Chapter Act I of Coriolanus - Study Guide by William Shakespeare

Victory is now with Rome. Cominius acknowledges Martius' great heroic contribution to the battle and anticipates his reception in Rome. Even the citizens, Cominius predicts, will 'thank the gods / Our Rome hath such a soldier'. Martius refuses Cominius' offer of one tenth of the plunder. Martius is uneasy with praise or commendation - hence his reaction to that of Cominius, Volumnia or even the martial trumpets. Here we see Martius' character - he is a soldier. Later the shift from Roman to Volscian army is easier than that from the army to the world of politics for Martius. He has one request that a man who sheltered him in Corioli be released from prison. Yet consumed by the personal rivalry with Aufidius, Martius cannot remember the man's name; this symbolises the hero's tragedy - that his personal integrity is subservient to his integrity as a soldier.

Act I, scene x

Aufidius stands defeated for the fifth time by Coriolanus, though he refuses to see himself as a part of the Volscian defeat against Rome. He is more concerned by the former than the latter, which establishes the importance of personal rivalry in the conspiracy against Coriolanus that will materialise in Act V. Aufidius will resort to any means to achieve this, military or political, and in this, the contrast with Coriolanus is acute. Further Coriolanus' exile in Act IV parallels Aufidius' voluntary exile here. That this retreat will be temporary is confirmed as Aufidius asks for reports to be brought to him.