Key Quotations (OCR A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes
Key Quotations
This revision note presents essential quotations from Shakespeare's Coriolanus, organised by theme to support your A-Level study. Each quote includes the speaker, dramatic context, and analysis of language techniques and thematic significance. Use these to develop your understanding of character, conflict, and Shakespeare's dramatic methods.
The quotations are organised into seven thematic sections that trace Coriolanus' journey from contempt for democracy through martial honour, to his eventual self-destruction and tragic fall. Each section builds your understanding of Shakespeare's dramatic methods and characterisation.
Contempt for the plebeians
Coriolanus' contempt for the common people of Rome is a defining aspect of his character. His language reveals both his aristocratic elitism and his fundamental inability to accept democratic processes.
"What's the matter, you dissentious rogues, / That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, / Make yourselves scabs?"
(Coriolanus, Act 1 Scene 1)
Context: Coriolanus confronts the protesting citizens at the opening of the play.
Analysis: This quotation immediately establishes the class conflict central to the play. Shakespeare employs vivid disease imagery through the words "scabs" and "itch", which transforms the citizens' legitimate political opinions into something disgusting and pathological. The metaphor dehumanises the plebeians, suggesting they are infected sores on the body of Rome rather than valid political voices. This language choice foreshadows the destructive class tensions that will drive the tragedy forward.
The disease imagery here is crucial—it shows how Coriolanus doesn't just disagree with the plebeians politically, but views them as literally contaminating Rome's body politic. This dehumanising rhetoric makes compromise psychologically impossible for him.
"You souls of geese, / That bear the shapes of men!"
(Coriolanus, Act 2 Scene 1)
Context: Coriolanus mocks the citizens whilst reluctantly seeking their votes for consulship.
Analysis: The animal imagery here reinforces Coriolanus' refusal to flatter or compromise with the plebeians. By comparing them to geese (creatures associated with cowardice and foolishness), he denies their humanity even whilst depending on their political support. There is dramatic irony in this moment: Coriolanus needs their "voices" (votes) but cannot disguise his contempt, revealing the rigid inflexibility that becomes his tragic flaw.
Martial honour and wounds
Coriolanus defines himself entirely through military achievement. His wounds represent private honour rather than public spectacle, creating tension with the political rituals of Rome.
"I have some wounds upon me, and they smart / To hear themselves remembered."
(Coriolanus, Act 2 Scene 2)
Context: Coriolanus expresses reluctance to display his battle scars as part of the traditional ceremony for consulship.
Analysis: Shakespeare uses paradox here—wounds that "smart to hear themselves remembered"—to reveal Coriolanus' complex relationship with honour. For him, wounds are deeply personal proof of merit and courage, not tokens to be traded for political advancement. This quotation demonstrates his authentic warrior identity but also his inability to "play the game" of Roman politics, where public performance matters as much as genuine achievement. The personification of wounds (they can "hear" and "smart") emphasises how his military identity is inseparable from his physical self.
This quotation is essential for understanding the honour versus politics conflict. While Roman tradition requires candidates to display their wounds publicly as proof of service, Coriolanus sees this ritual as degrading his authentic military achievements into mere political theatre.
"These are the wounds of my friends."
(Coriolanus, Act 2 Scene 2)
Context: He refers to the scars earned during the battle at Corioli.
Analysis: This brief statement connects honour directly to violence and comradeship in battle. Calling his wounds "friends" suggests they are companions he values more than civilian relationships. This quotation foreshadows his stubborn refusal to compromise his warrior values for political success, which will ultimately lead to his banishment.
Volumnia's militarised motherhood
Volumnia, Coriolanus' mother, has shaped her son's values in a profoundly unusual way. Her maternal pride is entirely focused on military glory rather than safety or domestic happiness.
"O, he is wounded; I thank the gods for't."
(Volumnia, Act 2 Scene 1)
Context: Volumnia celebrates hearing that her son has been injured in battle.
Analysis: This shocking statement reveals how Volumnia has engineered her son's values from childhood. Where a typical mother would fear for her child's safety, she rejoices in his wounds as proof of honour. The quotation demonstrates how she has fused family identity with Roman military glory, creating the rigid, uncompromising warrior who cannot adapt to peacetime politics. Her influence explains why Coriolanus values wounds as private honour—she taught him to see them this way.
Volumnia's warped maternal values are the root cause of Coriolanus' tragic flaw. By raising him to value martial honour above all else, including human connection and political compromise, she has created a son perfectly suited for war but fatally unsuited for peace.
"If my son were my husband, I should freelier rejoice in that absence wherein he won honour than in the embracements of his bed."
(Volumnia, Act 1 Scene 3)
Context: Volumnia explains that she prefers her son's military exploits to domestic companionship.
Analysis: The paradoxical imagery here (preferring absence to presence, war to intimacy) reveals Volumnia's complete dominance over Coriolanus' identity. The unsettling comparison between "son" and "husband" suggests an unhealthy psychological bond. Shakespeare shows how she has prioritised martial values over all human connections, creating a son who cannot function in civilian society. This helps explain his later inability to perform the political rituals necessary for consulship.
Politics as performance
The play explores how politics requires rhetoric, flattery, and performance—skills Coriolanus utterly lacks and despises.
"There was a time when all the body's members / Rebell'd against the belly."
(Menenius, Act 1 Scene 1)
Context: Menenius tells this fable to pacify the rioting citizens demanding grain.
Analysis: The body politic metaphor presents Roman society as a human body, with different classes as organs working together. Menenius uses this persuasive imagery to defend the social hierarchy, arguing that even the apparently parasitic "belly" (the patricians) serves the whole body. This quotation contrasts sharply with Coriolanus' blunt contempt—Menenius understands that political power requires skillful rhetoric and manipulation, not just military force.
Menenius serves as a foil to Coriolanus throughout the play. While both are patricians, Menenius demonstrates the political sophistication and rhetorical skill that Coriolanus lacks. This fable shows how effective political leadership requires the ability to persuade and manage different interest groups—something Coriolanus sees as dishonourable flattery.
"Must I / With my base tongue give to my noble heart / A lie…?"
(Coriolanus, Act 2 Scene 2)
Context: Coriolanus resists the traditional flattery required to win the consulship.
Analysis: This quotation captures the internal conflict between authenticity and political necessity that defines Coriolanus' tragic flaw. The contrast between "base tongue" and "noble heart" reveals his belief that speech (especially flattery) is inherently dishonourable compared to action. He sees political performance as lying, which his rigid code of honour cannot permit. Shakespeare uses this moment to show why Coriolanus is fundamentally unsuited to civilian leadership, even though his military achievements deserve recognition.
This is the moment where Coriolanus' tragic flaw becomes unavoidable. His equation of political rhetoric with dishonesty means he cannot perform the basic rituals required for consulship. His absolute commitment to authenticity—admirable in one sense—makes him politically incompetent.
Banishment and reversal
When Rome rejects him, Coriolanus transforms rejection into vengeful defiance, allying with Rome's enemies.
"You common cry of curs! ... I banish you!"
(Coriolanus, Act 3 Scene 3)
Context: Coriolanus reverses his banishment sentence, claiming it is he who banishes Rome.
Analysis: This quotation demonstrates Coriolanus' rhetorical power even as it reveals his fatal pride. By reversing the sentence grammatically, he attempts to maintain control and dignity. However, the animal imagery of "curs" (dogs) once again dehumanises the citizens, showing he has learned nothing about political compromise. The exclamation captures both his defiant nobility and his self-destructive inability to bend.
The reversal here is more than rhetorical flourish—it reveals Coriolanus' psychological need to maintain agency and superiority even in defeat. By claiming to banish Rome rather than accepting Rome's rejection of him, he preserves his sense of martial honour whilst simultaneously ensuring his path toward self-destruction.
"There is a world elsewhere."
(Coriolanus, Act 3 Scene 3)
Context: Coriolanus exits Rome after being banished.
Analysis: This brief, powerful statement conveys stoic resolve and hints at his future alliance with the Volscians. The quotation echoes classical literature (particularly Ovid) and signals a dramatic turning point—Coriolanus will now direct his military prowess against Rome itself. The phrase's simplicity contrasts with his earlier rage, suggesting a cold determination that makes him even more dangerous.
Self-destruction and exile
In exile, Coriolanus' rage becomes self-consuming, isolating him from all human connection.
"Anger's my meat; I sup upon myself / And so shall starve with feeding."
(Coriolanus, Act 4 Scene 2)
Context: After banishment, Coriolanus rages at Volumnia and others.
Analysis: Shakespeare employs a striking metaphor of cannibalistic fury to illustrate Coriolanus' self-destructive psychology. The paradox of "starve with feeding" suggests that his anger, whilst sustaining him emotionally, is ultimately consuming him from within. This quotation reveals his tragic isolation—he has rejected Rome, but his rage offers no genuine nourishment or direction. The vivid imagery of eating oneself conveys the psychological violence of his inner turmoil.
This cannibalistic metaphor is one of Shakespeare's most powerful images of self-destruction. Notice how the disease imagery from Act 1 (where Coriolanus saw the plebeians as infected) has now turned inward—he has become the disease, consuming himself from within. His dehumanisation of others has led to his own dehumanisation.
Final mercy and fall
The play's climax shows Coriolanus yielding to his mother's emotional plea, revealing vulnerability that humanises him but ensures his death.
"O mother, mother! What have you done? ... I melt, and am not / Of stronger earth than others."
(Coriolanus, Act 5 Scene 3)
Context: Coriolanus yields to Volumnia's plea to spare Rome from his revenge.
Analysis: This is Coriolanus' moment of greatest emotional vulnerability. The repetition of "mother" and the metaphor of melting show the rigid warrior finally breaking under maternal pressure. By admitting he is "not of stronger earth than others", he acknowledges his shared humanity for the first time in the play. Shakespeare humanises his protagonist at this crucial moment, but this very humanity dooms him—the Volscians will see his mercy as betrayal. The phrase "what have you done?" reveals his awareness that this compassion will cost him his life.
The Tragic Irony of Coriolanus' Final Choice
Notice the cruel irony Shakespeare constructs here:
- Throughout the play, Coriolanus refuses to bend or compromise, seeing flexibility as weakness
- The one person who can make him yield is Volumnia—the very person who taught him never to yield
- His moment of greatest humanity (showing mercy to Rome) becomes his fatal error in the eyes of the Volscians
- The "melting" metaphor reverses his earlier hardness—but this softening means destruction
This is the essence of Shakespearean tragedy: the character's finest moment leads directly to their downfall.
"Cut me to pieces, Volsces; men and lads, / Stain all your edges on me."
(Coriolanus, Act 5 Scene 6)
Context: Coriolanus' final speech before Aufidius murders him.
Analysis: Even facing death, Coriolanus maintains defiant acceptance of his fate. The imagery of being cut to pieces and staining blades echoes earlier references to his wounds, bringing his identity full circle—he began as a warrior defined by his scars and ends inviting more wounds. There is tragic nobility in his refusal to plead or compromise, remaining true to his warrior code even as it destroys him. Shakespeare grants him a death that is both brutal and somehow fitting for a character who lived entirely by the sword.
Connecting the Beginning and End
This final quotation deliberately echoes his earlier pride in wounds:
- Act 2: "I have some wounds upon me" (private honour, reluctantly shared)
- Act 5: "Cut me to pieces... Stain all your edges on me" (public invitation to violence)
The symmetry is tragic—Coriolanus ends where he began, defined entirely by violence and wounds. He has come full circle, but learned nothing. His consistency is both his nobility and his doom.
Exam tips
Using Quotations Effectively in Essays
When using quotations in essays, always connect them to specific language techniques and their dramatic effects. For example, rather than simply noting that Coriolanus calls the plebeians "curs", explain how this animal imagery constructs them as subhuman in his worldview, which justifies his refusal to compromise with democratic processes. This approach addresses multiple assessment objectives:
- Analysing language (AO2)
- Exploring character and theme (AO1)
- Connecting to context (AO3)
Consider how quotations relate to each other across the play. For instance, the disease imagery in Act 1 ("scabs") connects to the self-consumption metaphor in Act 4 ("sup upon myself"), showing how Coriolanus' contempt for others eventually turns inward.
Key Points to Remember
- Coriolanus' language reveals his tragic flaw: His dehumanising imagery (disease, animals) and inability to flatter show why he cannot succeed in civilian politics
- Wounds symbolise authentic honour: For Coriolanus, scars are private proof of merit, not public currency—this conflict with political ritual drives much of the plot
- Volumnia shaped his rigid values: Her militarised motherhood explains his inflexibility and ultimate vulnerability to her emotional manipulation
- The play explores performance versus authenticity: Coriolanus sees political rhetoric as lying, whilst characters like Menenius understand that power requires skillful performance
- His final mercy humanises but dooms him: The moment he "melts" and shows compassion marks both his greatest humanity and his inevitable death
- Disease and animal imagery tracks his self-destruction: The dehumanising language he directs at others in Acts 1-2 becomes self-directed in Act 4, showing his psychological collapse
- The body politic metaphor runs throughout: From Menenius' fable to Coriolanus' wounds, Shakespeare constantly explores the relationship between individual bodies and the social body