Coriolanus: Punishment of the Civil Body | IV. The Ends of Civility
IV. The Ends of Civility
The body is killed by slander in civil law and by death in criminal law, both punishments being combined to form the basis of this tragedy. Coriolanus's demeanor ranges from tender to severe, like Othello's, but his actual theatrical role is put to the test far more than that of the Venetian general. Othello commits murder out of simple jealousy under English Renaissance law.6 The slander suffered by Coriolanus under the body of Roman and Renaissance law is as plain as the criminality involved in his banishment and murder.
For a Shakespearean tragic protagonist to propose peace in his final moments is quite unusual. Generally, such heroes succumb after a prolonged state of excitement. Romeo, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello all reach heights of physical and emotional animation before they expire. Apart from a last minute argument with Aufidius, which merely marks a return to his old form, Coriolanus dies in a mood as forgiving...
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