Monologue

Menenius Monologue from Coriolanus

From Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

male · philosophical · 53 sec

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Note me this, good friend; Your most grave belly was deliberate, Not rash like his accusers, and thus answered: “True is it, my incorporate friends,” quoth he, “That I receive the general food at first Which you do live upon; and fit it is, Because I am the storehouse and the shop Of the whole body. But, if you do remember, I send it through the rivers of your blood Even to the court, the heart, to th’ seat o’ th’ brain; And, through the cranks and offices of man, The strongest nerves and small inferior veins From me receive that natural competency Whereby they live.

About this piece

Menenius addresses the citizens, defending the role of the belly as a metaphor for the state, emphasizing the interconnectedness of society and the importance of trust among its members.

40s · trust · power · identity · betrayal · community

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