Coriolanus: The New Oxford Shakespeare

By William Shakespeare, William Aldis Wright, Laure, Pierre Arthur

Book Overview

'O mother, mother What have you done?'

Failing harvests, fragile supply chains, food shortages, a spike in the cost of living; military insurgency and counter-insurgency locked in bloody stalemate; a political system on the brink of collapse, unable to respond to democratic demands, and unwilling to secure its citizens' basic material needs. This is Coriolanus: the last of Shakespeare's tragedies, and perhaps his timeliest. The action takes place in the early days of Rome, in a fragile republic surrounded by external enemies and riven with internal conflict. At its centre is the strong-willed, self-sabotaging figure of Caius Martius Coriolanus, who uses his military prowess to defend the city, but ends up bent on destroying it.

Based on events from Roman history, but glancing at contemporary popular discontent, Coriolanus is a highly sophisticated analysis of crisis: social, political, economic, ecological, and psychological. It stages the unpredictable struggle between Rome's ruling class and its people, testing out the prospects and limits of political action, and reflecting on the tragic inflections of politics itself. At the same time, it shows how those political antagonisms can erupt within other, seemingly separate areas of life: the domestic, the erotic, the familial, even the tightly clenched mind of its protagonist. In Coriolanus, Shakespeare offers his fullest examination of a mother-child dynamic, as its protagonist negotiates the demands and desires of his formidable mother Volumnia. And all these elements, psychic and social, come together in the play's astonishing climax, where the survival of the city hangs on the encounter between a mother and her son, holding hands, silent.

The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198914504
• ISBN13: 9780198914501
• Release Date: December 2026
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Books

I’ve yet to read this. I ordered this books and can’t seem to find it.

Surprisingly good

Having heard virtually nothing about this play, I picked it up with very low expectations. I was amazed, however, to find myself totally enthralled with the story, not the least reason being its relevance to events of the past eight years. If I ever hear of it being performed, I will definitely buy a ticket! I did not read this Dover edition, but I do not think that things such as footnotes and explanatory essays will add that much to this particular play.

VASTLY underrated.

This is one of those Shakespearean plays that very few casual readers know of; it is not, generally, a play that is required reading in any but the most in-depth literature courses, and most people have never heard of it or know of it only by title. This is truly a shame, because it is one of Shakespeares BEST works. It is the story of a man too honorable for his own good, who loses all due to the conniving of clever politicians because he refuses to play the game by their rules and flatter the people with weasel-words and empty promises. Truly, a wonderful story with a far better plot than most of Shakespeare's plays, and language just as musical as any of them. If you've read Shakespeare's better-known plays and enjoyed the language, do yourself a favor and make yourself familiar with this lesser-known play.

Incredible Characters of a "Lesser-Known" Masterpiece ...

"Thy valientness is mine. Thou suckest it from me." That would be Volumnia's (Coriolanus' mother) quote -- and one of my favorites. "Coriolanus" is an intriguing story and the characters are marvelous. I have yet to see a better portrayal of a suffocating mother. Volumnia will live in my heart forever.

Shakespeare's Greatest

Shakespeare's last and greatest tragedy, *Coriolanus* dramatizes the conflict between pride and envy--those two antagonists which were the favorite characters of ancient myth.Coriolanus is a man of Virtue, when virtue meant 'manliness' not 'modest chastity.' Above all, he had the virtue of pursuing virtue, which he refused to compromise and which he refused to hide. In contrast, the aristocracy and the mob whom they serve despised Coriolanus precisely because he was good and refused to be otherwise.*Coriolanus* is Shakespeare at the height of his powers, and the real tragedy is that this work is not better known.