The Theme of Power in Coriolanus

Power is a theme ubiquitous throughout the plot of the play Coriolanus. This may arise from the nature of the setting of the play. a Post - monarchy Rome still searching for the perfect power dynamic in civilization. This predicament leads to tension and struggle between powerful individuals and social groups further emphasizing the theme of power. 

Coriolanus, the strong military leader is powerful in physique, strength and military expertise. He lacks weakness in all personal assets except for the art of speech, in which he evidently flounders to master multiple times throughout the plot. Shakespeare uses this character to demonstrate a contrast between physical or military strength, and political and social strength. 

This is efficaciously accented with the use of the character of Menenius possessing the abilities of speech and a smooth tongue that allow him to persuade and navigate the complex system of Roman Politics. His juxtaposition to Coriolanus also construes him as an ideal foil, emphasizing Coriolanus’ short comings. Similarly, Volumnia - Coriolanus' power driven mother– gains power through her poised articulation and early nurturing of her son. She is essentially the one who drives Coriolanus towards the world of politics, in which he is clearly ill-suited.

Finally, Aufidius, the general of the Volsces Army and arch nemesis of Coriolanus can be characterized as a conniving opportunistic individual. he can be seen taking advantage of situations and suppressing his anger and true emotions in order to manipulate such situations for his own prosperity.

Each of the characters depict a form of power and represent a sect of Roman Civilization. Therefore, Shakespeare is fundamentally correlating the death or fate of Coriolanus’ character to the maladjustment of military power in modern Rome.

Characterization of Coriolanus in Act 1

You can never be certain of the intentions of an author in their use of specific literary devices and choices. However, we can speculate and surmise the true purpose behind Shakespeare’s characterization of Caius Martius in Act 1 of ‘Coriolanus’.

The story of Coriolanus highlights the state of Rome during its post-monarchy transition after the fall of King Tarquin into the powerful military state it soon becomes. However, Shakespeare spotlights the chaos caused by the power vacuum ensued by the recent changes and the resulting power struggle between all demographics of the population, from the low-class Plebeians to the high-class Patricians. Military strength was one of the ways in which power and respect was gained at the time, a method which is evident in the character Coriolanus.

It is interesting to observe the way Shakespeare has split the character into two different personalities or characters. The setting is an important factor to note with this occurrence as each of those personalities correlates with the existence of the two separate world they live in. The first, we witness the arrogant, proud, ruthless and insulting component of Caius Martius which is witnessed in Rome when he confronts the Plebeians and verbally abuses them and undermines them. He is obviously a powerful character, however; his greatest shortcoming is in his speech. His words are depleted of emotion, elegance, and persuasion and instead are saturated with strong and provocative language, which can be seen when he asserts “I’d make a quarry with thousands of these quartered slaves…” – of course referring to the plebeians. Shakespeare further accentuates this characterization by using Menenius as a foil character with contrasting traits, such as his calm and polished speech and a respect to all.
  

Later on, however, the reader is swept into a seemingly alternate world and setting; that of the battlefield. Here Coriolanus dominates the script as well as the plot, he uses his firm and forceful diction to plant the seed of fear as well as bravery and unity in his soldier’s hearts. Backed by his military skill, he acts like a true leader would, with power as well as modesty. It’s as if Shakespeare has introduced the readers to a disparate character. Here, we are introduced to what is required to be successful in war and bloodshed and it is clear that Coriolanus maintains and fulfills this persona. However, Shakespeare does not conclude on this characteristic, he relates these two personalities to the overall plot of the play, reminding us that this is a political tragedy. Confident in his military prowess, Coriolanus believes that he can use it to argue for his worth in his election for Consul, but to no avail. The Plebeians recognize his valuable military strength and experience, however, his nature of employing strongly worded speech and his lack of respect towards the people, not only costs him the lucrative position of Consul but also his citizenship to Rome when he is banished. Coriolanus is also characterized by others in the play, most notably his mother Volumnia. It is clear that she has nurtured him in this violent environment and had the intention of shaping and molding him into the ruthless killer he became, dictating that “had I a dozen sons…I had rather had eleven die nobly for their country” and her bloodthirsty nature, envisioning her son with “his bloody brow with his mailing hand then wiping”.

Shakespeare essentially uses this conflict, between Coriolanus and the plebeians to demonstrate that even in Roman politics, military power and ruthlessness, did not necessarily commensurate political power. Shakespeare is also deeming his violent character unfit to rule in politics. Shakespeare also chooses against introducing or mentioning a father in the story at all, this is much in the same sense that Rome had just lost its king, which in this context could be seen as a father figure. Shakespeare is thus comparing the power struggles and unstable politics in Rome with the unstable character of Coriolanus. 

Language and Power

The correlation between language, power, and resistance can be illustrated with individual threads that are closely woven into a tight mesh. Ever since the creation of language, people have attached certain perceptions to the languages spoken. 

Recently I had the opportunity to read a text written by the feminist and social activist, bell hooks titles 'The Language of Power'. In the text, she delves into the idea of – what she labels – “the oppressors” language or the concept of language as a means of imposing power and dominance. In this case, she relates her interpretation with the black African population that were brought to America to serve as slaves. However, she also emphasized the way the Africans were able to claim and adopt the English language in a form of resistance and reasserting dominance in a new context.

One quote - which I felt significant - embodied this concept claiming “For in the incorrect usage of words, in the incorrect placement of words, was a spirit of rebellion that claimed language as a site of resistance. Using English in a way that ruptured standard usage and meaning, so that white folks could often not understand black speech, made English into more than the oppressor’s language. This beckoned me to explore other texts in which this theory was portrayed in different contexts.

One such text was a particular clip in the movie “Snatch”. In one scene, Tommy, a standard white British man speaking in a standard – closer to a prestige – dialect, is looking to purchase a caravan from a “Pikey” or a traveler speaking in a heavy Belfast accent. The Pikeys were usually regarded in a condescending manner amongst the white middle and upper class communities, which is clearly communicated in the movie. At some points during the conversation between the two characters, Tommy loses track of what Mickey – the Pikey – was saying, and would also have trouble understanding him. This is particularly asserted when Mickey used the word “dags” instead of “dogs” and leaves Tommy to figure the word out himself. The fact that Mickey refuses to simplify his dialect and make it more accessible to Tommy’s understanding shows how by altering the pronunciation and incorrect usage of words and phrases, he is able to assert dominance over the man and demonstrate resistance and rebellion. It is especially interesting to note that even though his attitude towards Tommy is not downright or distinctly aggressive, rude or disapproving, his use of language can carry the same tones.

This occurrence directly echoes hooks’ theory stated above and demonstrates its practice in contexts other than that just of the African Americans, thus supporting the idea of how language can be used as a form of resistance. 

Kuuk Thaayorre

Link For the newest edition of the Language Explorers Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljNkBk3cKWw

Language and Imagery in Discussing Language

It is fascinating to know that there are currently around 6500 languages being spoken around the world today. The sad truth is, however, that close to half of those are already endangered or near extinction. This shocking revelation was brought about by my recent indulgence in an article in time magazine written by James Geary where he discusses different examples of dying languages and the different ways language has been utilized throughout history.

As I was reading I suddenly realized the detail and care that Geary took with his use of language specifically towards this topic. He took advantage of the English language and included the use of imagery to convey his thoughts on the topic in question. Immediately from the start, it is clear that he is against the erosion of languages. In order to characterize this and convey this, he used words such as diaspora, shrinking and same when discussing, globalization and the way languages are becoming extinct. These words carry a negative connotation thus indicating the author's views. He also portrays the importance of language using metaphors and imagery. At one point, he forms a comparison between languages and living things and species. This effectively creates an emotional connection between the readers and the topic causing them to care. The phrase that communicates this best is when Geary states that “Any language is as divine and endless a mystery as a living organism.” This quote directly impacts the reader as it uses words such as divine and mystery which creates a vague and foggy yet magical image in their minds that they want to see more clearly. This idea continues when he then introduces a quote by Brazilian native language authority, Aryon Rodriguez, “The world is a mosaic of visions” and that each language is a piece of mosaic and with each extinction of a language a piece of the mosaic is lost. This again gives the reader the impression of an incomplete image and an emotional reason as to why they should care and be interested. Finally, even the use of the word extinct when referring to a language no longer spoken surrounds the reader with feelings of guilt and attention

Overall the reading was highly enjoyable and enlightening and James Geary utilized linguistic choices brilliantly to communicate the importance of language.  

Stereotyping in Advertising

In a world where advertising and controversy go hand in hand, and the industry is fueled by a hunger for profit despite the human consequences. It is inevitable to find cases of stereotyping in specific advertisements. The shocking thing is, most of these cases are unintended. It is intriguing to see that there are a large number of people who are unaware as to the effect, certain words, appearances, or phrases can have on a particular individual or social group. But are the stereotypes necessary? do they add some incentive for people to buy products? the simple answer in no, but yet again there never is a simple answer. This modern society is a kingdom in which media is King. From the very day that we are introduced to the world to the day we depart from it, ideologies, opinions, ideas and much more is embedded within us and is fed to us via media. The world of media sets itself up for success breeding us to believe whatever is said to us and forming stereotypes within us. Knowing this, advertisers use this information to produce an advertisement that pulls all the right strings within us. When viewing an advertisement, we almost view it subconsciously rather than analyze it in detail, picking up on what appeals to us the most. The smallest of decisions such as choosing a tall man instead of a short one, a man instead of a woman, or a white man as opposed to a black man, can cause certain emotions within us that usually serve the purpose of persuading us to consume a product. By no means does this make it justifiable, in fact, it is near abhorring the way stereotyping can be used to manipulate us, and the way people overlook it. 

Just recently I saw an Ad made by the popular rapper and film-maker "Tyler the Creator" for mountain Dew. I realized that some of the ideas he put into the video, and some of the scenes could be seen as offensive to women and to the African American community. However, upon first seeing the video I saw many faces around me that saw nothing wrong with it. To be completely honest, I also would have been at a loss on how this would be offensive except that I anticipating it. I speculated that this may be because I do not associate with either one of the two races that the offense would have been received from. This provoked my understanding of how it was entirely possible for advertisers to make such mistakes without completely recognizing them. 

But this is no excuse for the harm and offense that they may direct towards people. In fact, I believe that it should be a moral responsibility for advertisers and people in a mass media to avoid stereotypes, racism, and other offenses. 

Nivea Ad Analysis

Audience and purpose

The Ad targets young to middle aged women. since the product is a moisturizer the target audience can be narrowed down to women with dry skin. This can be observed from the focus of the image which is a woman with bright glowing skin – this can be assumed to be from the moisturizer. The main aim of the Advertisement is to sell the product offered by Nivea. This involves persuading the viewers to buy it by making choices in the visual language, style and other persuasive techniques.

Content

In the Advertisement a man and a women can be seen in close proximity to each other. The woman is the focus of the image and has her mostly bare back facing the viewer. The man is overshadowed by the presence of the woman and is cropped off in the side of the image with very little of him showing. The background is plain utilizing neutral colors, allowing the two people to be emphasized. Very little writing in included. A slogan in the center in large white letters states “For visibly smooth and touchably soft skin”. At the bottom it says that the product “repairs dryness for 24 hours in addition to smoothness. At the very top next to the Nivea logo it says “100 years skincare for life”. The main idea of the Ad is that if you use moisturizer your skin will glow and men will be attracted to you. This is especially highlighted by the woman’s awareness of the camera and viewers. Since the viewers are mostly going to be women, its as if she is looking towards the women to show them that the product works.

Tone and Mood

The mood produced by this advertisement is mainly achieved through the use of color, pose and perspective. The overall intimate yet bright mood is caused by the lighting that is natural, yet focused on the beauty of the subject. The close proximity of the man and the woman to each other further emphasizes this intimate mood especially with the poses of each of them. The arms are wrapped tightly around each other, however with the woman looking backwards and smiling, this introduces a slight playfulness and control to the scene.

Style Structure