르네상스 시대의 사회적 소통 문제: 셰익스피어의 『 코리오레이너스』 (Coriolanus)

Abstract

The purpose of this essay aims to analyse the communication among people in Renaissance England. For the aim, the writer focuses his interests on the human relationship and dialogues in Coriolanus of William Shakespeare. The Rome, as a nation, is like a human body. The dissension in Act 1 between patricians and plebeians is a conflict with the issue of purchasing price of corn and grain plebeians seeking. The food is so important and basic elements to the plebeians’ living. In Coriolanus, the plebeians’ rebellion is not an anarchic resistance against any form of hierarchical order, but rather an act of protest against the absurd price of grain purchase, making edicts for usury to support usurers and application of disadvantageous law to the plebeians. Coriolanus is a kind of political play. The patricians and plebeians are involved to hold hegemony in Roman society. The struggle for the leadership between the patricians and the tribunes is the main stream in this play. The play tells about a struggle for political initiative between tribunes and patricians, for example, the tribunes take advantage of the rage of plebeians against the patricians and Coriolanus actively. The political tactics that the tribunes use to remove Coriolanus do not differ essentially from the modern political populism. Eventually, Coriolanus is a loser in the power struggle. That means the tribunes take the initiative in Roman society. Because of Coriolanus’ popularity, tribunes worry about their future. The tribunes are fearful of losing their political influence if Coriolanus is elected a consul by the commoners thanks to his popularity. Even though the tribunes should serve the plebeians, they use the common people just puppets in their struggle for gaining the initiative against Coriolanus and patricians. This is because the concern of tribunes is not their service to the common people but their concern for political office and influence in Rome. It is a real reason of non-communication situation between the patricians and plebeians, also Coriolanus and tribunes. Their own profit on the office of tribunes comes up against Coriolanus as a consul. It is a main cause of his tragedy. Meanwhile, the writer regards Coriolanus as a symbolic figure representing the Roman patricians like the plebeians who are handled by the tribunes as puppets. Therefore, the fiery temperament and scornful attitude of Coriolanus toward the plebeians are not the only and main cause of the non-communication in Coriolanus. Based on earlier discussion, it seems to the writer that the characteristic flaw of Coriolanus is a superficial cause to the non-communication with other people. Through reading the play, the writer discovers that there are several causes of non-communication between people in Coriolanus such as, a social hierarchy, power struggle, economic exploitation on the plebeians, problems regarding the plebeians’ human rights, and the socio-economic divide and so on. Consequently, the tries of plebeians to communicate with Coriolanus are useless and unsuccessful in this Roman society, the city of the structural imbalance.