One act in, and we‘ve got a class war and an invasion… sounds like this is happening right now. Thoughts?
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jewright This definitely reminds me of Julius Caesar. How is Volumnia so unfeeling about her son? She doesn‘t care if he lives, only if he fights well and is brave. Virgillia is compared to Penelope. And, Shakespeare, why do you have to give the mother and daughter-in-law both names that start with V?! I feel like he does this a lot, and it‘s confusing. 2y
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Lcsmcat @jewright My thought exactly! Now I can‘t shorten them to V in my head while I read! And also the better dead than a coward stuff. 😁 2y
batsy This is a pretty sense first act with lots of tension simmering. I like that we're dropped straight into the group of "mutinous citizens"; it makes the action feel very immediate. I too was pretty taken aback by Volumnia—she's a pretty blood-thirsty mum ? 2y
merelybookish This was a long act! The opening discussion about how the belly feeds the body reminded me of trickle down economics. And the scene with the women did stand out, in part because it was contained and also because of the mother's ruthlessness. I liked that line about how Penelope's weaving resulted in lots of moths. Also in the fight scene, Monty Python's "but this is just a flesh wound" came to mind. ? 2y
Graywacke The belly thing. I was with the guy who said, “It was an answer. How apply you this?” 2y
Graywacke I lot of pomp and pompous talk. I felt this was somewhere between Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus and Henry V. I kept thinking, maybe these were his throw away lines for HV repackaged. But, despite all that, it‘s C‘s mom who really lays down the atmosphere of glory or nothing. 2y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat the V‘s! Shakespeare is not friendly to our Litsy character limits! 2y
Lcsmcat @batsy The opening did feel a bit like we were dropped into a story in progress, without the “previously in Coriolanus” help. Which means less exposition and more action. 2y
Lcsmcat @merelybookish @Graywacke That fable reminded me of a joke I probably can‘t spell out here 😂 and yes, “How apply you this?” 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I was thinking Henry V after my HOLY COWS we‘ve done it again nothing like resting this and watching Russia/Ukraine 😫😳 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke How apply you this? 🏆 2y
TheBookHippie @jewright I was reading it as Volume and Virgin 😂🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️😳 2y
CoffeeNBooks I really liked that we were dropped right into the middle of the group and action- it made it more interesting than if there had been a lot of build-up to what was going to happen. It seemed like a really long act, though. 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie i like your translations of the v‘s. 🙂 2y
Graywacke @CoffeeNBooks in hindsight the opening with the mob is much more entertaining than the baffling battlefield stuff. (I kept wondering - couldn‘t they just sum up? Maybe there was some dramatic fighting on stage) (edited) 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke 😂 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke I got that feeling too, like some of these lines didn‘t make the cut for some other king somewhere. 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @Graywacke this TOTALLY made me think of Russia/Ukraine!!! 2y
Graywacke I was really struck by how terribly the starving mob was lectured. Coriolanus (under a different name) greets them: “What‘s the matter, you dissentious rogues/That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion,/Make yourselves scabs?” - definitely winning people over there. (edited) 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @jewright I‘m forever going to read them as volume and virgin now. 😂🤣😂 Vol and Vir for short, obviously. 2y
TheBookHippie @GingerAntics 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 2y
batsy @merelybookish The Penelope weaving = moths line made me chuckle 😆 And I like the link you made between the belly analogy and the trickle down economics. 2y
batsy @Lcsmcat It helped to make this quite dense and long act move along at a faster pace, which is nice :) 2y
merelybookish @CoffeeNBooks It was a very long act! 2y
LitStephanie I wonder if Volumnia's attitude about glory over all else (for men) is meant to create more contrast between the haves and have nots. The starving peasants don't have the luxury of worrying about their sons gaining glory in battle. 2y
LitStephanie I am late to the party here, but does anyone else really want to know the backstory of Caius Marcius and Aufidius? I feel like Caius Marcius definitely has a shirtless portrait of Aufidius in his study. 2y
LitStephanie @Graywacke I love the lecturing. It really sets the patricians up as ivory tower, out of touch a-holes. 2y
GingerAntics @LitStephanie 😂🤣😂 now there is a mental image. The more I think about it, though, I can kind of see the shirtless portrait and glancing at it to cheer himself up. 🤣😂🤣 2y
Graywacke @LitStephanie awe. That backstory is almost cute (except the killing and all that it leads to). 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke there is a lot of killing. lol 2y
mollyrotondo I like how this Act draws out this battle in order to strongly highlight Caius Marcius‘s glory and honor on the battlefield. The praise he is given is so over the top and his humble reaction is just as showy but it sets up the tragedy that is ahead so well. It‘s like Shakespeare waving a flag going “See? This is where he belongs. On the battlefield. Not as a political leader.” And I‘m going to love Aufidius‘s revenge plot I just know it 😆 2y
GingerAntics @mollyrotondo I hadn‘t looked at it that way. Have you read this before? 2y
mollyrotondo @GingerAntics I haven‘t read it before but I read the Introduction which gave the impression his political career ends up a failure. 2y
GingerAntics @mollyrotondo that would do it. I‘m going to have to go listen to that part of the play again now. 2y
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