I thought I might like Coriolanus and I really did.

Coriolanus is a magnificent hero soldier. A Roman killing machine. But he is an awful diplomat and he really doesn’t like the common man at all. So when he returns to Rome from battle and is put forward to stand for high office he says all the wrong things..
his enemies use his poorly chosen words and he ends up banished, bitter and (it’s a tragedy so eventually ..) bumped off.

What I loved was the relevance for the world today (I mean generally, no specific finger pointing here). The people are swayed by a sweet talking flatterer.. politics is about saying the things to keep the people happy and Coriolanus fails in that regard. He lives by actions not words and Rome nearly falls because the people overlooked the power of his actions in favour of believing rumours and lies told about him. (Admittedly Coriolanus was incredibly rude to the masses tho).

The play is also about bullying and how to stand up and speak when you see wrong, even if you are the only one.
It is about speaking uncomfortable truths.
It is about recognising who you are and not being persuaded to be someone you are not.
There is one heck of a nasty mother in this..I liked reading her increasingly shocking comments.
There is all this and much more in Coriolanus I loved it.
Shakespeare never gives any answers or moral judgment, he leaves his readers and play goers to ponder. I think there is a thesis full of ponderings in this one. Only five more to go for my Shakespeare project.