Antony And Cleopatra Critical Analysis

Some may even argue that Cleopatra’s romance with these men was true love. Throughout Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra,” Cleopatra and Marc Antony’s relationship is played out to be a true romance with a heartbreaking ending (Shakespeare). Whether Cleopatra grew to genuinely love Julius Caesar and Marc Antony does not justify her initial motives for seducing them. Before her first interactions with both men, Cleopatra was not in a powerfully stable state. Both men came into her life in times of great need of political aid. She sought Julius Caesar in the hope that he would reinstate the throne she had recently lost. After Julius Caesar’s death, Marc Antony served as a Roman protector for Cleopatra and Egypt. Her association with both men was strategically planned; although she might have grown genuine affection towards them both throughout each relationship, these feelings were nonexistent in her initial

Marc Antony, Brutus, and Cassius are all critical characters in William Shakespeare’s famous play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Due to their distinctive personalities and values, there is no trait that all of these characters share, although they do share some traits with one another. Firstly, Marc Antony and Cassius are manipulative in nature, while Brutus is not. Secondly, the root of Brutus and Cassius’ failure is their personality flaw, while Marc Antony proves strong in all the ways they prove weak. Lastly, Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, do not separate their private affairs from their public actions while acts only with honor and virtue and completely ignores his personal concerns.

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

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.

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).

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

Antony begins his affair with Cleopatra, three years after Caesar’s death. Prior to Caesar’s death however, Cleopatra was his mistress who gave birth to his son. Over their affair Cleopatra and Antony had three children and during the early years of this Antony was married, until his wife died rebelling against Octavian. With Antony being recently widowed and the lingering bad blood between the triumvirs, the senate insisted that Antony marry Octavian’s sister, Octavia Minor. In 37 B.C. with the triumvirate revived Antony returned to Cleopatra, and she gave birth to their third child. During this time they also grew more public in their relationship, acting as though their children were real heirs to Egypt and Antony’s place as part of the triumvirate. While all of this was happening, Octavian was increasing in strength having already eliminated Lepidus on the excuse of a possible rebellion. In 32 B.C. Antony divorced Octavia, Octavian’s response was less than positive as he declared war on Cleopatra. All in all as we know, Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra and when he entered Alexandria the lovers resolved to commit suicide. “As Octavian entered Alexandria, both Antony and Cleopatra resolved to commit suicide. Antony, thinking his lover already dead, stabbed himself with a sword but was then brought to die in Cleopatra’s arms. Cleopatra was captured but managed to kill herself via a poisonous snakebite.”(“Mark Antony”). Throughout Antony’s life, Caesar

While Antony may have once seemed loyal to Rome and his friends, he quickly convinces Octavius that Lepidus is not necessary. Antony’s betrayal gives one reason to question whether his intentions to help Rome are true and valid. For Octavius to not take action for Lepidus demonstrates that as long as it does not affect one directly, they do not care what happens to others. History repeats itself, and if one recalls what occurred in the triad of Caesar, it may seem plausible that it may happen once again in the triad of Antony, giving gative context to what may soon result from these actions. Through these incidents, Shakespeare portrays that one can become a victim to the greed for power, one that seems appealing on the outside, but evil within.

The admirable or “good” characters in the play are hard headed like the Greek myth of Cleopatra.The myth has her emotion and moral problem to sophocles story and the problem of loyalty to god or blood. In cleopatra's story it also points out that

The Senate of the Roman Republic are the ruling power over most of the known world. Yet this powerful and influential senate is easily threatened by one man; Julius Caesar. To the senators Caesar is the catalyst for the downfall of a Republic they had worked so hard to create and protect. The playwright William Shakespeare dives into this world of betrayal and ambition with his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Using his voice as a writer he takes the audience into Rome and lets them experience each riveting moment of Caesar’s fall. The play shows that Caesar is not the cause of Rome’s eventual downfall, but the senators who conspire against him and ultimately kill him are the ones reprehensible. Shakespeare introduces the

Similarly, Marc Antony was mesmerised by Cleopatra’s beauty. Cleopatra needed to preserve her relationship with Marc Antony not only to keep her high status, but as well the fact that he controlled the eastern Roman Empire, her geographical neighbour. Cleopatra had the power to tell Marc Antony anything and he’ll be compelled to follow her command. It is said that Cleopatra had Marcus Antonius kill her younger sister, Arsinoë IV when they were informed that opposition forces where supporting her.

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:

The audience is privy to a private conversation in Caesar’s home between Caesar and Lepidus, who were the other two thirds of the “triple pillar of the world” – the triumvirate. The triumvirate were a powerful political and military force; they ruled the Roman Empire after the murder of Julius Caesar. During this conversation, they discuss Antony’s debauched life and his former greatness in Caesar’s home where Caesar feels free to express his opinions honestly and he declares that Antony is “a man who is abstract of all faults” and someone who would “give a kingdom for mirth.” This shows us how far he has fallen in Caesar’s eyes as his tone would be scathing and I imagine he would be pacing as he ranted about Antony