In my course, I have students read the Federalistand some of the antifederalist writings. And I require them to readas much of Tocqueville's Democracy in America aspossible. But I begin with Shakespeare'sCoriolanus. This choice of text is peculiar, and Ihere address myself to that peculiarity. My aim is to show thatCoriolanus fits with these other works and toshow, given the depth and breadth of its themes, that it might alsoprofitably be read and studied in other political science courses.To put it in the briefest compass: the more prominent themes ofCoriolanus—the nature of ancient politics,political expertise, regimes, and the interplay of honor andambition—make it well suited to the exploration of politics ingeneral.