 2y

GingerAntics @Melismatic @Sace @teainthelibrary @Susannah @kristenm @slategreyskies @Panic70 @Carolyn11215 @Alliterati @Kristy_K @Liz_M @Daisey @mhillis @Wife @wanderinglynn @Jess_Read_This @Linsy @MellieAntoinette @Yoshi-and-a-book @mollyrotondo @greenreads @LitStephanie @MehoLovesReading 2y

TheBookHippie Got book! 2y

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GingerAntics @TheBookHippie YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! 2y

Graywacke I‘m so curious. I have Plutarch in mind. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke the images I‘ve seen of this play are truly intriguing. 2y

CoffeeNBooks I'm very curious about this play, and looking forward to reading it! 2y

GingerAntics @CoffeeNBooks same 2y

14 likes8 comments

GingerAntics

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Just wanted to get a jump on this so that everyone can get books ordered and hopefully have them delivered in time. Apparently this is one of Shakespeare‘s “most challenging and least loved” play. This makes me even more excited to read it, if for no other reason than to know why. You know me! I do love a good tragedy play.

merelybookish, Graywacke

GingerAntics @readinginthedark @batsy @Lcsmcat @TheBookHippie @Sunraven @Trashcanman @IamIamIam @ladyneverwhere @MoonWitch94 @catebutler @CoffeeNBooks @jewright @saresmoore @rabbitprincess @Balibee146 @kathedron @Mtroiano @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MrsMalaprop @Gezemice @cuilin @erzascarletbookgasm 2y

GingerAntics @Melismatic @Sace @teainthelibrary @Susannah @kristenm @slategreyskies @Panic70 @Carolyn11215 @Alliterati @Kristy_K @Liz_M @Daisey @mhillis @Wife @wanderinglynn @Jess_Read_This @Linsy @MellieAntoinette @Yoshi-and-a-book @mollyrotondo @greenreads @LitStephanie @MehoLovesReading 2y

Seeking_Serenity I'm excited to read this too!! 2y

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TheBookHippie Thankyou!!!!! 2y

GingerAntics @MehoLovesReading I went looking for photos to make the post and it seems this is a very bloody play. We tend to like those. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie you‘re welcome! The way shipping is these days, the more time to get them in, the better. 2y

merelybookish Well, considering some of the plays we have read, that is quite something to be the least favourite. 😂 I am intrigued! 2y

GingerAntics @merelybookish if I‘m remembering correctly, some of his most loved plays we haven‘t been fans of and some that are his least loved plays we‘ve liked, so I‘m excited to see what we make of this one. 2y

TheBookHippie @vlwelser 2y

vlwelser @TheBookHippie 😘 thank you! 2y

TheBookHippie @vlwelser Believe it or not I have to order a copy!! BAHAHAHAHA. I did get a library copy but the print is soooo smallll. Plus I need to have one, I have all the others! 2y

vlwelser @TheBookHippie I "borrowed" my mum's complete Shakespeare. I can't imagine having every individual play. 2y

Graywacke #shakespearereadalong 2y

GingerAntics @vlwelser I have the individual plays on ebooks. I also have the comedies as a single volume and the dramas as a single volume. I‘m still working on a single volume of the history plays. 2y

22 likes14 comments

PuddleJumper

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

so-so

This isn't my favourite Shakespeare play especially not to read. It was quite dense. I much preferred watching it on stage and I doubt I would reread this again

January 2022 #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y

22 likes1 comment

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

pick

Great example that despite societal beliefs about masculinity, men can be over-emotional babies! Coriolanus was kind of a douche, just a rageball at everyone and getting all huffy at the drop of a hat. But I did still mostly enjoy this. A bit too long, probably much better as a performance, and a weirdly abrupt ending, but I liked seeing the common folk get all revolutionary, and Volumnia was fab. Not one I‘d reread, but a good read. 3/5 ⭐️

18 likes

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

He‘ll shake your Rome about your ears.

14 likes

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

I would the gods had nothing else to do
But to confirm my curses. Could I meet ‘em
But once a day, it would unclog my heart
Of what lies heavy to ‘t.

14 likes

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

You might have been enough the man you are
With striving less to be so.

15 likes

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

You speak o‘ th‘ people
As if you were a god to punish, not
A man of their infirmity.

14 likes

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

BRUTUS: He‘s poor in no one fault, but stored with all
SICINIUS: Especially in pride.
BRUTUS: And topping all others in boasting.

[Sometimes it‘s like Shakespeare was Nostradamus.......coughTRUMPcough]

16 likes

alisonrose

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

Now the fair goddess Fortune
Fall deep in love with thee, and her great charms
Misguide thy opposers‘ swords! Bold gentlemen,
Prosperity be thy page!

16 likes

Lcsmcat

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

#survivor #quotsyjune19 @TK-421

31 likes

jpmcwisemorgan

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

#energy #Quotsy #QuotsyJan19 #LitsyQuoteChallenge

To me, action takes energy so that‘s what I went with for this quote. Also, Shakespeare has something for every occasion.

TK-421

38 likes

Lcsmcat

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

#invention #quotsyjan18 @TK-421

42 likes

Eugeniavb

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

pick

Outstanding performances. Great choice for this tragedy which has turned out to be one of my favorites. Such timeless themes like pride, adulation, what‘s right and what‘s wrong. Some amazing quotes as well. This brings my 2017 #shakespearechallenge to an end. 12 months, all of the 12 tragedies. I must say I was all Shakespeared out at times but discovered some amazing dramas and was actually let down by some surprising others. It‘s been real!

readinginthedark Well done! 👏🏻 6y

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Ke633

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

“Action is eloquence. And the eyes of the ignorant more learned than the ears..” I said this quote today and my coworkers thought I made it up! 😂😂 yeah, ok...#shakespeare #collection

MayJasper Good for you 😊 6y

34 likes1 comment

GinEyre22

Coriolanus | William Shakespeare

#seductiveshakespeare Day 7: Tragedy

TobeyTheScavengerMonk I read this one recently after watching the bad-ass movie and I really enjoyed it. 7y

18 likes1 comment

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