Examples Of Manipulation In Coriolanus

The modernised rendition of Shakespeare’s play, Coriolanus, portrays the dangers of manipulation. Manipulation shapes the way we act and think as we avoid destroying our relationships by satisfying expectations. Ralph Fiennes, the director, demonstrates this idea by highlighting the dangers of manipulation throughout the film, as seen within Act V, Scene 3. This is signified through the combination of techniques that depict the portrayal of selfish nature, the threatening of family bonds and power imbalances created through codependent relationships.

As humans, our actions revolve around personal advantages, portrayed through the lens of the dangers of manipulation within Coriolanus. Manipulation is demonstrated through the combination of

The combination of dialogue and facial expressions demonstrate the uneven relationship between Volumnia and Coriolanus by portraying their imbalance of power to the audience. Near the end of the scene, Volumnia uses emotional manipulation by threatening to extract herself from Coriolanus’ identity by saying, “This fellow had a Volscian to his mother.” The rejection of her son is Volumnia’s final strategy to manipulate Coriolanus into offering Rome mercy, portraying Volumnia’s domineering figure. We, as the audience, observe the dangers of manipulation, through the use of powerful rhetoric. We feel sympathy towards Coriolanus as his mother is emotionally manipulating him by threatening to reject him from the family, to convince him to spare Rome. To further show Volumnia’s manipulative personality, Vanessa Redgrave and Ralph Fiennes use facial expressions to demonstrate their relationship. Redgrave uses the widening of her eyes, shown in a close-up when describing Coriolanus as a “Volscian to his mother” to convey her exasperation with her son being unable to be swayed. In contrast with Redgrave’s harsh facial expression representing the difference in power between the characters, Fiennes has a tense jaw and a slight frown shown in a closeup shot illustrating the intimidating nature of Volumnia. This combination of dialogue and facial expression is created to portray the harsh nature of manipulation and indicate Coriolanus’ focus to please his mother, in order to avoid weakening and potentially destroying the cohesiveness of their family. The audience is moved by the way Fiennes uses this combination to portray Volumnia’s intentional manipulation of Coriolanus, highlighting her dominance in their relationship. Due to Volumnia’s manipulation, we wonder if Coriolanus is generally manipulated by others, or just his mother to impress her and