Antony And Cleopatra Comparison Essay

Cleopatra was a strong ruler and took the throne at 18 after her father died. Cleopatra ruled with her brother Ptolemy XII. She also led armies to defeat other countries.

How did Cleopatra rise to and maintain her power? Not much is known about her life since she lived so long ago, but what is known is enough to piece together some of her life story. Cleopatra was a strong and intelligent woman who made it through all the struggle and strife of the ancient world until it became too much for her. Cleopatra’s reign began and ended with tragedy, but was maintained by exploited love connections.

Cleopatra, Greek queen of Egypt, was born at the beginning of 69 B.C and one of the few women rulers in ancient Egypt. Her father was Ptolemy XII And Cleopatra was the last pharaoh in Egypt. She is known as clever, covetous, skilled, beguiling and manipulative. Cleopatra’s physical features are not certain and there is not enough information about her profile. “The colour of her eyes and of her hair is not known; nor can it be said whether her skin was white as alabaster, like that of many of her Macedonian fellow countrywomen, or whether it had that olive tone so often observed amongst the Greeks. Even her beauty, or rather the degree of her beauty, is not clearly defined.” Cleopatra was born at the finish of the Ptolemaic dynasty, because,

When Octavian stated “And yet, at first, I was so enthusiastic about him that I shared with him my command, married my sister to him, and have him legions,” he shows that he was the dominate male in his home and an authority figure in Rome during his speech to his troops (Document 2). He tells them of how men are superior to woman, but that Antony is allowing Cleopatra to take control of Rome and him. Antony has given her everything that the citizens of Rome have worked for and owned including land, riches, and even an island, all while he is still married to Octavian’s sister. Antony went as far as even “legitimizing the two children, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selena,” that he conceived with Cleopatra while still married (Document 1). Octavian tried to reason with Antony, showing that he still backed him but that he needed to come back to the Roman side because the Egyptian queen has brainwashed him, and turned him into a female servant. Once, Antony rejects the offer, Octavian condemned Antony and in return was condemned right back (Document 1). From that point, Octavian decided that he no longer has a choice, Rome needed to defend themselves from the Egyptian sorcerous, Cleopatra, and the bewitched Marc Antony. If they conquered them, then they would be free from all that has been done, but if they lose, then they have brought shame upon themselves (Document

Historically, the action of Antony and Cleopatra takes place over a ten-year span, whereas in the play the story is compressed to fit the needs of the stage. Antony is clearly much older than he was in Julius Caesar, and his political instincts

I understand that this is a very emotional time for Antony and that he feels very strongly about avenging his

Antony uses guilt to his advantage. As Antony expresses, “Have patience, gentle friends. I must not read it; It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. You are not wood. You are not stones, but men; And, being men, bearing the will of Caesar.”

While their original friendship started out at a political meeting, it was later formed into one of the greatest love stories of all times. According to The Ancient World, "the political significance of this meeting was underscored by the establishment of a personal relationship that would capture the imagination of subsequent generations" (Wildin 75). Antony began to pursue Cleopatra, and they quickly fell in love. He left his current wife Octavia for Cleopatra, which caused the Roman citizens to question if he was a good leader and always doing the right thing. According to an article found on Antony, it says that "Antony wanted funds and supplies from Egypt to assist him in his conflict with the Parthians, and Cleopatra longed to restore the original boundaries of the Ptolemaic kingdom", ("Mark Antony" 2). They used each other for benefits and quickly became an unstoppable team. As described in The Ancient World, "there was now no retreating from their personal and political alliance: politics and love became one." (Wildin 75). Antony even had a ceremony where Cleopatra was given the title the "Queen of Kings" and their kids received titles as well (Mark Antony 2).

When Cleopatra was having trouble with her brother, Ptolemy XIII, she saw Julius Caesar as a valuable ally in her fight for the throne. She ordered a servant to wrap her in a carpet so she could sneak into the palace and present herself to him. It is said that “the gesture won over Rome’s future dictator-for-life”. Julius accepted to help her and they became intimate and had a child together. Unfortunately, Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. After his death Cleopatra formed a political and romantic partnership with Roman general, Mark Antony. They had three children together, and opposed an enemy named Octavian. In 30 B.C., Mark Antony was captured and forced to kill himself by Octavian. This resulted in Cleopatra’s death when she committed suicide after hearing that Mark Antony was

Boccaccio, Giovanni. Concerning Famous Women [1335, De Claris Mulieribus].Trans. Guido Guarino. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1963.

Wanting to avoid yet another Roman civil war, Octavian did not want to pit Romans against Romans, and so he instead chose to ignore Antony and focus Rome’s suspicion and hostility on Antony’s wife — Cleopatra — instead (Schiff). Two themes dominated the propaganda spread by Octavian. The first being that Cleopatra had used sex to ensnare Antony and lure him away from his wife (and Octavian’s sister), Octavia, causing him to become totally subservient to the Egyptian queen who was now forcing him to oppose Rome’s best interests by giving Cleopatra and her children Roman territories; and the second, and arguably worse, theme was that Cleopatra’s true goal was not to secure the welfare of Egypt, but the subjection of Rome to Egypt (Burstein

“Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear./ Believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine honor, that you may believe” (Shakespeare III. ii. 13-14). It is apparent hear that he is holding himself to a high esteem and appears as an authority figure to them, while Antony takes a completely different approach, he mourns with them and even cries on the stage, as evidenced by the fact that he pauses and states “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,/And I must pause till it come back to me.”(Shakespeare III. ii. ) midway through his speech. Antony brings himself down the people’s level and speaks to them as though he is one of them and additionally he makes it seem as though Caesar was one of them. Antonius puts all men on an equal playing field, while Brutus inadvertently exalts

Cleopatra VII was the last Pharaoh of Egypt. Cleopatra reigned over Egypt in 51BC after the death of her father Ptolemy XII Auletes. Cleopatra’s mother was Cleopatra VI and she came to power at the age of 17. Cleopatra ruled over Egypt with her two brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy VIX and her son Ptolemy XV Caesar. She was born in 69 BC in Alexandria and ruled from 51 BC to 30 BC. Cleopatra was Macedonian, but even though her ancestry was Macedonian, she was still an Egyptian queen and worshipped as a god. She was remembered for in history as the last Queen of Egypt and her relationships to Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

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:

William Shakespeare, one of the most profound writers in all of history, skillfully used the character of Mark Antony in his play, Julius Caesar, in order to verify true the theme that loyalty and respect are two of the most extremely convincing tactics. He demonstrates the power of speech as he is manipulating words in order to prove a certain point in the speaker’s favor, whoever that may be. Mark Antony was a man who enjoyed spending the majority of his time at extravagant parties and receiving everything he wanted at his sudden demand. Shakespeare created Antony to be an expert in speech manipulation, which ended up making Julius Caesar to be what