Roman messengers make appearances in six different scenes throughout the play, delivering news of events and sometimes confirming or contradicting earlier reports from other messengers. The initial messenger enters the marketplace while Coriolanus is expressing his deep frustration over the government granting the plebeians five tribunes "to defend their vulgar wisdoms" (I.i.215). Coriolanus is delighted to hear the messenger's news that the Volscian army is advancing. In I.iv, another messenger arrives as Coriolanus and Lartius are preparing to attack the city of Corioles, informing them that Cominius and his forces have spotted the enemy, though the battle has not yet started. In I.vi, a messenger delivers incomplete information to Cominius, having seen Roman troops at Corioles being pushed back to their trenches by the Volscians. Since he departed immediately after witnessing this, he is unaware that the Romans subsequently captured the city.

Brutus and Sicinius also receive updates from messengers on several occasions. In II.i, a messenger informs them that they have been summoned to the Capitol, where the senators are about to convene. He also reports that, as he passed through the streets, he observed people from all walks of life paying homage to Coriolanus, the hero of the moment. In IV.vi, a messenger brings the tribunes more unwelcome news: an earlier report about the Volscian army encroaching on Roman territory has been confirmed. Additionally, he mentions a rumor that Coriolanus has defected to the Volscians and is now co-leading their army with Aufidius. The tribunes dismiss this rumor, but a second messenger arrives shortly thereafter and verifies it, describing a dire situation: "A fearful army, led by Caius Marcius" (IV.vi.75), is devastating everything in its path. In V.iv, two messengers appear. The first informs Sicinius that the plebeians have captured Brutus and have threatened to kill him "by inches" (V.iv.39) if Volumnia and Virgilia's appeal to Coriolanus is unsuccessful. As the first messenger finishes his report, a second messenger arrives with good news: the women's appeal has succeeded, the Volscians have withdrawn, and Coriolanus has departed.