Coriolanus: Act 5, Scene 1 Summary & Analysis

In a public place in Rome, Menenius, Cominius, Sicinius, and Brutus discuss Coriolanus. Menenius refuses to go beg Coriolanus for mercy, even though he was like a father to Coriolanus, since the soldier refused to hear Cominius speak. Only one time did Coriolanus use Cominius’s name, and he would not answer to “Coriolanus” or to any other names. He has become “a kind of nothing, titleless,” until he makes a new name in the fire of Rome’s burning. Menenius chides the tribunes for causing the downfall of the city. Cominius tried to petition for mercy, but Coriolanus denied him, saying pleas for mercy are futile from the state that had banished him. Even the appeal of his close friends cannot stop Coriolanus from attacking the city. The tribunes beg Menenius to go to Coriolanus, believing his words will be more effective than any Roman army.

Menenius doesn’t want to go to Coriolanus, and he is afraid that he might fail, but he thinks that Coriolanus will listen. He guesses that Coriolanus had not eaten when he refused to hear Cominius. Without food, he says, humans get cold blood and are likely to be unforgiving, while well-fed humans have a better temperament. Menenius plans to watch Coriolanus till he has eaten before going to meet him. Brutus assures Menenius that he’ll be successful, and Menenius leaves, but then Cominius immediately says that he won’t succeed. He describes kneeling before Coriolanus, who faintly said “rise” and dismissed him “with his speechless hand.” Afterwards Coriolanus sent a letter promising not to yield. Cominius thinks the only hope is that Volumnia and Virgilia are able to convince Coriolanus to spare Rome.