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“In proportion to its merit,” Goddard (3) remarks, “Coriolanus is possibly Shakespeare's most neglected play.” In this century the drama has been given but one major production on an American stage. Under-graduate courses in Shakespearean literature infrequently give it full consideration. On the other hand, discerning critics have spoken of the play in terms of high praise. Swinburne, for example, said that he did not know of “a loftier or more perfect piece of man's work.” Thomas Marc Parrott (8) writes: “Whatever the play may lack, it has craftsmanship and nobility in abundance.”
Various comments have been made in explanation of the play's relative unpopularity with the casual reader. For example it has been noted that the hero, who dominates the action to an unusual degree, is “repellent to not a few readers.” It has been remarked that Shakespeare's lyricism has here been subordinated to his dramatic purpose to an almost unique extent. On the other hand, certain critics have said that both lyricism and drama have been unduly subordinated to exposition. Such comments, however, raise questions rather than answer them.
Some readers have felt that the play portrays Shakespeare's ‘anti-democratic’ convictions. Such an impression, although it is in a sense fallacious, could limit the play's acceptance in the twentieth century, but a consideration of