Description
Book SynopsisThis Roman play is one of Shakespeare's last tragedies, best known for its political and military themes. Its hero, Coriolanus, is a proud General who does not hesitate to show his arrogant and outspoken contempt of the Roman rabble. The Tribunes banish him and he raises an army to take his revenge on Rome. He finally concedes to the pleas of his mother to spare the city and leaves only to be publicly killed by his former allies. Peter Holland is a former Director of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford upon Avon and President of the Shakespeare Association of America. He is a pre-eminent international scholar. His comprehensive Introduction and commentary notes open up the language, themes and ideas in this complex yet richly rewarding play for the student and teacher. The play is discussed in its historical and critical contexts and its theatrical history is analysed too.
Trade ReviewThis is a mighty powerhouse of a work: passionately outward-looking in its engagement with the play's afterlife in theatre, poetry and film ... Holland's style is delightfully engaging and inclusive ... This is a remarkable piece of scholarship, and an indispensable work for anyone wishing to understand
Coriolanus better. -- Jane Kingsley-Smith, Roehampton University, UK * Around the Globe *
Holland’s edition offers an idiosyncratic and entertaining version of
Coriolanus that is suited to a play that poses relatively few textual problems, demonstrating that even a play that only exists in one early witness is reproduced differently in each edition, performance and re-reading ... The edition is a triumph of careful work, and testament to the importance of aligning theatrical, linguistic and historical approaches in the careful preparation of an edition. -- Peter Kirwan, UK * Editionen in der Kritik *
This is a rich and creatively suggestive
Coriolanus edition that does justice to the play as product of a complex social, stage, and literary history and as an equally complex cultural performance text. -- Barbara Correll, Cornell University, USA * Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen *
Great introduction - strong on political context and topicality, and great treatment of the new Fiennes movie adaptation. The best modern edition of
Coriolanus on the market. -- Matthew Woodcock, University of East Anglia, UK
Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION Coriolanus in the 1930s Beginnings Reading Dating: Writing and Performance Voting and Citizenship
Coriolanus and Early Modern Politics Shaping the Play
Coriolanus Rethought: Brecht, Osborne, Grass Filming
Coriolanus (2011)
THE PLAY Longer Notes Textual Analysis Appendices: 1.
Coriolanus in Performance: A Skeletal History 2. Casting
Coriolanus Abbreviations and References Index
