Caius Martius

Until the end of act 1 he gives himself the nickname Coriolanus while leading the army to defeat the city of Corioles, which then the nickname sticks. Also throughout the act it is visible that he is always trying to prove himself to his mother. According to many sources he is perceived as brave, fearsome, and very highly spoken of, but throughout the whole play he shows many attributes that fit the profile of a flawed hero. Where he portrays many characteristics such as proud, inflexible, stubborn, aristocratic, immature and insensitive. Such characteristics contradict the personality and morals of a hero where he starts fitting in the category of being a tragic hero also, due to the way story unfolds even from Act I Scene I. The overall purpose for this characterization would be to overlay two, both the political aspect and the tragic hero to portray within the play.