Coriolanus (1924) Yale/Notes
NOTES
I. i. 36. 2. Cit. The Folio gives this line to 'All.' The later speeches of the Second Citizen, beginning with that at line 59, are transferred by Capell and other editors to the First Citizen on the ground that the Second Citizen has shown himself friendly to Martius. He is, however, a convinced supporter of the people's rights.
I. i. 97. To scale 't a little more. 'Scale' is probably used in the sense of put it on the scales, weigh its meaning. Compare 'Scaling' in II. iii. 257. Theobald has been followed by most editors in emending to 'stale.'
I. i. 114. Which ne'er came from the lungs. A quiet reflective smile with nothing boisterous about it.
I. i. 116. taintingly. Modern editors agree in emending to 'tauntingly,' but the belly is not taunting. To taint means to make a successful hit in tilting.
I. i. 122. The counsellor heart. The heart was supposed to be the seat of reason. Compare line 142.
I. i. 165. Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run. You who are in the worst physical condition for running (or other activity). A rascal was a lean, inferior deer, whereas stags were said to be 'in blood' when in good condition. Compare IV. v. 226.
I. i. 171, 172. That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, Make yourselves scabs. 'There is a pun on 'scabs': (a) scabby sores, (b) good-for-nothing citizens.
I. i. 178, 179. you are no surer, no, Than is the coal of fire upon the ice. The Thames River was frozen over in the winter of 1608 (a rare phenomenon), and fires were built upon the ice. This figure has therefore been used in dating the play.
I. i. 180–182. Your virtue is, To make him worthy whose offence subdues him, And curse that justice did it. Your kindness shows itself only in espousing the cause of the punished delinquent and in cursing the justice which made him suffer.
I. i. 266, 267. disdains the shadow Which he treads on at noon. 'The sun being vertical at noon, a man treads on his own shadow then.' (Arden ed.)
I. ii. 27. Corioli. The name had been gallicized by Amyot into 'Corioles.' It is retained in this form by North and usually in the Shakespeare Folio. (In the stage direction at the opening of this scene the Folio spells it 'Coriolus.')
I. iii. 16. his brows bound with oak. Crowned with a wreath of oak leaves. Plutarch (North) records that in an early battle the young Martius saved the life of a Roman soldier. 'Hereupon, after the battle was won, the Dictator did not forget so noble an act, and therefore first of all he crowned Martius with a garland of oaken boughs. For whosoever saveth the life of a Roman, it is a manner among them to honour him with such a garland.'
I. iv. 14. No, nor a man that fears you less than he. Logical syntax requires 'more' instead of 'less.' Shakespeare frequently makes slips of this sort.
I. iv. 34. Against the wind a mile. Let the infection be so great as to carry a mile against the wind.
I. iv. 42. As they us to our trenches follows. As they are now following us to our trenches. Instances of the old northern English plural in -s abound in Shakespeare.
I. iv. 56, 57. Thou wast a soldier Even to Cato's wish. This passage, to line 61, is a close adaptation of North's words: 'For he was even such another as Cato would have a soldier and a captain to be, not only terrible and fierce to lay about him, but to make the enemy afeared with the sound of his voice and grimness of his countenance.' Shakespeare's transfer of the speech to the mouth of a contemporary of Coriolanus produces a striking anachronism, since Martius lived some three hundred years before Cato the Censor (234–149 B.C.).
I. v. 6, 7. doublets that hangmen would Bury with those that wore them. An allusion to the Elizabethan custom which made the garments of executed prisoners a perquisite of the hangman. Doublets (jackets) which a hangman would refuse to take would not be worth the plunderers' while to steal.
I. vi. 6. The Roman gods. O you, the gods of Rome! It is not necessary to alter 'The' to 'Ye,' as is commonly done. The reading of the text is an authorized vocative construction in Elizabethan English.
I. vi. 76. [Soldiers.] O, me alone! Make you a sword of me! The Folio prints the line without indication of speaker, but it is difficult to explain it as part of Martius' speech.
I. viii. 12, 13. Wert thou the Hector That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny. 'Progeny' means race or stock, and 'whip' the scourge with which punishment is inflicted: 'If you were Hector, the most formidable warrior of your boasted race.' Allusion is made, of course, to the asserted descent of the Romans from the Trojans.
I. ix. 31. tent themselves with death. Make death the means of cleansing themselves from festering ingratitude.
I. ix. 46. Let him be made an overture for the wars. Tyrwhitt and most modern editors alter 'an overture' to 'a coverture,' without much assisting the interpretation of the line. The Folio text appears to mean, 'Let an offer of warlike employment be made to him (the parasite).' When soldiers adopt the effeminate ways of courtiers, let us recruit our armies among the latter class.
II. i. 42–44. O that you could turn your eyes towards the napes of your necks, and make but an interior survey of your good selves. 'The original fable of Æsop, reproduced by Phædrus, IV. 10, was that Jupiter has furnished every man with two wallets, one hanging down on his breast and containing his neighbour's faults, which are always before his eyes, and the other hanging down his back out of sight, and filled with his own faults.' (Arden ed.) A variation of the fable is found in Troilus and Cressida, III. iii. 145 f., where Ulysses says:
'Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back,
Wherein he puts alms for oblivion.'
II. i. 53, 54. a cup of hot wine with not a drop of allaying Tiber in 't. This passage apparently suggested Lovelace's famous lines (To Althea from Prison):
'When flowing cups run swiftly round
With no allaying Thames.'
II. i. 57–59. one that converses more with the buttock of the night than with the forehead of the morning. Better acquainted with the last hour of the night than the first hour of the morning.
II. i. 63–66. I cannot say your worships have delivered the matter well when I find the ass in compound with the major part of your syllables. I cannot compliment you on your statement of the case against Martius when the larger part of what you say cries out 'ass!' against you—convicts you of asininity.
II. i. 70. the map of my microcosm. My face. Menenius' microcosm or little world was himself and his face the map or chart which summarized its characteristics.
II. i. 72. bisson conspectuities. No other example of 'conspectuities' appears to be known. It is doubtless an intentionally pretentious coinage from Latin conspectus, sight. The Folio spelling of 'bisson' is 'beesome.'
II. i. 91–93. Come, come, you are well understood to be a perfecter giber for the table than a necessary bencher in the Capitol. It is well known that you are better fitted to be a jesting table-companion than a serviceable senator.
II. i. 168. the repulse of Tarquin. Plutarch says (North): 'The first time he went to the wars, being but a stripling, was when Tarquin surnamed the proud (that had been king of Rome, and was driven out for his pride . . .) did come to Rome with all the aid of the Latins, and many other people of Italy . . . who with a great and mighty army had undertaken to put him into his kingdom again.' The battle referred to, the last of four attempts to restore King Tarquin, occurred in 499 B.C. Shakespeare makes Cominius tell the story of Martius' exploits on this occasion. See II. ii. 92 ff.
II. i. 170. there's nine that I know. Shakespeare often seems resentful of mathematical precision. One would expect a total of ten here. Some commentators improbably suggest that Menenius makes a fresh count to himself, ending with 'One i' the neck,' etc.
II. i. 194. My gracious silence. Mr. Case (Arden ed.) suggests that Shakespeare may have derived this pretty nickname of Virgilia from North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Numa, where it is stated that the hero 'taught the Romans to reverence one of [the Muses] above all the rest, who was called Tacita, as ye would say Lady Silence.'
II. i. 200. I know not where to turn. I retain, doubtfully, the arrangement of modern editors, The Folio gives line 199 to Cominius, not Coriolanus, which would better explain Volumnia's words. If 199 really belongs to Coriolanus, it is possible that 'I know . . . turn' should also be assigned to him and Volumnia's speech begin 'O! welcome home,' which commences a new line in the Folio.
II. i. 204. A curse begin at very root on 's heart. May a curse strike home at once to the most vital part! The common emendation, 'begnaw' for 'begin,' is unnecessary.
II. i. 223 S. d. Enter Brutus and Sicinius. That is, they now come forward.
II. i. 243, 244. He cannot temperately transport his honours From where he should begin and end. He cannot, as a self-restrained man could, derive honor from both the beginning and the completion of his performances. He cannot go an equable pace and conclude with the same honors with which he begins.
II. i. 272–274. This, as you say, suggested At some time when his soaring insolence Shall teach the people. If we time our incitement to some occasion when his insolence shall confirm it in the people's mind. Instead of 'teach' Hanmer suggested 'touch' and Theobald 'reach.' The former is a very plausible correction, but not inevitable.
II. ii. 93, 94. he fought Beyond the mark of others. In fighting he surpassed all that others could do. Compare note on II. i. 168.
II. ii. 106. He lurch'd all swords of the garland. Evidence for the date of Coriolanus has been found in the fact that Ben Jonson appears to have imitated this passage in the last speech of his Silent Woman (1609 or 1610), where Truewit says: 'Well, Dauphine, you have lurch'd your friends of the better half of the garland.'
II. ii. 65 S. d. Enter two of the Citizens. The Folio indicates the number as 'three' and assigns the speeches at lines 68, 73, 76, and 87 to '3. Cit.'; but Coriolanus alludes to them as 'a brace' (l. 66) and 'two worthy voices' (l. 85).
II. iii. 122. wolfish toge. Wolf's toga, or garment. Why should I stand here like a wolf in sheep's clothing? The first Folio has 'Wooluish tongue,' and the later Folios 'Woolvish gowne.' One of the best of many emendations is 'woolless toge.'
II. iii. 251. And Censorinus, that was so surnam'd. This line is omitted by the Folio, evidently by inadvertence, since 252 makes no sense immediately after 250. The present line is Delius' emendation, based upon the words of North in the opening passage of the Life of Coriolanus, which Brutus' speech paraphrases closely. North translates: 'Of the same house were Publius and Quintus, who brought Rome their best water they had by conducts. Censorinus also came of that family, that was so surnamed because the people had chosen him Censor twice.' It may be that the Folio printer was confused by two consecutive lines beginning with 'And,' and accidentally omitted the first.
III. i. 128. motive. Johnson's emendation for 'Natiue' of the Folio.
III. i. 130, 131. How shall this bosom multiplied digest The senate's courtesy? This is the Folio reading, which editors have unjustifiably emended, 'This bosom multiplied' means this composite bosom, the bosom of this conglomerate rabble. Compare King Lear V. iii. 47–50:
"the old and miserable king . . .
Whose age has charms in it, whose title more,
To pluck the common bosom on his side.'
Shakespeare frequently uses 'bosom' for the seat of digestion, or rather the part of the body in which indigestion makes itself felt; thus in 2 Henry IV I. iii. 91–98:
'O thou fond many! . . .
So, so, thou common dog, didst thou disgorge
Thy glutton bosom of the royal Richard.'
III. i. 212. the rock Tarpeian. A part of the Capitoline hill, down which condemned criminals were cast to death.
III. i. 304–306. The service of the foot, Being once gangren'd, is not then respected For what before it was. Menenius is elaborating his statement in lines 294, 295, that the 'disease' in Coriolanus, which causes the plebeians to dislike him, is curable. Brutus, however, interrupts him.
III. ii. 21. The thwartings of. Theobald's emendation. The Folio reads 'The things of,' which does not make sense. In line 32, below, Theobald has again been followed in substituting 'herd' for the 'heart' of the Folio.
III. ii. 55, 56. such words that are but rooted in Your tongue. The Folio spells 'roated,' which can be interpreted as 'roted,' learned by rote, parrot-like; but one would then expect the following preposition to be 'on' rather than 'in.'
III. ii. 71, 72. Not what is dangerous present, but the loss Of what is past. Not only apply a healing salve to the present danger, but also save what you have already lost. 'Salve' in line 70 has a different sense with each of the object clauses.
III. ii. 74. And thus far having stretch'd it,—here be with them,—Thy knee bussing the stones. Stretching your conciliatory gestures to the point (do this to please their mood) of letting your knee caress the paving stones.
III. iii. 11. Have you collected them by tribes? This, like the counting of votes 'by the poll' (line 10), was a device to give weight to the plebeian vote. North says: 'And first of all the Tribunes would in any case (whatsoever became of it) that the people would proceed to give their voices by Tribes, and not by hundreds: for by this means the multitude of the poor needy people (and all such rabble as had nothing to lose, and had less regard of honesty before their eyes) came to be of greater force (because their voices were numbered by the poll) than the noble honest citizens, whose persons and purse did dutifully serve the commonwealth in their wars.' The division of Roman citizens into tribes (originally three, finally thirty-five) was democratic, while the division into 193 hundreds (centuriæ) was based upon property qualifications.
III. iii. 54. accents. Theobald's universally accepted emendation for the Folio's 'Actions.'
III. iii. 97. doth. An old (southern) plural. The second Folio normalized it to 'doe.'
III. iii. 133 S. d. with others. The Folio gives this in the remarkably corrupted form, 'with Cumalijs' (i.e. cum aliis). The 'others' are the rest of the patricians. The next word, 'They,' refers to the plebeians.
IV. i. 7–9. fortune's blows, When most struck home,—being gentle, wounded, craves A noble cunning. 'When Fortune strikes her hardest blows, to be wounded, and yet continue calm, requires a generous policy.' (Johnson.) The construction of the sentence is suddenly changed in the middle (anacoluthon): 'fortune's blows,' originally intended as subject, is left hanging as an 'absolute nominative,' and a new subject, 'being gentle,' is introduced.
IV. ii. 16. mankind. Sicinius uses the word in the invidious sense in which it was applied to women: virago-like. Volumnia in the next line takes it as meaning 'human' in contrast with the 'foxship' of Sicinius.
IV. ii. 52. Leave this faint puling. Volumnia addresses Virgilia, who is weeping silently.
IV. iv. 13. Whose double bosoms seems to wear one heart. The verbal plural in -s (cf. note on I. iv. 42), perhaps here used with some idea of the apparent unity of the 'double bosoms.'
IV. iv. 20. To take the one the other. Construe with 'plots' in line 19: plots by which the one hopes to get the better of the other.
IV. iv. 23. My birth-place hate I. For 'hate' the Folio misprints 'haue.'
IV. v. 137. o'er-bear. The Folio has 'o're-beate,' which a few editors defend.
IV. v. 153 S. d. Enter two of the Servingmen. That is, the Servingmen, who have been auditors, now advance. Compare II. i. 223 S. d.
IV. v. 172. but a greater soldier than he you wot on. The Folio reading is 'but a greater soldier than he, you wot one,' i.e., you know one greater soldier (Aufidius) than he. This can be justified, but Dyce's emendation, as given in the text, seems preferable. In any case the servants are speaking cautiously, drawing each other out.
IV. v. 201. boiled. Culinary editors, led by Pope, alter to 'broiled,' since that is the proper treatment of a 'carbonado' steak.
IV. vi. 2. tame i' the present peace. Theobald added the preposition. The Folio reads: 'His remedies are tame, the present peace.'
IV. vi. 44. Thrusts forth his horns again. The allusion is to the action of a snail. See next line.
IV. vi. 59. some news is coming. Rowe has been usually followed in altering 'coming' to 'come,' but Shakespeare is fond of the conception of news as gradually unfolded by 'sequent messengers,' whose reports vary and cause uncertainty or suspense. Compare Othello I. ii. 41 and the opening of the following scene in that play; also 2 Henry IV 1. i.
IV. vi. 68, 69. And vows revenge as spacious as between The young'st and oldest thing. Vows to include every living thing in his revenge.
IV. vi. 86. Your temples burned in their cement. Subjected to such conflagration that even the mortar will be consumed. As always in Shakespeare, 'cement' is accented on the first syllable.
IV. vi. 113, 114. they charg'd him even As those should do that had deserv'd his hate. By asking him to spare Rome his friends would be making common cause with his foes.
IV. vi. 119. you have crafted fair. A pun on 'crafted' is involved: (a) advanced the crafts' interests, (b) shown your craft.
IV. vi. 127–129. desperation Is all the policy, strength, and defence, That Rome can make against them. All that Rome can do against them in the way of either negotiation, offence, or defence is a desperate hope.
IV. vii. 24–26. yet he hath left undone That which shall break his neck or hazard mine, Whene'er we come to our account. The allusion appears to be to Plutarch's statement that, after Coriolanus had led his army to within forty furlongs of Rome and made great demands on behalf of the Volsci, he omitted to press his advantage and allowed the Romans a respite of thirty days in which to make their answer. 'This,' says North, 'was the first matter wherewith the Volsces (that most envied Martius' glory and authority) did charge Martius with. Among those, Tullus was chief.'
IV. vii. 34, 35. As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it By sovereignty of nature. The osprey, or fishhawk, was supposed to have a natural power of fascinating fishes. Editors quote several contemporary statements of the belief; e.g., Peele's Battle of Alcazar II. iii.:
'I will provide thee with a princely osprey,
That, as she flieth over fish in pools,
The fish shall turn their glittering bellies up.'
IV. vii. 42, 43. not moving From the casque to the cushion. His nature or disposition not adapting itself to suit the proprieties of conduct in time of war and time of peace respectively. The casque is the symbol of the warrior, the cushion of the senator. Compare III. i. 100 and stage direction at opening of II. ii.
IV. vii. 48, 49. but he has a merit To choke it in the utterance. His merit is so great that condemnation of his fault should be silenced ere fully uttered.
IV. vii. 51–53. And power, unto itself most commendable, Hath not a tomb so evident as a chair To extol what it hath done. Power, though (when considered absolutely) most worthily attained, is never so near its grave as when the successful man, seated in the chair of authority, seeks to justify the means by which he has risen.
IV. vii. 55. Rights by rights falter. One conception of justice hampers another. For 'falter' (Dyce's emendation) the Folio reads 'fouler.' Johnson proposed 'founder.'
V. i. 16. rack'd. The word is spelled 'wrack'd' in the Folio; and there is probably a play on the sense of 'rack'd' as explained in the footnote and 'wrack'd,' brought all to wrack and ruin.
V. i. 68–70. what he would do He sent in writing after me, what he would not, Bound with an oath to yield to his conditions. He sent a written statement of what he would and would not do, requiring an oath of unconditional acceptance of these conditions.
V. ii. 10. it is lots to blanks. It is more likely than not. Lots were the drawings in a lottery, blanks those that carried no prize. The Arden editors have a learned note upon this phrase, the meaning of which is not so simple as it appears.
V. ii. 17. I have ever verified my friends. The Folio reading, 'verified,' gives a reasonable sense. Many emendations have, however, been proposed and adopted; e.g., magnified, amplified, glorified.
V. ii. 90, 91. my remission lies In Volscian breasts. In exercising clemency I am no free agent, but must be governed by the feelings of the Volsci.
V. ii. 91–93. That we have been familiar, Ingrate forgetfulness shall poison, rather Than pity note how much. I shall rather be ungrateful in forgetting our old familiarity than by dwelling upon it allow my pity to be aroused.
V. ii. 110, 111. He that hath a will to die by himself fears it not from another. One who, like Menenius, would be willing to slay himself is beyond caring for the death threats of the Watch. Compare line 59, above.
V. iii. 39, 40. The sorrow that delivers us thus chang'd Makes you think so. Virgilia purposely misconstrues her husband's words. The great alteration, she says, which sorrow has caused in our appearance makes you think you can't believe your eyes.
V. iii. 51, 52. Of thy deep duty more impression show Than that of common sons. Wishing to emphasize his dutiful respect, Coriolanus bids his knee, not simply touch the ground, but sink into it and leave a deep imprint.
V. iii. 67. dear Valeria. In Plutarch it is she who suggests to Volumnia and Virgilia the visit to Coriolanus' camp. North speaks of her thus: 'Valeria, Publicola's own sister; the self same Publicola, who did such notable service to the Romans, both in peace and wars, and was dead also certain years before, as we have declared in his life. His sister Valeria was greatly honoured and reverenced among all the Romans; and did so modestly and wisely behave herself, that she did not shame nor dishonour the house she came of.'
V. iii. 151. To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o' the air. The allusion is doubtless to the common indication of the winds (north, south, etc.) in old maps as issuing from cherubs' swollen cheeks. In Richard II, III. iii. 55–57, Shakespeare speaks of
'the elements
Of fire and water, when their thundering shock
At meeting tears the cloudy cheeks of heaven.'
V. iii. 152, 153. And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt That should but rive an oak. And yet, with all your terrible show, to commit no inhumanity.
V. iv. 22, 23. talks like a knell, and his 'hum!' is a battery. His conversation bodes death, and his exclamation of impatience is like the sound of cannon.
V. iv. 51. Ne'er through an arch so hurried the blown tide. The allusion is to the rush of the incoming tide through the old London bridge, which consisted of twenty arches. The same figure is found in Lucrece, ll. 1667–1671:
'As through an arch the violent roaring tide
Outruns the eye that doth behold his haste,
Yet in the eddy boundeth in his pride
Back to the strait that fore'd him on so fast;
In rage sent out, recall'd in rage, being past.'
V. iv. 55. Make the sun dance. An old popular belief was that the sun danced for joy on Easter morning. It is alluded to by many writers of Shakespeare's time.
V. iv. 66 S. d. Some editors make a new scene of the next six lines.
V. v. S. d. Corioli. The text of this scene is inconsistent in locating it, first at Antium, the Volscian capital, and later at Corioli. Professor Gordon's explanation is highly satisfactory: 'Editors are divided whether to place this scene in Antium or Corioli. We should expect it to be Antium. Plutarch makes it Antium. But in line 90 it is explicitly said to be Corioli. On the other hand, ll. 50, 73, 80, all point to Antium. We hear in l. 50 that it was Aufidius's native town, which seems to have been Antium (I. vi. 59); in l. 73 that Coriolanus has come back to the place he started from, which was Antium; in l. 80 that peace had been made with honour to "the Antiates." The solution seems to me to be this. Shakespeare meant the scene to be Antium, and wrote with Antium in his mind until he came to Aufidius's speech in l. 88. There he was carried away by the magnificent opportunity of placing "Coriolanus in Corioli" (l. 90), and for the rest of the scene thought rather of Corioli than of Antium.'
V. v. 67, 68. answering us With our own charge. Paying us back only the amount of our expenditure, bringing in no profit. Compare lines 77–79, where Coriolanus estimates that the gains from the expedition amount to one-third more than the costs. The point is that no large indemnity had been secured from the Romans.