In the words of the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll
be back!” And back I am. Returning for a well-deserved hiatus, I return with a
new uninhibited fervor, tantamount to that of a retired boxer picking up gloves
again for one more fight! This resurgence, which has given a new impetus to my
development as a writer, can be accredited to none other than the most clichéd
figure in the English study, William Shakespeare. Heralded for his
unprecedented strides in the English Language, crafting plays that transcend
their respective time period he also become the demon of every students
academic life as his plays are a nightmare to analyze. Do not be confused, I do
recognize the unfathomable worth of these plays as well as their place in
history, but I do have a bone to pick with William however due to circumstances
beyond my control I shall never be able to. For all of you who fail to infer
what I am implying, it is because he is dead.
Starting up again with the traditions of this blog, its time
for the WOW word of today’s post. The word Advantageous
is an adjective that denotes the
involving or creating of favorable circumstances that increase the chances of
success or effectiveness; beneficial. An example of this would be, “The
resurgence of Joshua’s blog was advantageous to the development of society.”
The study of this season of blog posts, the play Coriolanus,
one of the late plays of William Shakespeare, is rife with funny material to
analyze! So lets start with the purpose of Act 1 and its significance in
characterizing Coriolanus. Set in the emerging era of what would become the
great Roman Empire. Act 1 sets the scene
and creates an atmosphere from which the rest of the play builds upon. Unlike
most other pieces of literature, which follow a more or less similar template
of an gradual rise from exposition to climax and then proverbially back down,
Coriolanus seems to break free from this, jumping into the action right at the
very onset. This political play, inspired by the ruling government at the time
in England, was atypical to Shakespeare’s usual genre of choice. Though it
still follows the theme of tragedy, a theme coherent in most of his plays, this
play, written in the latter half of his life is almost an intentional break
away from ‘routine’ say to speak. A try at something new, which is evident in
the play’s decision to introduce the action in the exposition, setting an
atmosphere of anticipation for all that follows. By presenting the conflict between Martius
and the citizens in the very first act, we see Martius’s approach to them not
being one of hospitable or even remotely understanding but instead abrasive and
recalcitrant attitude towards their indignation, “What’s the matter, you dissentious rogues, that, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, make yourselves scabs?(Act 1, Scene 1, Line 164-167)” . Immediate foreshadowing occurs
in this scene, as the reader is made aware of Martius’s outsider complex in the
realm of politics, lacking the politically correctness associated with such a
job, a fish out of water. A lack of thereof that could have dire repercussions
(hint hint wink wink, he gets banished).
As Act 1 progresses, Shakespeare makes use of direct characterization of
dialogue, describing Martius, soon to be named Coriolanus, as noble warrior
from even the viewpoint of his enemy Aufidius. Transitioning into the
introduction of his mother, Volumnia, the reader is made aware of her son’s
attitude as being a derivation of his upbringing, Volumnia tells her
daughter-in-law how she raised Martius to be a great soldier, taking greater pride
in his victories than in that of her own husband's embrace. She expresses her
desire for him to crush the Volscians and Tullus Aufidius in the forthcoming war,
insisting upon the inherent beauty of bloody wounds. By this, Shakespeare creates
this dynamic parallel that is thus coherent in the rest of the play, this
dynamic being the multifaceted persona of Martius, specifically between the
battlefield and politics. Bred a warrior we see him in the following scenes as
a courageous, bold, audacious fighter, similar to that of other fictitious Greek
heroes, “…with thy grim looks and the thunder-like percussion of thy sounds, thou madst thine enemies shake… (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 561-563).” (Titus Lartius describing Coriolanus). This in comparison to his disposition towards the common folk and
during peacetime creates a metaphorical vantage point from which the reader
judges and observes his actions. Shakespeare’s intentional characterizations
and scene choices allow the reader or even viewer to have a better
understanding behind the motives of actions that subsequently follow, making up
for the apparent lack of soliloquy, a trait common to Shakespeare plays and
what could also appear to be another intentional choice of deviation.
Till we meet again dear readers, I bid thee a due!
