Character Relationship Map: Coriolanus

Characters

• Caius Martius Coriolanus (played by Andre Sills) — protagonist

  Coriolanus is a Roman military leader whose service to Rome earns him support for the consulship, but whose contempt for the common people deepens the city’s political divide. After the tribunes turn...

• Volumnia (played by Lucy Peacock) — supporting

  Volumnia is identified as Coriolanus’s mother and as one of the people who may still be able to move him to mercy. The synopsis also says he leaves Rome with her after his banishment. Her possible app...

• Tullus Aufidius (played by Graham Abbey) — supporting

  Aufidius is the Volscian leader and Coriolanus’s former enemy. He vows to defeat Coriolanus by any means, but after Coriolanus is banished from Rome, the two men join forces. Coriolanus then leads the...

• Menenius Agrippa (played by Tom McCamus) — supporting

  Menenius is a Roman who tries to persuade Coriolanus to relent when he threatens his former city. Coriolanus refuses to hear him, and guards turn Menenius away. He returns believing that only Coriolan...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Volumnia → Caius Martius Coriolanus (Family Mother) — Volumnia leaves Rome with Coriolanus after his banishment; later, she is considered one of the few people who may persuade him to spare Rome.

  The plot says Menenius believes that Coriolanus's mother may still be able to move him to mercy, and identifies Volumnia as his mother.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Menenius Agrippa → Caius Martius Coriolanus (Social Failed Pleader) — Menenius attempts to intervene and avert the threat to Rome, but Coriolanus rejects his appeal.

  Menenius tries to persuade Coriolanus to relent, but Coriolanus refuses to hear him. Menenius is turned away by the guards and reports that his appeal...

• Caius Martius Coriolanus → Tullus Aufidius (Conflict Enemy Turned Ally) — Their relationship shifts from declared military enmity to an alliance directed against Coriolanus's former city.

  Coriolanus fights Aufidius, who vows to defeat him. After Coriolanus is banished, he seeks out Aufidius in Antium, and the two join forces against Rom...

Story Analysis

Political division, banishment, and a former enemy's alliance bring Coriolanus back against Rome, while the supplied account ends before the conflict is resolved.

Plot Progression

1. Hunger and Civic Division — Hungry citizens blame the patricians, while Coriolanus's contempt for the crowd sharpens the political divide. The conflict with the Volsces continues as Aufidius declares his intention to defeat Cori...
2. Consulship and Rejection — After military success, Coriolanus is put forward for the consulship and is expected to seek popular approval. The tribunes exploit his anger, the people turn against him, and he is banished.
3. Exile and Reversal — Coriolanus leaves Rome with Volumnia and refuses to be broken by exile. In Antium, he approaches Aufidius, his former enemy, and they join forces against Rome.
4. An Unresolved Appeal — Coriolanus leads the threat toward Rome, and Menenius tries unsuccessfully to persuade him to relent. The supplied dialogue ends with the conflict unresolved and the possibility of an appeal by Coriol...