INTRODUCTION.

Nothing has yet been discovered to lead to the belief that there was a play on the story of Coriolanus anterior to Shakespeare's tragedy. Henslowe's Diary contains no hint of the kind.

The materials for this drama appear to have been derived exclusively from “the Life of Caius Martius Coriolanus,” in the early translation of Plutarch by Sir Thomas North. That translation came from the press in folio in 1579, with the following title: “The Lives of the noble Grecians and Romanes, compared together by that grave learned Philosopher and Historiographer, Plutarke of Chæronea.” It was avowedly made from the French of Amiot, Bishop of Auxerre, and appears to have been very popular: though published at a high price (equal to about 5l. of our present money), it was several times reprinted; and we may, perhaps, presume that our great dramatist made use of an impression nearer his own time, possibly that of 1595. In many of the principal speeches he has followed this authority with verbal exactness; and he was indebted to it for the whole conduct of his plot. The action occupies less than four years, for it commences subsequent to the retirement of the people to Mons Sacer in 262, after the foundation of Rome, and terminates with the death of Coriolanus in A. U. C. 266.

“The Tragedy of Coriolanus” originally appeared in the folio of 1623, where it is divided into acts but not into scenes; and it was registered at Stationers' Hall by Blount and Jaggard on the 8th of November of that year, as one of the “copies” which had not been “entered to other men.” Hence we infer that there had been no previous edition of it in quarto. Malone supposed that “Coriolanus” was written in 1610; but we are destitute of all evidence on the point, beyond what may be derived from the style of composition: this would certainly induce us to fix it somewhat late in the career of our great dramatist.

It is on the whole well printed for the time in the folio of 1623; but in Act ii. sc. 3, either the transcriber of the manuscript or the compositor must have omitted a line, which Pope supplied from conjecture (with the aid of North's Plutarch), and which has ever since been received into the text, because it is absolutely necessary to the intelligibility of the passage. For the sake of greater distinction, we have printed the line within brackets, besides pointing out the circumstance in a note.

1 ^note.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS, a noble Roman. TITUS LARTIUS, General against the Volscians. COMINIUS, General against the Volscians. MENENIUS AGRIPPA, Friend to Coriolanus. SICINIUS VELUTUS, Tribune of the People. JUNIUS BRUTUS, Tribune of the People. YOUNG MARCIUS, Son to Coriolanus. A Roman Herald. TULLUS AUFIDIUS, General of the Volscians. Lieutenant to Aufidius. Conspirators with Aufidius[Conspirator 1], [Conspirator 2], [Conspirator 3]. A Citizen of Antium. Two Volscian Guards [Watch 1], [Watch 2]. VOLUMNIA, Mother to Coriolanus. VIRGILIA, Wife to Coriolanus. VALERIA, Friend to Virgilia. Gentlewoman, attending on Virgilia. Roman and Volscian Senators, Patricians, Ædiles [Aediles] [Aedile], Lictors, Soldiers, Citizens, Messengers, Servants to Aufidius, and other Attendants. [Lord 1], [Lord 2], [Lord 3], [Officer], [Citizen], [Citizens], [Citizen 1], [Citizen 2], [Citizen 3], [Citizen 4], [Citizen 5], [Citizen 6], [Senator 1], [Senator 2], [Soldier 1], [Soldier 2], [Soldier 3], [Roman 1], [Roman 2], [Roman 3], [Ladies], [Officer 1], [Officer 2], [Patrician 1], [Patrician 2], [Volscian], [Roman], [Servant 1], [Servant 2], [Servant 3] SCENE, partly in Rome; and partly in the Territories of the Volscians and Antiates.

CORIOLANUS.

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