Coriolanus Monologues & Audition Scenes

Characters: Coriolanus

Coriolanus bids farewell to his family and friends after being banished from Rome. He attempts to comfort his mother, Volumnia, and his allies by maintaining a stoic and defiant front as he prepares to face his exile alone.

Characters: Coriolanus

Caius Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman general, reacts with blistering contempt after being banished from Rome by the commoners and tribunes. He rejects the city that has rejected him, declaring that he will find his own path elsewhere.

Characters: Marcius

Caius Marcius (Coriolanus) delivers a scathing rebuke to a crowd of starving Roman citizens who are rioting for lower grain prices. He expresses his utter contempt for the common people, questioning their loyalty and courage.

Characters: Coriolanus, Volumnia, Valeria, Young Martius

Coriolanus, having been banished from Rome and now leading an enemy army against it, is confronted by his mother Volumnia, his wife, and his son. In this high-stakes emotional encounter, his family pleads for mercy and peace, challenging his resolve and his identity as a warrior.

Characters: Volumnia

Volumnia advises her son, Coriolanus, to use political deception and speak humble words to the common people to secure his power, arguing that strategic dissembling is as honorable as military strategy.

Characters: AUFIDIUS, CORIOLANUS

Banished from Rome, the former general Caius Marcius Coriolanus seeks out his sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius. He offers his services to the Volscians to exact revenge on his ungrateful homeland or invites Aufidius to kill him where he stands.

Characters: Coriolanus

Coriolanus, having defected to the Volscians, steels himself against the emotional appeals of his approaching family. He struggles between his vow to destroy Rome and the natural instincts of affection for his mother, wife, and son.

Characters: Volumnia, Virgilia

Volumnia, the formidable mother of the Roman general Coriolanus, rebukes her daughter-in-law Virgilia for her anxiety. Volumnia expresses her fierce pride in her son's martial prowess and her preference for his honorable death over a life of safety.

Characters: MENENIUS, CORIOLANUS, AUFIDIUS

Menenius, a father figure to the exiled Roman general Coriolanus, attempts to plead for Rome's safety. Coriolanus, now leading the Volscian army, coldly rejects his former friend to prove his loyalty to his new allies.

Characters: MARCIUS, COMINIUS

Marcius (Coriolanus) arrives bloodied from battle to find Cominius. Despite his exhaustion, he urgently requests to be sent back into the fray to face his rival, Aufidius.

Characters: First Citizen, Menenius

Menenius Agrippa uses the 'Fable of the Belly' to pacify a crowd of starving, mutinous citizens in Rome. He argues that the Senate, like the stomach, distributes necessary resources to the rest of the body politic.

Characters: BRUTUS, SICINIUS

The tribunes Brutus and Sicinius discuss the overwhelming public adoration for the returning war hero Coriolanus. They plot to exploit his pride and his disdain for the common people to ensure his political downfall.

Characters: Coriolanus

Coriolanus delivers a scathing rebuke to the Roman senators for granting power to the common people (the plebeians) and their tribunes. He argues that divided authority between the nobility and the masses will inevitably lead to the ruin of the state.

Characters: COMINIUS

Cominius delivers a formal and epic oration to the Roman Senate, recounting the legendary military exploits and unmatched bravery of Caius Marcius Coriolanus from his youth to the recent victory at Corioli.

Characters: Aufidius

Tullus Aufidius, leader of the Volscians, reacts with overwhelming joy and respect when his greatest enemy, the banished Roman general Caius Marcius Coriolanus, arrives at his home to offer his services.

Characters: Aufidius

Aufidius reflects on Coriolanus's complex nature and his inevitable rise and fall. He analyzes how Coriolanus's rigid military virtues make him unfit for civilian peace, while secretly plotting to reclaim power once Coriolanus has conquered Rome.