Customer Reviews

Coriolanus (Dover Thrift Editions)

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This is one of those Shakespearean plays that very few casual readers know of; it is not, generally, a play that is required reading in any but the most in-depth literature courses, and most people have never heard of it or know of it only by title. This is truly a shame, because it is one of Shakespeares BEST works. It is the story of a man too honorable for his own good, who loses all due to the conniving of clever politicians because he refuses to play the game by their rules and flatter the people with weasel-words and empty promises. Truly, a wonderful story with a far better plot than most of Shakespeare's plays, and language just as musical as any of them. If you've read Shakespeare's better-known plays and enjoyed the language, do yourself a favor and make yourself familiar with this lesser-known play.

Having heard virtually nothing about this play, I picked it up with very low expectations. I was amazed, however, to find myself totally enthralled with the story, not the least reason being its relevance to events of the past eight years. If I ever hear of it being performed, I will definitely buy a ticket!

I did not read this Dover edition, but I do not think that things such as footnotes and explanatory essays will add that much to this particular play.