SOURCE: "'Coriolanus' and the Body Politic," in Shakespeare Survey, Vol. 28, 1975, pp. 63-69.

In the following essay, Gurr explores Coriolanus as a critique of the concept of the body politic by examining Shakespeare's topical references to the Midlands riots and parliamentary quarrels.

The incidents in Coriolanus which reflect the Midlands riots of 1607 and the parliamentary quarrels of 1606 are well known.¹ Less obvious perhaps is the place of these topical echoes of contemporary troubles in the larger orchestration of the play. Topical references on their own do little more than date the play, in both senses of the word.

A fresh look at the belly fable and how Shakespeare sets it out at the beginning of the play might help to clarify where the food riots and the jibes at Yelverton and Hyde as tribunes of the people fit in the larger pattern. Both topical events raised questions of power...