Compasive And Being Persuasion In The Play Coriolanus

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In the play Coriolanus, the story’s namesake character struggles with capturing the trust and support of his people while more manipulative officials prevail. Coriolanus is a rather shy and awkward type who doesn’t wish to show off in grand gestures why he is a superior leader for the community. This play focuses on how persuasion is a very powerful tool in earning the support of other people as well as recognizing the value of an honorable background but is not enough by itself. The idea that in order to win the support of the people, it is necessary for people to understand that there is a balance between being persuasive and being honest. Coriolanus is not a persuasive person and his rivals are and that ultimately leads to his downfall. …show more content…

In the end, the persuasive and manipulative people win against Coriolanus and cause his downfall. Being persuasive plays off of the easily swayable mindset of humans and can convince others to follow based purely on words. In the first scene of act 1, the people in this society are easily swayed to believe that Coriolanus isn’t fit to be a leader for them saying they should kill him. They are led to believe that Coriolanus wants to strip them of their power and voice in what happens in the society. Brutus and Sicinius play off this shred of doubt and further convince the people of Rome that Coriolanus is an unfit leader. Brutus and Sicinius want to get rid of Coriolanus and after convincing the people of how awful having him as a consul would be, continue to state that they should go after him. Coriolanus’ refusal to show the people his wound and battle scars show how he is still abiding by the morals he has set for himself. He says he “he wounds to show you, which shall be yours in private” (Coriolanus 53) showing that he is not keen on flaunting his wounds to the public. He believes that his wounds are only his to bear and that it is wrong to show them to others in an attempt to win them over. Earlier in the scene, he is so appalled by being expected to show his scars that he got when “in his country’s service when some …show more content…

This play illustrates how important honesty and persuasion in an attempt to win over the people. Coriolanus attempts and fails to win over the people due to his failure to truly persuade Rome to view him as a worthy leader of their community while this sets the tone for Brutus and Sicinius to use their manipulative nature to win over the populous. Coriolanus’ lack of communication skills is his fatal flaw allowing more persuasive figures to take advantage of the opportunity and sway the people of Rome proving that honor and noble acts by themselves are not enough to grab and hold the support of the general

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