Act I, Scene 7

Summary

This short scene acts as a bridge between the two battlefronts. The setting shifts back to Corioli, where Titus Lartius issues the final orders to the Lieutenant for maintaining control over the town. He says that he is setting out in the direction of Cominius and Marcius, because “if we lose the field, /We cannot keep the town.”

This brief scene serves the function of intertwining two separate battles -- that of the capture of Corioli and CominiusÂ’ engagement with Aufidius -- and creating a sense of unity of space and time between them. Marcius had mentioned in the earlier scene that Titus Lartius had been left in control of the city of Corioli. In this scene Titus Lartius is seen as a straightforward military man issuing orders to the Lieutenant for maintaining control in his absence, for he is setting out to join Cominius and Marcius.

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