Coriolanus—Death as a Triumph rather than a Humiliation

In today’s melodramatic society, death has commonly been used throughout literature and media as a device with which to invoke pity for a character. However, in the Shakespearean play, Coriolanus, the death of the main protagonist Coriolanus serves as a triumph rather than any sort of sympathy-arousing humiliation. In the final scene of the play, Tullus Aufidius plots Coriolanus’ death with the intention of systematically stripping him of his honor, his courage, and his manhood before he is killed, thus turning his death into a complete humiliation. Yet before he dies, Coriolanus manages to repudiate Aufidius’ attempt to debase him by refuting the attacks on his manhood and courage. In this way, Coriolanus retains his identity when he dies and actually makes his death a personal triumph, as the characters of the play regret his death afterwards by recognizing and lamenting the unique solo-hero personage that he has represented. A key component of Aufidius’ assassinati...