This is a video about Coriolanus and his mom:
This is a video about the moment when Coriolanus says I BANISH YOU
I am learning more about how this works — these videos are too long and the first is too high quality in terms of like pixels or whatever. I will get better at this! PLEASE COMMENT
Hey Professor, nice to see you. I agree with you, I thought the fact that dogs are seen in a negative way is really unusual, dogs are great. Shakespeare's portrayal of banishment sounds really terrible. Being isolated from civilization must be intense, the fact that Coriolanus is so self-centered and seems to be excited to be banished is very odd, it shows just how much he despises everyone around him. I liked the connection to Parasite, which is an amazing movie, there are a few similarities between Parasite and Coriolanus, both plots kind of revolving around wealthy people being oblivious and able to be manipulated.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Thanks for the comments, the last thing especially
DeleteHi professor! Great class! I especially loved your point that Coriolanus was worried that by pretending to do something, he would train himself to become something that he fundamentally isn't. It reminded me of Hamlet and his struggle to avenge his father even though murder and violence are against his nature but by the end, kills quite a few people. I also find it interesting that Coriolanus gave up his names because they were connected to the place he lived in and was formerly loyal to. It makes me think of people who have names that are locations but nowadays we don't really care about that sort of thing anymore.
ReplyDelete- Deborah Majowka ENG 373
Oh that’s a good point about people’s names!
ReplyDeleteHey Professor! I will say, watching videos of you is not even close to being in your class, but hey not much we can do.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, moving to C-Dawg, I honestly respect his honor system and at this point he's becoming a favorite character of mine, but I only think that I feel that closeness to him because I know what it feels to have someone in your ear constantly telling you what you should do, what you need to be doing when honestly, you just wanna do your own thing. I'm going to be as bold to say that I feel that his mom really lead to his death, cause when you think about it, dude really just wanted to mind his damn business and go be Ares (god of war), but here comes mama, all up in his ear and how does that end up? with him dead. This play is just reinforcing my theory that once we're old enough to make our own decisions, we should NOT listen to our parents because what works for them, usually does not work for us.
His mom using the mom guilt thing was especially annoying for me cause man, mom guilt is a b.i.t.c.h. It honestly does something to you, which is why that scene where he's on his knees in front of his mom is so powerful, because no matter how many men you kill,how many names you take, there will not be anyone stronger than mama.
I really like your moral about not listening to parents after you grow up! That’s fun! This is a great take.
DeleteHey Professor, Coriolanus mother is have controlling but her love for her son is very loving. But the mother annoys me like this is grown *** man let him be. But like the saying "Mothers know best." Lol!
ReplyDeleteEstaphania Pascal
It is pretty intense! But moms are like that — you love them often EVEN THO they are controlling!
DeleteCiao! Sorry I’m late to the party. I really enjoyed the scene where Coriolanus is defiant of his mother's wishes because it relays his conviction while also illustrating dishonor in the context of convention(respecting one’s elders/parents). One of the things I love about Shakespeare is his ability to relay these contradicting characteristics because it makes his characters really come to life (The human qualities can be expressed in one word: Hypocrisy” -Nymphomaniac Vol.II). The short story To Shoot An Elephant by George Orwell echoes a similar tone of character, action and self. In the story, a European officer in British colonized Burma is called to shoot an elephant that runs loose in the village. While he didn’t plan to actually shoot it (he/she/it was peacefully out in the field at that point of the story) he was pushed to act like the monstrous colonizer the Burmans sought him to be, and by shooting the peaceful elephant, his character was marked. Coriolanus similarly fears his actions will mark his character if he goes to the marketplace and betrays his own pride/honor. I really like the underlying philosophy in all of this, between the actions and self. Since we have no ability to distinguish his character apart from his actions, his actions define his character.
ReplyDeleteI think you picked the least scandalous thing about Nymphomanic to quote — that is a real intense movie and I am impressed you saw it. That’s a great Orwell-Shakespeare connection — I am fascinated by the idea that actions define character so that may be one reason I am drawn to this play. I often wonder if we are what we think or if we are what we do — there is such a gap between the two.
DeleteHi Professor!
ReplyDeleteI feel so late to the party Do you think Coriolanus rejected his birth name to symbolically reject his mother's control over him? Just like he rejected his name as Coriolanus as a sign of ridding himself of his placement in society? I don't think his disdain for his mother is anywhere near as strong for his disdain for society so its interesting that he'd leave that part of him to dust. Also, knowing that Shakespeare wasn't a dog person is quite heartbreaking and now i have one more thought that will ring through my mind when i try to sleep at night lol.
- Imani McFadden
YES I think that is exactly right! Think about how mad your mom would be if you rejected the name she a gave you!
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