Coriolanus, part 4

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: The Roman attack on the Volscian city of Corioles looks doomed to defeat when a Volscian sortie beats back the Roman troops. Infuriated, Caius Martius launches a one-man attack on the city, only to be trapped inside when the gates are shut behind him. His comrades think he is dead... right up until he emerges, covered in blood and still fighting. Inspired, the Romans redouble their attack on the city.

Martius spends most of the Battle of Corioles running around, covered in blood. Everyone else spends most of the Battle of Corioles commenting on the fact that he's running around, covered in blood.

I have temporarily lost custody of my DVD of Ralph Fiennes's Coriolanus movie, but over the weekend I will put together a couple video clips of the "make you a sword of me" line. That line of often cited as distilling the core of Martius's character. He's not a human being. He's a weapon.

Like a sword, he's also sharp, pointy, and covered in blood.

Is this one of the shortest scenes in Shakespeare? I'm sure there are shorter ones, but this is definitely a contender. I'll have to do some research.

Join me again on Monday, when Martius and Aufidius finally face off in battle! That gives me the weekend to work on my "stick figure combat" drawing skills.

Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 3

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: News has reached Rome that a Volscian army, led by the infamous Tullus Aufidius, is marching towards Rome. The Roman Senate appoints consul Cominius to be the commanding general of the Roman army, with Titus Lartius and Caius Martius serving under him. Cominius marches to intercept the Volscians...

It should be dawning on you at this point that Volumnia was not the sort of mother who baked Martius cookies and took him to the public library on weekends. Let's see how her baby is doing in battle...

The moment when Martius emerges from the gates of Corioles, covered in blood and fighting off dozens of Volscians, is just pure stage gold. Also, I like to think about what goes on backstage during a performance: presumably the actor playing Coriolanus rushes into the wings, where he is attacked by several make-up artists wielding ketchup squeeze bottles filled with fake blood. 

Stay tuned tomorrow, when we have... well, we have more of the Battle of Corioles, unfortunately. It's not that it's not exciting. It's just that it's very hard to draw.

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 2

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

LAST TIME ON CORIOLANUS: The people of Rome, angry at the patricians for hoarding food while they starve, take to the streets in protest. The senate responds by granting them five tribunes - elected officials who help protect the interests of the people. Meanwhile, reports of a Volscian army marching on Rome have emerged. General Cominius is appointed to lead the Roman army against him. He takes Titus Lartius, another general, and Caius Martius with him. Caius Martius is a fantastic warrior, but is despised for his derisive attitude towards the people. 

Sicinius and Brutus are.. well, they're not really the villains of the piece, since they're just trying to defend the interests of the people, which, I think we can all agree, is admirable. However, they are politicians, which makes them as easy a target as anyone. 

And here is Tullus Aufidius, the famous Volscian general with whom Caius Martius has fought many times. As much as Martius is obsessed with Aufidius, it seems that Aufidius is even more obsessed with Martius, as we'll see later on. It's kind of cute, in a "I totally want to kill you" sort of way.

Stay tuned tomorrow, when we'll check in with the womenfolk and start on the Battle of Corioles!

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus, part 1

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

 Here we go! Straight on into Coriolanus. Now, I've seen three productions of Coriolanus, but this is the first time I've sat down and read it, so if I've made any horrendous misrepresentations, do let me know in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter! 

 Menenius is great. He walks into this horde of rioting plebeians and decides the best thing to do is to tell them a story of an anthropomorphic belly. This particular scene has the immortal line "Your most grave belly was deliberate", which is literary gold, if you ask me. Menenius: the only character in Shakespeare who can get away with saying "belly" on stage, over and over again.

 Caius Martius pretty quickly establishes his credentials as an enemy of the people, given that his first major speech is all "you lousy commoners, you smell funny, you're cowardly, you're stupid, you're fickle, you're ungrateful and I wouldn't trust any of you father than I could throw you." So at this point we know he's going to have an absolutely smashing political career. 

Tune in tomorrow, when we will meet Tullus Aufidius, the enemy general with whom Martius is totally smitten.

  Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Coriolanus: Dramatis Personae

  Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

It's a new year and it's time for a new play! During the month of January I will be tackling Coriolanus, with an eye on hopefully finishing it in time for the National Theater's broadcast of the Donmar Warehouse's production starring Tom Hiddleston as Coriolanus on January 30th. (This is what is known as capitalizing on the Shakespearean Zeitgeist. Also, I hope to persuade my co-worker to attend our local screening with me, which is going to be slightly tricky as, let's face it, Coriolanus is not a bucket of laughs.)

I will be posting new scenes of Coriolanus every weekday. Join in the fun by liking me on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter! You can check out my other Shakespearean cartoons, including a scene-by-scene guide to Richard II, here.

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Shakespearean New Year's Resolutions, part 1

Thanks to all my readers for joining me this year! I am looking forward to a 2014 full of stick figure Shakespearean (and occasionally non-Shakespearean) hi-jinks to share with all of you. Have a very happy new year!

The Merry Christmas Wives of Windsor

Happy and/or Merry Christmas and/or Happy Secular Holidays to all of you! Remember, if there's one thing that The Merry Wives of Windsor  can teach you, it's that you can make chicken noises and validly claim that you're quoting Shakespeare:

FORD: Buck, buck, buck! 

The Merry Wives of Windsor (Act 3, Scene 3)

13th Night: Malvolio's Revenge

Poor old Malvolio really does get the short end of the stick. Yes, he's the most stuffy of stuffed shirts, but he's so dreadfully earnest when he thinks his love for Olivia might be requited. And then he gets put through the wringer by Sir Toby and his band of ruthless henchmen, and finally is embarrassed in front of the entire population of Illyria. I think we'd all like to see how his promised revenge turns out.

Check out my other Shakespearean cartoons here!

Apologies to my regular readers for not having posted a cartoon last Friday. The holiday season has me running around like a frantic, lost bunny. Happy Holidays to everyone!