Shakespeares Anthony and Cleopatra: an Essay

In comparison to the perceptions both Cassius and Brutus have towards Caesar, is the perspectives of Antony and Caesar of himself. Antony looked at Caesar as a friend, a role model as well as a kind and deserving leader. This notion is exemplified through the use of emotive language “O mighty Caesar! /most noble blood of all this world/ the noblest man/ That ever lived in the tide of times”. Furthermore, the use of descriptive and connotative language throughout Antony’s

Julius Caesar, a Roman general, dictator, and leader, is considered to be one of history 's most influential and powerful rulers to this day, in which his rise to power, conquest of Europe, and controversial downfall all remain to be told during modern days. The play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, portrays the events leading up to Julius Caesar’s assassination, and how those who conspired against him banded together and plotted Caesar’s demise. Many of those conspirators assassinated Caesar due to his quick rise to absolute power, his “acts” of disrespect against the senate such as his failing to stand to receive the title of becoming a “god,” and pure jealousy and anger towards Caesar’s success and rule over the Roman empire. Caesar, an ambitious man, was able to conquer many lands and peoples for Rome through successful military campaigns in which he became one Rome’s best generals due to the amount of successful battles he had won and the amount of blood he had shed for Rome’s expansion. However, Caesar’s trait of ambitiousness would prove to be a double edged sword.

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.

In the provided extract Plutarch gives his depiction of Cleopatra and the leverage she has over Antony. Plutarch (1965) begins by stating, “He [Mark Antony] allowed the

I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?" (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 86-89, ). Every time Antony is able to counteract something Brutus says with facts he repeats the same few words, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man." (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 80-81, 84-85, 92-93). Antony makes sure to never directly say that Brutus is not an honorable man, but as he continuously states that Brutus is honorable it begins to lose meaning and worth. Antony indirectly shows that Brutus is not as honorable as he proves to be and deteriorates Brutus' justification for Caesar's death, his ambition, "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know." (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 2 99-100). Antony then closes his speech by showing a vulnerable side of himself in which he mourns for his friend, "Bear with me. My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me." (Shakespeare 103-105). He gets the last word and successfully wins over the

One of the rhetorical appeals that Antony used to sway the crowd against the conspirators was pathos. Pathos is an appeal using emotion. In line 20 Antony begins to use pathos when he states, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.” This quote is able to sway the crowd against Brutus and Cassius by showing what kind of good person Caesar was. He was compassionate to people. This quote shows what kind of good leader by helping out the poor. He knew what they were going through so he cried along with them. This quote is able to sway the citizens of Rome because it shows the opposite of what Brutus said about Caesar. If he would

Once again in Julius Caesar, we see the use of dramatic form to convey opposing perspectives on the assassination of Caesar. Conflict is a key factor in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and in any Shakespearean drama. Conflicting perspectives are used to build dramatic tension, in Julius Caesar, this is both within the group of conspirators and between them and those who oppose them. From the beginning Shakespeare encourages us to question the republican cause. In the opening scene of act one, Flavius and Marullus, who are the administrative officers display their disdain for the common people of Rome. Flavius refers to the common Romans as ‘idle creatures’ and Marullus, outraged by the plebs when they turn their backs on Pompey, calls them ‘You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!’ ‘O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, Knew you not Pompey?’ The use of insulting language, imperative, exclamation and rhetorical questioning make an important point regarding Caesar’s triumph over Pompey and the fickle nature of the plebians. They appear cruel and dictatorial, making it hard for the audience to

There have been many rulers in history who have been betrayed by those they trust, but The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare,1959) still holds a special place in Western literature as one of the most enigmatic human beings to ever exist. Powerful men like Julius Caesar shaped the life and times of the late Roman Republic, just before Rome would officially become the Roman Empire on the crowning of Augustus as the first Roman emperor. Julius Caesar was a powerful general who expanded Rome's power and who was beloved by the people for his generous charity after his successful conquests. Despite knowing the story of Julius Caesar to some extent, most 16th/17th century English would not have ever visited Rome, nor would know what the Roman Republic was like, which presented a unique opportunity to William Shakespeare to create a play unlike any other he had created before. (Shakespeare Julius Caesar, 1599) Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a reimagining of Rome from a Elizabethan point of view, and despite some inaccuracies, the play depicts an enlightening view on Roman life, and the life of the Roman general, Julius Caesar.

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

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a historical drama written by William Shakespeare. The play represents a power struggle between the ideals of god, the intangible concepts of justice and righteousness, and the place of people in society. Marcus Brutus, a servant and close friend of Julius Caesar, kills his boss for the love and ideals of the Roman Republic. While Shakespeare’s play is not a Greek myth, an examination of the work in the light of the legend of Icarus draws some interesting comparison.

Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, while surely meant to be entertaining and historically informative, undoubtedly also houses insight into the deep complexity and diversity of human beings. The play shows the constant use of ethos, pathos, and logos in human thought and action. Characters use ethos and logos to persuade in evil ways, which results in the assassination of Caesar and an explosion of pathos. Humans, when doing something unjustifiable will present shaky logic. When a person of high authority or respect does this however, their ethos acts as a shield to their flawed logic making it believable.

The following study is based on the plays Antony and Cleopatra which is written by William Shakespeare and All for Love which is written by John Dryden. Both writers are the most prominent playwrights in the history of English literature. We can see that both writers through their respective works have focused on the relationship between two prominent characters of the ancient world- Marc Antony, who was a Roman ruler and Cleopatra- who was considered the most beautiful woman in the world and who was also the queen of Egypt.

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

The binary oppositions of masculine and feminine are thus personified by Caesar and Cleopatra, not by Antony, whose men often regard him as the "pawn" of the deceptive queen and thus not a real man. On the contrary, Robert Miola says, "Caesar's sense of purpose and public responsibility directly opposes Cleopatra's love of idleness and luxury" (129), a conclusion supported by the fact that it is Caesar who, after the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra, provides some closure to the political chaos that has dominated the play.