Search results for "Coriolanus"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
"Fellowship in Coriolanus"
2006
International audience
States of Exception: Auto-immunity and the Body Politic in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus
2010
The essay starts by referring to a central moment in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, when the Roman hero reacts to his banishment by banishing: “I banish you!" (3.3.123). These lines, the essay argues, provide, in a condensed form, a radical shift of perspective on the question of the boundaries of Rome: how far does Rome extend? Can Rome banish herself ? Does Rome move with Coriolanus as he moves “elsewhere” (3. 3. 135)? They also force the audience to reconsider the "nature" of the political decision that leads to the ban. Taking its cue from this line, the essay shows that the question of boundaries in Coriolanus is intimately connected with the uncanny logic of "auto-immunity" which affects R…