The Theme of Power in Coriolanus: Summed Up

Coriolanus is a political play by Shakespeare, of which the main theme is power. The main character, Coriolanus is first called Caius Martius before he took the name Coriolanus after a battle in Coriolis against Aufidius. Coriolanus is from Rome, where he has a lot of power as a Roman general who becomes consul. Coriolanus and Aufidius start off as enemies, but later join forces when Coriolanus is banished from Rome. However, Coriolanus mistreats is his power, in the words of Aufidius, and is killed. This is because Coriolanus agreed to destroy Rome with Aufidius, yet is later convinced by his mother to change his mind. Thus, Coriolanus is named a traitor, and is killed by Aufidius. Aufidius has the most power over his people as he is the leader of the Volscian army. Coriolanus' mother, Volumnia, also has power in the play. However, her power is different to the others. She is powerful in the way that she is persuasive, and as a mother has power over Coriolanus. Then there are the tribunes, Sicinius and Brutus. They are powerful at a lower level in the way that they persuade the opinions of the plebeians. They use their power to persuade the people not to vote Coriolanus consul. Finally, the plebeians hold the least amount of power as they are lowest on the social hierarchy in this play.  The power in this play ultimately leads to the fate of each character, especially Coriolanus. He is the only character to mistreat his power and switch sides. He dies, yet no other person with power dies with him, as they all stayed faithful to their city.