Analysis of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra Essay

Shakespeare was a man who influenced the English language in his time. His birth date is officially unknown but is largely acknowledged on April 23rd,1564. His birthplace is in Stratford-upon-avon, United Kingdom and went to school at the King's New School in Stratford. The schoolhouse that he studied in was conveniently located approximately a quarter mile away from where he lived. When Shakespeare turned 18, he got the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester to issue a marriage licence on November 27, 1582 and he used it to marry Anne Hathaway (who was twenty-six at the time). Together, they had Three children: Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. Sometime after 1585, his acting, and playwriting careers picked up speed in London. In that same

Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on

“When the poor cried, Caesar wept” (3.2.189). Similarly to this phrase, Marc Antony uses several literary techniques to paint Julius Caesar in a positive light during his speech. In the play Julius Caesar several conspirators devise a successful plan to murder and overthrow the ruler of Rome. The death of Caesar could easily be seen as the cusp of his impact on the story; however, despite after death, Caesar plays a huge role in further development of the plot. Following his beloved friend’s assassination, Marc Antony delivers a stirring speech that could easily be seen as a critical turning point. Antony cleverly persuades the commoners to join his cause for vengeance. Throughout his empowering speech to the plebeians, William

William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra In the play Antony and Cleopatra, the character of Cleopatra is one of

Have you ever seen the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by .William Shakespeare? The Tragedy of Julius Caesar takes place in Rome in the year 1599. Did you ever realize how different Brutus and Mark Antony are? Well if you haven't then it is good you are reading this because I'm going to show you how these two great men are so different

Thank you for coming to watch Theatre Theatre’s production of the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is known for writing many famous tragedy plays, but not only is this just a play, this play was based on a real lfe event that occurred during 44 BC. That is a bit more than 2 millennia ago. It demonstrated how Julius Caesar, a man that was recognized as an immortal could fall merely to a blemish.

Julius Caesar is an historical tragedy, written by Shakespeare in 1599. Set in ancient Rome it depicts the rise and fall of an emperor and a time of vast political change. Presenting a tale of manipulation and a struggle for power Shakespeare uses the uses the art of the orator and rhetoric to describe key moments in Rome’s history. Structurally central to the play is Act III, scene 2, as it is at this pivotal moment, after the conspiracy and assassination of Caesar that the battle for power begins.

Similarily, Mark Antonty’s conflicting perspective is driven by bias and self-interest, more than anything else. Antony’s private and public nature shows a conflicting perspective. Towards the beginning of the play, Antony is depicted as passionate, loyal, loving and noble. This is shown in Act 1 scene two, when Antony refers to Caesar as “my lord”. This shows his loyal to Caesar. “I shall remember: When Caesar says ‘Do this’, it is performed.” This quote defines Antony’s loyalty for his friend Caesar. While speaking with Antony, Caesar speaks of his fear of Cassius. Antony shows his loving nature of Caesar to show comfort and support. “Fear him not, Caesar, he’s not dangerous, He is a noble Roman and well given.” The dramatic irony is uncovered throughout the play as Cassius is plotting to kill Caesar. The epithet of “noble Roman” becomes irony as Cassius’ plot is exposed and his “nobleness” is lost. The extensive use of emotive language throughout Antony’s funeral orotaion displays his caring nature and depicts a noble man. However, the anaphora of the irony of “Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honourable man…” juxtaposed, again with his loving nature, with “my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar” shows the

Throughout the play Julius Caesar Antony, Caesar’s loyal servant, has become a bigger and bigger factor in the play. He really breaks out in Act III. In Act III, Brutus and others have killed Caesar, but yet leaves Antony unharmed because he seems harmless. Antony wants to show the public Caesar’s body and say a funeral speech. Brutus, trusting Antony, allows him to do so, but under some certain terms. Antony must speak good of the conspirators and not blame them. Antony uses logos and ethos, irony, and finally establishes ethos to turn the crowd away from Brutus.

He supports this claim asserting that Caesar was not ambitious or dictatorial and to tell what actually happened to Caesar. He uses a parallelism to appeal to pathos.”Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”(Shakespeare Act 3). This further heightens Antony's connection with the Romans and that he actually cares about them so they should care what he says.

    In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's

Though Cleopatra is guilty of being disloyal, she also falls victim to some acts of betrayal and loyalty throughout the play. Cleopatra in fact, feels as though Marc Antony in the beginning of the play- or at least feels has betrayed her as though Marc Antony will show minimal loyalty to her. Cleopatra expresses these feelings in a conversation with Marc Antony:

In Act 1 scene 1 of the play, the negative attitude that many people hold towards Cleopatra is instantly established. Philo blames Cleopatra for having an adverse influence on Antony. His love for her has ruined him; he has “become the bellows and the fan to cool a gypsy’s lust.” At the time, gypsies we’re commonly viewed as untrustworthy. People held Cleopatra in low regard and viewed her as whore. This reiterates that though Antony was once a wise leader, Philo even compares him to Mars- god of war; he has allowed his emotions to gain sway over his reason. He is a “triple pillar of the world transform’d into a strumpets fool.” Consequently, he makes bad choices. This foreshadows his foolish decision to later fight the forces of Octavius at sea. Philo also notes that that it is as if Antony is two different people, there is the strong Antony and, in contrast, there is the Antony that they see now- the love-stricken

William Shakespeare is a master at literature, drama, and even poetry. In his 1599 play Julius Caesar, he shows his literary talents and they shine exceptionally well in Act 3, Scene 2-3 in which he has both Brutus and Mark Anthony speak to the people of Rome about the murder of Caesar. Brutus goes up first and sways the people into his favor by mentioning that he killed Caesar for the safety of Rome but then Mark Anthony with great oratorical skills brings the people into his side with appealing to certain feelings such as pity and other skills such as praeteritio and therefore leads the people into riot and mutiny against Brutus. With this scene, Shakespeare shows many of his intentions. First of all, he shows his mistrust of mobs and mob

Throughout Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, readers are constantly thrown in the middle of a battle between Roman and Egyptian values. Antony, a noble warrior for the Romans, is the character that seems to have the most trouble between this dichotomy. He is constantly caught between reason (Rome) and passion (Egypt) and has a difficult time making the transitions. Cleopatra is the character that stays most true to her roots, but begins adopting the other side’s values toward the end of the story. She makes a smoother transition than Antony, which can be attributed to her self-confidence and open-minded spirit. Antony is a constant source of back-and-forth commotion while Cleopatra seems to posses Egyptian qualities until the end of the