Well, Mike, Mike, and Jerald. Actually many scholars don't think the play is at all interesting but in fact something of a puzzle that every generation of directors, actors, and critics must attempt to solve. Yes, for Eliot, it might have been a greater "tragic" achievement than Hamlet. For the like of me, I could never figure that out. Coriolanus does not measure up well with his (well, not actually his, but borrowed) "objective correlative" notion either. He did not like Hamlet, for sure. When I met him in '57 in Gregory Gym, I should have asked why.
I must confess that I really never liked the play. That is why my graduate director, John Harold Wilson, demanded that I explore its dramatic history in my dissertation. For me the play has problems. I see nothing "heroic" or "tragic" in the central figure. The text does not really give us too much of a chance to get inside him. Yes, he is a war hero, swift with sword, and very proud indeed. Like Hotspur, he is himself on the battlefield, but comfortable nowhere else. I just do not see dimensions in the man, tragic or otherwise. He is more talked about than talking. He seems to me a subject, or perhaps a (threatening?) symbol, for discussion, and I find myself waiting for him to rise above all of that. But he does not. Scholars have listed, as they will, his "tragic flaw" as "pride." In the play, he is described as "too noble for the world," One critic commented that he was "more sinned against than sinning," inviting an absurd comparison with Lear.
I was amused by the Times' notion that he relates poorly to his country's commoners. "Poorly"? He despises them. They are stupid. For that matter, he relates "poorly" to just about everyone he encounters. And everyone seems to have difficulty communicating with him. Even mom, who (almost alone?) carries the Roman values. His wife is described as a "sweet silence"? Hmmmm.
On one occasion, I told Professor Wilson that I thought that Coriolanus was one of those Pirandello folks searching for an author, or a play, or a life.
He shook his head and tried to smile. For me, he is a helpless, solitary, figure whose only distinction is killing people. Aufidius is the same. That is what they share.
And yes, director's "notes" for performances seem to focus on the "relevant political" interest in the play. While it is rather clear that whoever wrote this play wanted us to hear the conflicting voices of the patricians, tribunes, and commoners (scenes often played for comedy, alas), I still wonder where it all ends up. Coriolanus never really runs "for" office. In fact, he runs "from" it. Granted, that like most candidates, he is not well-suited for political office. And why should he be running for consul when the country is beset by an intruding enemy which he can tackle more handily on foot in the battlefield than in office? And as well, a deteriorating internal class struggle. And then there's mom.
I have always felt that mom was the strongest voice in the play, should be. She is Rome.
Going on too long, I know, but have to say finally that I think the play is not tragedy but irony, presenting the audience with characters struggling unsuccessfully for meaning, order, for certainty. Certainly, Coriolanus' last, Posthumus-like, sequences, illustrate that and as well the final moment which startles us with an act of murder followed by an heroic burial. Sorry, but I cannot find anyone valuable in this play.
The Winedale performance I saw was the same one you attended, Michael. You wrote that it was an "emotional" experience. I'd like to hear the why and where of it in specific terms. Apparently, I missed some things. I did see some very enthusiastic kids struggling independently with the characterization, conflict, and language with a tough assignment. Some really super great line deliveries. But not an end. For me, alas, it is still the puzzle I addressed in 1963.
Cheers,
Doc
Oh, I think that's accurate. Most scholars would call the play interesting, but I haven't heard it heralded very much. That said, I think performance can make a strong case for looking at the play differently. From what I understand, past performances have tended to make the play read politically--the recent Fiennes version does this very strongly. What struck me as really interesting about the Winedale production is that it really didn't come off as a political play, for me, but more of an emotional one. That surprised me, in a good way, and not just because our world already has an excess of politically inflected discourse. I also think the play emerges really powerfully on emotional terms.
Mike
Quoting Mike Godwin <
mnemonic@gmail.com>:
I'm astonished to see the New York Times declare that "Coriolanus" is not a
heralded play. It's not a *popular* play, but this is hardly the same thing.
--Mike
ik
On Friday, August 3, 2012, wrote:
Just my humble opinion, but the performance of Coriolanus is really moving
and wonderfully done. I had very high hopes, and I wasn't disappointed at
all.
This is a great play if you have the opportunity to see it.
Michael
Quoting Jerald Head <jlhead1952@gmail.com>:
Nice blurb NYTimes today about upcoming show "Coriolanus"
"The actors participating in the University of Texas?s Shakespeare at
Winedale summer workshop will perform ?Coriolanus? for the first time in
its 42-year history. Though it is not a heralded play, this political drama
was adapted for the screen last year, with Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler,
and T. S. Eliot called it a greater tragic achievement than ?Hamlet.?
The story follows a mighty Roman warrior whose one obstacle to office is
how poorly he relates to his country?s commoners. In this election, no
matter whom you tag as Coriolanus, the same point comes across: no
candidate is perfect."
Sent from my iPad
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