Tragedies • c. 1608

Coriolanus: Modern English Translation & Study Guide

Name: Coriolanus
Author: William Shakespeare

A brilliant Roman general is banished from Rome due to his arrogance and teams up with his former enemy to seek revenge.

Read Coriolanus Side by Side

Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.

Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. A street.
Act 1, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Corioli. The Senate-house.
Act 1, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Rome. A room in Marcius' house.
Act 1, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Before Corioli.
Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. A public place.
Act 2, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The same. The Capitol.
Act 2, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The same. The Forum.
Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. A street.
Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. A room in CORIOLANUS'S house.
Act 3, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The same. The Forum.
Act 4, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. Before a gate of the city.
Act 4, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The same. A street near the gate.
Act 4, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A highway between Rome and Antium.
Act 4, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Antium. Before Aufidius's house.
Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. A public place.
Act 5, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Entrance of the Volscian camp before Rome.
Act 5, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The tent of Coriolanus.
Act 5, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Rome. A public place.

Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.