Coriolanus: Amazon.ca: William Shakespeare: Books

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
The Roman citizens are threatening rebellion. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars a late tragedy--by no means a great one, May 22 2002

By

NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coriolanus (Paperback)

Coriolanus seems to have the critical imprimatur as one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. Yet, this must be a misprint. Latest? Certainly. Greatest? Hardly.

For one thing, anyone with any familiarity with Shakespeare's plays must immediately note the protagonist's lack of humanity. Coriolanus' heartlessness is his chief characteristic. All the things that make him so compelling on the battlefield only serve to dull his appeal as a civilian. Since Coriolanus spends the majority of the play as a civilian, this is bad news for the audience.

There may well be tragic events in Coriolanus. However, Coriolanus falls short of great Shakespearean tragedy. The lead is not exceptional (as are the rest of Shakespeare's tragic heroes). At best, Coriolanus is a dolt who becomes a savant on the battlefield. Shakespeare telegraphs, rather than foreshadows, the tragic events of Coriolanus. This, compounded with Coriolanus' inability to carry the play, makes for a rather frenzied mush of a drama.

I recommend Coriolanus only to the Shakespearean completist. It is not one of his better works.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare's Greatest Tragedy, Jan 14 2002

By

"kenamat" (Wilmington, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CORIOLANUS (Paperback)

This is Shakespeare's greatest tragedy in my opinion. Everybody talks about Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet, but Coriolanus for some reason is mostly, and unjustly, ignored. I feel that Coriolanus is the only pure tragedy among Shakespeare's works. Macbeth was a sociopath who brought all his troubles on himself; Hamlet was a confused young man who couldn't make a decision and who waited too long to get the job done; King Lear was an old fool who played games with his daughters and brought most of his problems on himself; Othello could have avoided his problems if he simply sat down and had a real conversation with his wife; and Romeo and Juliet were just a couple of immature kids who simply needed a few hard kicks in their butts. Coriolanus is different. Coriolanus was simply an honest, hard-working soldier who got the job done and told the truth, but was brought down by the guile of his enemies. That, in my opinion, is the greatest tragedy of them all.

It seems that people either love or hate this play. Many consider Coriolanus to be a very unlikable character because he is supposedly arrogant, but I disagree. Coriolanus just worked hard, told the truth, was a straight shooter, and refused to play silly games by telling people what they wanted to hear. I guess I see something different in this play than most critics and readers of Shakespeare.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars shakespearian ubermensch?, Aug 22 2000

By

Mr. Egregious - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coriolanus (Paperback)

the know-it-all who is his namesake, it hurts so bad when he turns out right. the mama's boy whose only flaw is the chains to mom, otherwise he would rule the world, is nietzsche before nietzsche. highly recommended.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 7 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 14 reviews 3.7 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't rank it with his best, but still a worthy read.
With its scenes of war and mobs, CORIOLANUS is a work best expirienced on the stage, of course, being one of his least popular plays, it doesn't get produced too often. Read more

Published on Sep 19 1999

3.0 out of 5 stars Only for the Devote Shakespearean Readers
Incredible story with lots of plot lines and hidden meanings. For many, the nuances cannot be grasped when read, but easier to see when the play is acted out. Read more

Published on May 14 1999