No, I’ll not go. You hear what he hath said
Which was sometime his general, who loved him
In a most dear particular. He called me father,
But what o’ that? Go you that banished him;
A mile before his tent, fall down, and knee
The way into his mercy. Nay, if he coyed
To hear Cominius speak, I’ll keep at home.
No, I’ll not go. You hear what he hath said Which was sometime his general, who loved him In a most dear particular. He called me father, But what o’ that? Go you that banished him; A mile before his tent, fall down, and knee The way into his mercy. Nay, if he coyed To hear Cominius speak, I’ll keep at home.
No, I’ll not go. You hear what he hath said Which was sometime his general, who loved him In a most dear particular. He called me father, But what o’ that? Go you that banished him; A mile before his tent, fall down, and knee The way into his mercy. Nay, if he coyed To hear Cominius speak, I’ll keep at home.
no, i’ll not go. you hear what he hath said which was someti
He would not seem to know me.
He would not seem to know me.
He would not seem to know me.
he would not seem to know me.
Do you hear?
Do you hear?
Do you hear?
do you hear?
Yet one time he did call me by my name.
I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops
That we have bled together. “Coriolanus”
He would not answer to, forbade all names.
He was a kind of nothing, titleless,
Till he had forged himself a name i’ th’ fire
Of burning Rome.
Yet one time he did call me by my name. I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops That we have bled together. “Coriolanus” He would not answer to, forbade all names. He was a kind of nothing, titleless, Till he had forged himself a name i’ th’ fire Of burning Rome.
Yet one time he did call me by my name. I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops That we have bled together. “Coriolanus” He would not answer to, forbade all names. He was a kind of nothing, titleless, Till he had forged himself a name i’ th’ fire Of burning Rome.
yet one time he did call me by my name. i urged our old acqu
Why, so; you have made good work!
A pair of tribunes that have wracked Rome
To make coals cheap! A noble memory!
Why, so; you have made good work! A pair of tribunes that have wracked Rome To make coals cheap! A noble memory!
Why, so; you have made good work! A pair of tribunes that have wracked Rome To make coals cheap! A noble memory!
why, so; you have made good work! a pair of tribunes that ha
I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon
When it was less expected. He replied
It was a bare petition of a state
To one whom they had punished.
I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon When it was less expected. He replied It was a bare petition of a state To one whom they had punished.
I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon When it was less expected. He replied It was a bare petition of a state To one whom they had punished.
i minded him how royal ’twas to pardon when it was less expe
Very well.
Could he say less?
Very well. Could he say less?
Very well. Could he say less?
very well. could he say less?
I offered to awaken his regard
For’s private friends. His answer to me was
He could not stay to pick them in a pile
Of noisome musty chaff. He said ’twas folly
For one poor grain or two to leave unburnt
And still to nose th’ offence.
I offered to awaken his regard For’s private friends. His answer to me was He could not stay to pick them in a pile Of noisome musty chaff. He said ’twas folly For one poor grain or two to leave unburnt And still to nose th’ offence.
I offered to awaken his regard For’s private friends. His answer to me was He could not stay to pick them in a pile Of noisome musty chaff. He said ’twas folly For one poor grain or two to leave unburnt And still to nose th’ offence.
i offered to awaken his regard for’s private friends. his an
For one poor grain or two!
I am one of those! His mother, wife, his child,
And this brave fellow too, we are the grains;
You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt
Above the moon. We must be burnt for you.
For one poor grain or two! I am one of those! His mother, wife, his child, And this brave fellow too, we are the grains; You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt Above the moon. We must be burnt for you.
For one poor grain or two! I am one of those! His mother, wife, his child, And this brave fellow too, we are the grains; You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt Above the moon. We must be burnt for you.
for one poor grain or two! i am one of those! his mother, wi
Nay, pray, be patient. If you refuse your aid
In this so-never-needed help, yet do not
Upbraid’s with our distress. But sure, if you
Would be your country’s pleader, your good tongue,
More than the instant army we can make,
Might stop our countryman.
Nay, pray, be patient. If you refuse your aid In this so-never-needed help, yet do not Upbraid’s with our distress. But sure, if you Would be your country’s pleader, your good tongue, More than the instant army we can make, Might stop our countryman.
Nay, pray, be patient. If you refuse your aid In this so-never-needed help, yet do not Upbraid’s with our distress. But sure, if you Would be your country’s pleader, your good tongue, More than the instant army we can make, Might stop our countryman.
nay, pray, be patient. if you refuse your aid in this so-nev
No, I’ll not meddle.
No, I’ll not meddle.
No, I’ll not meddle.
no, i’ll not meddle.
Menenius's plan — catch Coriolanus after a good meal and wine, when the blood is warm and the soul more generous — is both comic and revealing. It's the politician's view of human nature: that most decisions, even large ones, are made in bodies with physiological states. The 'priestly fast' makes you cold and hard; the well-fed man forgives. This is not cynicism for Menenius — it's his genuine philosophy, the same pragmatism that underlies his belly-and-members speech in 1-1. He understands that people, including Coriolanus, are not purely rational. The problem is that Coriolanus, in this moment, is operating at a level beyond appetite. The man who sits 'in gold' with eyes 'red as 'twould burn Rome' has moved out of reach of Menenius's theory.
Pray you, go to him.
Pray you, go to him.
Pray you, go to him.
pray you, go to him.
What should I do?
What should I do?
What should I do?
what should i do?
Only make trial what your love can do
For Rome, towards Martius.
Only make trial what your love can do For Rome, towards Martius.
Only make trial what your love can do For Rome, towards Martius.
only make trial what your love can do for rome, towards mart
Well, and say that Martius
Return me, as Cominius is returned, unheard,
What then? But as a discontented friend,
Grief-shot with his unkindness? Say’t be so?
Well, and say that Martius Return me, as Cominius is returned, unheard, What then? But as a discontented friend, Grief-shot with his unkindness? Say’t be so?
Well, and say that Martius Return me, as Cominius is returned, unheard, What then? But as a discontented friend, Grief-shot with his unkindness? Say’t be so?
well, and say that martius return me, as cominius is returne
Yet your good will
Must have that thanks from Rome after the measure
As you intended well.
Yet your good will Must have that thanks from Rome after the measure As you intended well.
Yet your good will Must have that thanks from Rome after the measure As you intended well.
yet your good will must have that thanks from rome after the
I’ll undertake’t.
I think he’ll hear me. Yet to bite his lip
And hum at good Cominius much unhearts me.
He was not taken well; he had not dined.
The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then
We pout upon the morning, are unapt
To give or to forgive; but when we have stuffed
These pipes and these conveyances of our blood
With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls
Than in our priestlike fasts. Therefore I’ll watch him
Till he be dieted to my request,
And then I’ll set upon him.
I’ll undertake’t. I think he’ll hear me. Yet to bite his lip And hum at good Cominius much unhearts me. He was not taken well; he had not dined. The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then We pout upon the morning, are unapt To give or to forgive; but when we have stuffed These pipes and these conveyances of our blood With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls Than in our priestlike fasts. Therefore I’ll watch him Till he be dieted to my request, And then I’ll set upon him.
I’ll undertake’t. I think he’ll hear me. Yet to bite his lip And hum at good Cominius much unhearts me. He was not taken well; he had not dined. The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then We pout upon the morning, are unapt To give or to forgive; but when we have stuffed These pipes and these conveyances of our blood With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls Than in our priestlike fasts. Therefore I’ll watch him Till he be dieted to my request, And then I’ll set upon him.
i’ll undertake’t. i think he’ll hear me. yet to bite his lip
You know the very road into his kindness
And cannot lose your way.
You know the very road into his kindness And cannot lose your way.
You know the very road into his kindness And cannot lose your way.
you know the very road into his kindness and cannot lose you
Good faith, I’ll prove him,
Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge
Of my success.
Good faith, I’ll prove him, Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge Of my success.
Good faith, I’ll prove him, Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge Of my success.
good faith, i’ll prove him, speed how it will. i shall ere l
He’ll never hear him.
He’ll never hear him.
He’ll never hear him.
he’ll never hear him.
Not?
Not?
Not?
not?
I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye
Red as ’twould burn Rome; and his injury
The jailer to his pity. I kneeled before him;
’Twas very faintly he said “Rise”; dismissed me
Thus with his speechless hand. What he would do
He sent in writing after me; what he
Would not, bound with an oath to yield to his
Conditions. So that all hope is vain
Unless his noble mother and his wife,
Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him
For mercy to his country. Therefore let’s hence
And with our fair entreaties haste them on.
I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye Red as ’twould burn Rome; and his injury The jailer to his pity. I kneeled before him; ’Twas very faintly he said “Rise”; dismissed me Thus with his speechless hand. What he would do He sent in writing after me; what he Would not, bound with an oath to yield to his Conditions. So that all hope is vain Unless his noble mother and his wife, Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him For mercy to his country. Therefore let’s hence And with our fair entreaties haste them on.
I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye Red as ’twould burn Rome; and his injury The jailer to his pity. I kneeled before him; ’Twas very faintly he said “Rise”; dismissed me Thus with his speechless hand. What he would do He sent in writing after me; what he Would not, bound with an oath to yield to his Conditions. So that all hope is vain Unless his noble mother and his wife, Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him For mercy to his country. Therefore let’s hence And with our fair entreaties haste them on.
i tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye red as ’twould burn
The Reckoning
Rome is now sending its most personal envoys to a man who has declared himself 'a kind of nothing, titleless.' Cominius's report is devastating: Coriolanus didn't just refuse — he prohibited the use of his own name. He's erasing himself so he can be reborn from burning Rome. Menenius agrees to try, with a characteristically practical plan: catch him after dinner. But Cominius's exit line — 'He'll never hear him' — is the play's quiet verdict before the scene has even ended.
If this happened today…
A company's board has sent its most senior executive to negotiate with a former employee who's now leading a hostile takeover. The executive comes back: the guy didn't even want to hear his name. He's changed everything — he calls himself something else now. The board turns to the founder's oldest mentor figure: 'Could you try?' The mentor says: maybe if I catch him at the right moment, after lunch. His old friend whispers on the way out: it's not going to work.