A Clash of Contrasting Linguistic Ideas in Coriolanus

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper investigates into the conflict between Coriolanus and the community in terms of their contrasting linguistic views. It argues that the whole dramatic tension of the play grows from the discrepancy between the two contrasting attitudes toward language: namely Coriolanus’s natural abhorrence of eloquence and the community’s view of language as social convenience. Coriolanus denies formal language as dissembling, falsifying play-acting for his own personal integrity and the military action. On the other hand, the community claims the need for a conventional linguistic system governed by context for wider and interactive social communication. I criticize Coriolanus’s rejection of the conventional language in favor of deeds and actions, arguing that he is too idealistic to accept that actions are intrinsically bound up with the linguistic exchange of the community. At the same time I accept Coriolanus’s obstinate, but honest, ideal pursuit to get rid of the gap between word and action. I suggest that in some sense Coriolanus is warning us to be careful in the misuse of speech. In this way I attempt to apply a more balanced perspective in analyzing the clash between Coriolanus’s and the public’s different linguistic ideas. I conclude that we cannot blame the viewpoint of Coriolanus pursuing a ideal linguistic world without a mask, nor that of community whose main concern lies in social interaction.

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