Bodies and Health
Imagery related to bodies, body parts, health, and disease run rampant in Coriolanus. Characters frequently compare the Roman state to a body, implying that each social or political position serves a particular function in keeping the body healthy and functional. Additionally, the numerous battles that occur throughout the play focus on the bodies of the soldiers through elaborate descriptions of bloodshed and wounded body parts. The play ultimately uses bodily imagery to reflect on what a "healthy" citizenry should look like, as well as to emphasize Coriolanus's own obsession with violence and martial triumph.
Butterflies
Few people will be able to forget the gruesome imagery with which Volumnia reports that her grandson, Martius, tortures butterflies for fun until he eventually tears them apart with his teeth. This imagery is significant because it draws a distinct parallel between Young Martius and his father, Coriolanus, who derives the same kind of joy from slaying soldiers on the battlefield as his son does from torturing innocent insects.
Animals
Animal imagery appears in the play frequently, and usually in the form of an insult. Coriolanus often refers to the plebeians as dogs to emphasize that he considers them lowly compared to himself. He further compares them to cowardly hares (instead of valiant lions) and geese (instead of predatory foxes). In turn, the plebeians refer to Coriolanus as a "dog to the commonality" to portray him as a threat to the Roman state.
Upward Mobility
At the beginning of the play, the patricians are worried that the plebeians have plans to "rise up" and overthrow their government. This is just one example of the play's focus on upward imagery. This imagery of climbing, rising, and moving upward is reflective of the social and political hierarchy on which Rome is built. Because the patricians benefit the most from this hierarchy, they are the biggest proponents of keeping it in place and therefore keeping the plebeians "down" or at the bottom of the societal food chain.
