SOURCE: “Words, Acts, and Things: Visual Language in Coriolanus,” in English Studies in Canada, Vol. 10, No. 1, March, 1984, pp. 1-10.

In the essay below, MacIntyre explores the significance of the stage and costume directions in Coriolanus, discussing as well the language related to clothing in the play. The critic demonstrates the way in which these elements, in combination with the play's visual language, support the audience's understanding of the individual characters.

Coriolanus is not performed as often as other plays of Shakespeare's maturity and often it is cut, and then costumed, without great heed to its explicit directions about clothes and the actions that go with them. Perhaps this is why its use of costumes, properties, and stage movement has not received much critical attention, nor has its extensive clothing vocabulary. Yet in Coriolanus Shakespeare prescribes costumes and properties meticulously, making them part of the play's action and expression...