Original: Most sweet voices!
Modern: Oh, how wonderful—their votes!

Original: Better it is to die, better to starve,
Modern: It would be better to die, better to go hungry,

Original: Than crave the hire which first we do deserve.
Modern: Than to beg for the payment we’ve already earned.

Original: Why in this woolvish toge should I stand here,
Modern: Why should I stand here in this rough wool toga,

Original: To beg of Hob and Dick, that do appear,
Modern: Begging from every Tom and Harry who shows up,

Original: Their needless vouches?
Modern: For their unnecessary approval?

Original: Custom calls me to’t:
Modern: Tradition demands I do this:

Original: What custom wills, in all things should we do’t,
Modern: Whatever tradition requires, we should do it in everything,

Original: The dust on antique time would lie unswept,
Modern: Otherwise the dust of ancient times would remain unswept,

Original: And mountainous error be too highly heapt
Modern: And massive mistakes would pile up so high

Original: For truth to o’er-peer.
Modern: That truth couldn’t see over them.

Original: Rather than fool it so,
Modern: Rather than play the fool like this,

Original: Let the high office and the honour go
Modern: Let the important position and the honor go

Original: To one that would do thus.
Modern: To someone who’s willing to act this way.

Original: I am half through;
Modern: I’m halfway done;

Original: The one part suffer’d, the other will I do.
Modern: I’ve endured one part, and I’ll get through the other.

Original: Here come more voices.
Modern: Here come more voters.

Original: Your voices: for your voices I have fought;
Modern: Your votes: for your votes I have fought;

Original: Watch’d for your voices; for Your voices bear
Modern: Stood guard for your votes; for your votes I bear

Original: Of wounds two dozen odd; battles thrice six
Modern: About two dozen wounds; eighteen battles

Original: I have seen and heard of; for your voices have
Modern: I have seen and heard of; for your votes I have

Original: Done many things, some less, some more your voices:
Modern: Done many things, some minor, some major—your votes:

Original: Indeed I would be consul.
Modern: The truth is, I want to be consul.

In Act 2, Scene 3 of “Coriolanus,” Caius Martius (now called Coriolanus after his victory at Corioles) appears in the marketplace wearing the gown of humility, as custom requires for those seeking the consulship. He must ask individual citizens for their voices (votes) to secure the position. Coriolanus finds this ritual degrading and speaks with barely concealed contempt, though he attempts to comply with the tradition. The citizens approach him in small groups, and despite his disdainful manner and mocking tone, they grant him their voices, impressed by his military service and the wounds he has received in battle for Rome.

After Coriolanus exits, the citizens begin to second-guess their decision. They realize he showed them his wounds reluctantly and mockingly, and that he treated them with scorn rather than genuine respect. The tribunes Sicinius and Brutus encourage this doubt, reminding the citizens that Coriolanus has always been an enemy to the common people and suggesting they were hasty in granting their approval. The citizens agree they have been foolish and decide to revoke their consent. The tribunes instruct them to gather in the marketplace and tell the Aediles that they gave their voices unwillingly and were manipulated into it, setting the stage for a confrontation over Coriolanus’s consulship.

Coriolanus tells the tragic story of a Roman military hero whose pride and contempt for the common people ultimately leads to his downfall. The play opens with Roman citizens rioting over grain shortages, angry at the patrician class’s indifference to their suffering. Caius Marcius, a fierce Roman general, successfully leads the siege against the Volscian city of Corioles, earning the honorary name “Coriolanus.” Despite his military prowess, he openly despises the plebeians (common citizens) and reluctantly agrees to seek the consulship only at his mother Volumnia’s urging.

When Coriolanus runs for consul, he must follow tradition by displaying his war wounds to the citizens and asking for their votes. Though initially successful, the tribunes Brutus and Sicinius manipulate the fickle crowd against him, exploiting his arrogant nature and aristocratic disdain. When Coriolanus explodes in rage against the people’s ingratitude and the democratic process itself, he is banished from Rome. His famous response - “I banish you!” - reveals his wounded pride and inability to bend to political necessity.

In exile, Coriolanus seeks out his former enemy Aufidius, leader of the Volscians, and offers to help destroy Rome in revenge. Together they march on the city with devastating success. As Rome faces imminent destruction, various delegations plead with Coriolanus to spare the city, but he remains unmoved until his mother Volumnia, wife Virgilia, and young son appear before him. In the play’s climactic scene, Volumnia’s emotional appeal finally breaks through his resolve, and he agrees to make peace - knowing this decision will likely cost him his life. True to expectation, Aufidius and his conspirators kill Coriolanus for his “betrayal,” viewing his mercy toward Rome as weakness and treachery to their cause.