&quot;Coriolanus&quot; is the last of the so-called political tragedies by William Shakespeare, written about 1608. T. S. Eliot considered &quot;Coriolanus&quot; to be Shakespeare&#39;s finest achievement in tragedy.&nbsp;<br /><br />Not only is &quot;Coriolanus&quot; a Roman history play in addition to being a tragedy, it is a decidedly political work that embodies a debate or treatise concerning the relative merits of patrician autocracy versus plebeian democracy.&nbsp;<br /><br />Roman general Coriolanus makes his name defeating an enemy army and defending Rome. The Senate nominates him as consul but he cannot win the people&#39;s vote, so he is banished from Rome and allies with his old enemy. He comes to attack Rome, but his mother persuades him not to. His new-found ally will make him pay for the betrayal...