Were It Not To Be Anachronism: Coriolanus As Seen by Aristotle

Abstract

This study offers a critical re-evaluation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus through the philosophical frameworks of Aristotle with particular reference to his typology of governments. To do this the tragedy has been scrutinized in terms of three different benchmarks utilizing Aristotle’s great works Politics, Poetics, and Nicomachean Ethics. While the study initiates with the juxtaposition of governmental systems of Aristotle and the political aspects of the tragedy, it further investigates how the tragedy aligns with or diverges from Aristotelian ideals of ethical character, political virtue, and tragic structure. The political structure of Rome, as portrayed in the play, reflects a fragile and transitioning polity, aligning neither with Aristotle’s ideal constitutional model nor with his stable deviations. Coriolanus’s rejection of deliberative politics and the common people imparts him an anti-polis figure. Thus, Coriolanus emerges not only as a structurally Aristotelian tragedy but also as a dramatic interrogation of personal excellence in unstable political regimes.