← 4.7
Act 5, Scene 1 — Rome. A public place
on stage:
Next: 5.2 →
Original
Faithful Conversational Text-message
The argument Cominius reports that he failed to move Coriolanus, who refused to even acknowledge his old name; the tribunes beg Menenius to try, and Menenius reluctantly agrees — while Cominius privately tells us it won't work.
Enter Menenius, Cominius, Sicinius, Brutus (the two Tribunes), with
others.
MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

No, I’ll not go. You hear what he hath said

Which was sometime his general, who loved him

In a most dear particular. He called me father,

But what o’ that? Go you that banished him;

A mile before his tent, fall down, and knee

The way into his mercy. Nay, if he coyed

To hear Cominius speak, I’ll keep at home.

No, I’ll not go. You hear what he hath said Which was sometime his general, who loved him In a most dear particular. He called me father, But what o’ that? Go you that banished him; A mile before his tent, fall down, and knee The way into his mercy. Nay, if he coyed To hear Cominius speak, I’ll keep at home.

No, I’ll not go. You hear what he hath said Which was sometime his general, who loved him In a most dear particular. He called me father, But what o’ that? Go you that banished him; A mile before his tent, fall down, and knee The way into his mercy. Nay, if he coyed To hear Cominius speak, I’ll keep at home.

no, i’ll not go. you hear what he hath said which was someti

COMINIUS [COMINIUS]

He would not seem to know me.

He would not seem to know me.

He would not seem to know me.

he would not seem to know me.

MENENIUS [MENENIUS]

Do you hear?

Do you hear?

Do you hear?

do you hear?

COMINIUS ≋ verse [COMINIUS]

Yet one time he did call me by my name.

I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops

That we have bled together. “Coriolanus”

He would not answer to, forbade all names.

He was a kind of nothing, titleless,

Till he had forged himself a name i’ th’ fire

Of burning Rome.

Yet one time he did call me by my name. I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops That we have bled together. “Coriolanus” He would not answer to, forbade all names. He was a kind of nothing, titleless, Till he had forged himself a name i’ th’ fire Of burning Rome.

Yet one time he did call me by my name. I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops That we have bled together. “Coriolanus” He would not answer to, forbade all names. He was a kind of nothing, titleless, Till he had forged himself a name i’ th’ fire Of burning Rome.

yet one time he did call me by my name. i urged our old acqu

MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

Why, so; you have made good work!

A pair of tribunes that have wracked Rome

To make coals cheap! A noble memory!

Why, so; you have made good work! A pair of tribunes that have wracked Rome To make coals cheap! A noble memory!

Why, so; you have made good work! A pair of tribunes that have wracked Rome To make coals cheap! A noble memory!

why, so; you have made good work! a pair of tribunes that ha

COMINIUS ≋ verse [COMINIUS]

I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon

When it was less expected. He replied

It was a bare petition of a state

To one whom they had punished.

I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon When it was less expected. He replied It was a bare petition of a state To one whom they had punished.

I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon When it was less expected. He replied It was a bare petition of a state To one whom they had punished.

i minded him how royal ’twas to pardon when it was less expe

MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

Very well.

Could he say less?

Very well. Could he say less?

Very well. Could he say less?

very well. could he say less?

COMINIUS ≋ verse [COMINIUS]

I offered to awaken his regard

For’s private friends. His answer to me was

He could not stay to pick them in a pile

Of noisome musty chaff. He said ’twas folly

For one poor grain or two to leave unburnt

And still to nose th’ offence.

I offered to awaken his regard For’s private friends. His answer to me was He could not stay to pick them in a pile Of noisome musty chaff. He said ’twas folly For one poor grain or two to leave unburnt And still to nose th’ offence.

I offered to awaken his regard For’s private friends. His answer to me was He could not stay to pick them in a pile Of noisome musty chaff. He said ’twas folly For one poor grain or two to leave unburnt And still to nose th’ offence.

i offered to awaken his regard for’s private friends. his an

MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

For one poor grain or two!

I am one of those! His mother, wife, his child,

And this brave fellow too, we are the grains;

You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt

Above the moon. We must be burnt for you.

For one poor grain or two! I am one of those! His mother, wife, his child, And this brave fellow too, we are the grains; You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt Above the moon. We must be burnt for you.

For one poor grain or two! I am one of those! His mother, wife, his child, And this brave fellow too, we are the grains; You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt Above the moon. We must be burnt for you.

for one poor grain or two! i am one of those! his mother, wi

SICINIUS ≋ verse [SICINIUS]

Nay, pray, be patient. If you refuse your aid

In this so-never-needed help, yet do not

Upbraid’s with our distress. But sure, if you

Would be your country’s pleader, your good tongue,

More than the instant army we can make,

Might stop our countryman.

Nay, pray, be patient. If you refuse your aid In this so-never-needed help, yet do not Upbraid’s with our distress. But sure, if you Would be your country’s pleader, your good tongue, More than the instant army we can make, Might stop our countryman.

Nay, pray, be patient. If you refuse your aid In this so-never-needed help, yet do not Upbraid’s with our distress. But sure, if you Would be your country’s pleader, your good tongue, More than the instant army we can make, Might stop our countryman.

nay, pray, be patient. if you refuse your aid in this so-nev

MENENIUS [MENENIUS]

No, I’ll not meddle.

No, I’ll not meddle.

No, I’ll not meddle.

no, i’ll not meddle.

SICINIUS [SICINIUS]

Pray you, go to him.

Pray you, go to him.

Pray you, go to him.

pray you, go to him.

MENENIUS [MENENIUS]

What should I do?

What should I do?

What should I do?

what should i do?

BRUTUS ≋ verse [BRUTUS]

Only make trial what your love can do

For Rome, towards Martius.

Only make trial what your love can do For Rome, towards Martius.

Only make trial what your love can do For Rome, towards Martius.

only make trial what your love can do for rome, towards mart

MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

Well, and say that Martius

Return me, as Cominius is returned, unheard,

What then? But as a discontented friend,

Grief-shot with his unkindness? Say’t be so?

Well, and say that Martius Return me, as Cominius is returned, unheard, What then? But as a discontented friend, Grief-shot with his unkindness? Say’t be so?

Well, and say that Martius Return me, as Cominius is returned, unheard, What then? But as a discontented friend, Grief-shot with his unkindness? Say’t be so?

well, and say that martius return me, as cominius is returne

SICINIUS ≋ verse [SICINIUS]

Yet your good will

Must have that thanks from Rome after the measure

As you intended well.

Yet your good will Must have that thanks from Rome after the measure As you intended well.

Yet your good will Must have that thanks from Rome after the measure As you intended well.

yet your good will must have that thanks from rome after the

MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

I’ll undertake’t.

I think he’ll hear me. Yet to bite his lip

And hum at good Cominius much unhearts me.

He was not taken well; he had not dined.

The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then

We pout upon the morning, are unapt

To give or to forgive; but when we have stuffed

These pipes and these conveyances of our blood

With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls

Than in our priestlike fasts. Therefore I’ll watch him

Till he be dieted to my request,

And then I’ll set upon him.

I’ll undertake’t. I think he’ll hear me. Yet to bite his lip And hum at good Cominius much unhearts me. He was not taken well; he had not dined. The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then We pout upon the morning, are unapt To give or to forgive; but when we have stuffed These pipes and these conveyances of our blood With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls Than in our priestlike fasts. Therefore I’ll watch him Till he be dieted to my request, And then I’ll set upon him.

I’ll undertake’t. I think he’ll hear me. Yet to bite his lip And hum at good Cominius much unhearts me. He was not taken well; he had not dined. The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then We pout upon the morning, are unapt To give or to forgive; but when we have stuffed These pipes and these conveyances of our blood With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls Than in our priestlike fasts. Therefore I’ll watch him Till he be dieted to my request, And then I’ll set upon him.

i’ll undertake’t. i think he’ll hear me. yet to bite his lip

BRUTUS ≋ verse [BRUTUS]

You know the very road into his kindness

And cannot lose your way.

You know the very road into his kindness And cannot lose your way.

You know the very road into his kindness And cannot lose your way.

you know the very road into his kindness and cannot lose you

MENENIUS ≋ verse [MENENIUS]

Good faith, I’ll prove him,

Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge

Of my success.

Good faith, I’ll prove him, Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge Of my success.

Good faith, I’ll prove him, Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge Of my success.

good faith, i’ll prove him, speed how it will. i shall ere l

[_Exit._]
COMINIUS [COMINIUS]

He’ll never hear him.

He’ll never hear him.

He’ll never hear him.

he’ll never hear him.

🎭 Dramatic irony Cominius's quiet prediction 'He'll never hear him' is proven technically right by the letter — Coriolanus sends Menenius away — but the irony is that the next visitors (family) do succeed. The play builds the false bottom before the real scene lands.
SICINIUS [SICINIUS]

Not?

Not?

Not?

not?

COMINIUS ≋ verse [COMINIUS]

I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye

Red as ’twould burn Rome; and his injury

The jailer to his pity. I kneeled before him;

’Twas very faintly he said “Rise”; dismissed me

Thus with his speechless hand. What he would do

He sent in writing after me; what he

Would not, bound with an oath to yield to his

Conditions. So that all hope is vain

Unless his noble mother and his wife,

Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him

For mercy to his country. Therefore let’s hence

And with our fair entreaties haste them on.

I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye Red as ’twould burn Rome; and his injury The jailer to his pity. I kneeled before him; ’Twas very faintly he said “Rise”; dismissed me Thus with his speechless hand. What he would do He sent in writing after me; what he Would not, bound with an oath to yield to his Conditions. So that all hope is vain Unless his noble mother and his wife, Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him For mercy to his country. Therefore let’s hence And with our fair entreaties haste them on.

I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye Red as ’twould burn Rome; and his injury The jailer to his pity. I kneeled before him; ’Twas very faintly he said “Rise”; dismissed me Thus with his speechless hand. What he would do He sent in writing after me; what he Would not, bound with an oath to yield to his Conditions. So that all hope is vain Unless his noble mother and his wife, Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him For mercy to his country. Therefore let’s hence And with our fair entreaties haste them on.

i tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye red as ’twould burn

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

Rome is now sending its most personal envoys to a man who has declared himself 'a kind of nothing, titleless.' Cominius's report is devastating: Coriolanus didn't just refuse — he prohibited the use of his own name. He's erasing himself so he can be reborn from burning Rome. Menenius agrees to try, with a characteristically practical plan: catch him after dinner. But Cominius's exit line — 'He'll never hear him' — is the play's quiet verdict before the scene has even ended.

If this happened today…

A company's board has sent its most senior executive to negotiate with a former employee who's now leading a hostile takeover. The executive comes back: the guy didn't even want to hear his name. He's changed everything — he calls himself something else now. The board turns to the founder's oldest mentor figure: 'Could you try?' The mentor says: maybe if I catch him at the right moment, after lunch. His old friend whispers on the way out: it's not going to work.

Continue to 5.2 →