Was the Titular Character in Shakespeare's Coriolanus Inspired by King James?

William Shakespeare often created new works by refurbishing old stories. Therefore it is safe to assume that many of his characters and the traits of those characters have been taken from real-life people. In one of Shakespeare's less well-known plays, Coriolanus, there appears to be numerous evidence that his main character results from an adaptation of a royal figure; that royal figure being King James I of England. By looking at the tense interaction among the character Coriolanus and the commoners, a marked likeness exists between King James I and Coriolanus.

But if the proof of the resemblance is strong enough, can King James I be considered as an author of Shakespeare's play? Depending on an individual's definition of the word author, it can be a troublesome question to contemplate. Rather than using author to mean that King James I physically wrote the play with quill in hand, instead using the word to mean that by being the source for the character Coriolanus, King James I is just as responsible for the creation of the play as the writer who adapted the monarch's personality into the work. Therefore, by noting the similarities between the two people, it can be argued that King James I is a co-author of Coriolanus.

As Coriolanus opens, a heightened sense of tension is evident among the players. The audience learns in the first act that the Roman empire has just fallen and the people are trying to build a new Republic. On the verge of war with another state and attempting to remake the government, Rome is in the midst of a great amount of political and military turmoil. In comparison, after Queen Elizabeth died, England was also in a state of civil turmoil. Without a clear heir to the throne, the people had no inkling as to who would become their new ruler and this caused a great amount of distress. For when James came from Scotland to take over the throne, neither James nor England knew what to expect. Any time a ruler changes, the government and the way the country operates also goes through transformation. Thus began the onset of heightened political tension for both England in Shakespeare's time and Rome in his play. The parallels in the setting of Shakespeare's work and the political time of James sets the stage for other semblances between James and Coriolanus to develop.

Because of a lack of familiarity with the English court, James may have been unable to diplomatically deal with the new situations he was being forced into. Also, the English people were used to a ruler who played a part and pretended to be an active participant in their lives. As a man from a more war-ready country, James did not necessarily understand the way of politics Elizabeth had cultivated during her reign. As an actress, Queen Elizabeth worked hard at cultivating pleasant relationships with the lower classes. Unfortunately, James felt it was more his due right as a divine ruler to dominate and expect unquestioned obedience from everyone else beneath him rather than to try and please the common masses. James' notion meant that the classes must be kept separate and severely divided in order to maintain order in the kingdom.

Coriolanus also expresses these same sentiments concerning the separation of classes in Act III Scene 1. Facing the senators of Rome, Coriolanus fiercely speaks against the senators giving power to the common people in voting for their consuls and wonders "Why,/You grave but reckless senators, have you thus/Given Hydra here to choose an officer"(90-92). By referring to the plebeians as the Hydra, Coriolanus insinuates that the common people are insatiable and hungry in their greedy demands. Also, by invoking an image of the mythical monster, Coriolanus is attempting to imply that the commoners are fueled by their base desires, not reason as the more intellectual and elite are. Furthermore, Coriolanus continues to berate the senate for giving such power to the lower class by telling them that "You are plebeians/If they be senators; and they are no less/When, both your voices blended, the great'st taste/Most palates theirs"(100-103). The upper class loses their nobility and power by giving the choice of vote to the people and so the upper class becomes common. Therefore, Coriolanus is arguing for the divine right of the upper class and the "nature of our seats"(135), or their position of eminence, just as James felt it his right to rule without dispute. Their matching attitudes towards the separation of upper and lower classes shows James extreme influence in the conception of Shakespeare's play.

Just as James scorned the common man, Coriolanus also disdained the plebeians of Rome. The first example we get of Coriolanus' feelings is when he is still named Caius Martius and an angry mob is accusing him to be the "chief enemy to the people"(1.1. 7-8). The people see Martius as an enemy because Martius is proud of his sacrifices to Rome and does nothing to help the people obtain "corn at their own rates"(1.1. 187). The commoners feel that Martius is not as concerned with the people's problem as he should be and so he becomes their adversary. For Martius, he sees the citizens as fickle animals with no concern for Rome. Martius justifies his opinion when he invites the crowd of citizens to fill their bellies since

"The Volsces have much corn. Take these rats thither

To gnaw their garners. Worshipful mutineers,

Your valor puts well forth (1.1. 247-249). "

If the citizens are so hungry for their corn and think that it is so easy to fight for Rome as Martius has done, the group should not have stolen away like the "hares"(1.1. 169) Martius accused them of being. Although James may not have been a strong warrior such as Martius, their shared aversion towards the lower classes remains strong and unwavering throughout the course of the play.

According to Russ McDonald's The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare, when faced with the people wanting to look upon the face of their king as they were used to doing with Queen Elizabeth, James replied, "God's wounds! I will pull down my breeches and they shall also see my arse!"(311). King James I outburst shows his unwillingness to be a part of England's political circus. Corresponding with James' loathing of becoming a spectacle for the population, Coriolanus also resents being forced to take a spot in the public eye.

In Act II Scene 3, Coriolanus is being forced to obey custom and show off his battle scars to the citizens in order to be voted to consul. Although Coriolanus goes along with what is expected of him, he resists flattering the people who stride past him. In fact, Coriolanus questions his actions saying "Why in this wolvish toge should I stand here,/To beg of Hob and Dick that does appear/Their needless vouches?"(114-116). Coriolanus feels it is unnecessary to beg for praise and acceptance from people who's voices are "needless"(116) and unworthy of his self-worth. These plebeians have done nothing to earn his respect so that he does not care for their opinions. Again, Coriolanus and James appear to be more and more alike. Their similarities appear to be enough to warrant James being an integral part of the authorship of Coriolanus.

Consistently spread throughout the play, Coriolanus expresses his unflinching repulsion with the common people of Rome. Coriolanus is also caught in the middle of an unstable transition of political beliefs and war. Lastly, as a military-bred man, Coriolanus is unfamiliar with the diplomatic concepts the Senate wishes for him to adopt and the overwhelming cries of the insatiable plebeians. The basic construct of Coriolanus' personality is almost an exact replica of King James I of England. James hated crowds and could not understand why he had to showboat for the commoners. Also, James was an untried man in the politics of England and the invasive aftershocks of Elizabeth's reign had a powerful effect on what the English subjects expected of him. Coriolanus and James are so alike in their ways of thought and environmental situation that King James I had to have been the model Shakespeare used to produce his character Coriolanus. Consequently, James can be viewed as a co-author of the play Coriolanus.