He has no equal.
-Junius Brutus
Coriolanus Act I, scene i, line 49
This is Junius Brutus talking and he is the stereotypical politician.
In other words, he’s a jerk and Will wants us to see that he’s a jerk. Apparently
politicians four hundred years ago were held in the same contempt that they are
today. Junius is talking about Coriolanus and he is being facetious and cynical
here. But in truth, he’s also right. Though I’m not sure he realizes it.
Now, since I’ve decided to try my hardest to stay off the
news today, especially political news which is really upsetting me lately, and
since a further discussion of this play will inevitably lead me to a discussion
of the current political situation, I’m afraid I’m going to have cut today’s
discussion short. Let me end by saying that this is a really good play and that
the 2011 movie starring Ralph Fiennes is also really good. If you have a chance
to see it please don’t pass it up. I won’t say that Ralph has no equal, but he’s
quite good.
These are some ruins of a Roman aqueduct somewhere in Spain. Relevance? Well, Coriolanus is a play set in Rome.
Sorry, that's the best I could do.