Essays on Antony and Cleopatra

The play that I chose to read and study is Antony and Cleopatra. It was written in “1606”(Antony). There are no traces as to where Shakespeare was living with while writing this play. Antony and Cleopatra was first published in “1623 from an authorial draft”(Antony). There is no evidence to show when Antony and Cleopatra took place. The mood of the play is suspenseful because throughout the play the is constantly wondering what going to happen next. Like, will Antony…

A "strumpet" and her "fool". Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra are too sordid as characters to ever achieve genuine tragedy- discuss. Antony and Cleopatra's behaviour at intervals in the play do make her appear a "strumpet" and he her "fool". However, to solely condemn then as such fails to recognise the other qualities they possess as world leaders. They are judged initially for their inability to recognise the duty they have to their subjects. Their all-consuming passion is viewed as self-gratifying,…

Cleopatra's timeless fascination exists for the characters of the play, for Shakespeare's public and ourselves as a modern audience. - How do you respond to this statement from your reading of the play? Shakespeare's plays all have universal themes incorporated within the play such as love, death and jealousy that audiences throughout history would have enjoyed and empathised with. In 'Antony and Cleopatra;' I think Shakespeare has used these universal themes in the play, but he has also created a universal…

Show how Shakespeare brings out the duality in Antony’s character in Act 1. “Antony and Cleopatra” by William Shakespeare is a play revolving around the destructive duality of Antony’s character. Shakespeare uses Antony’s transformation from Roman to Egyptian to cause constant conflict between the Roman side of Antony, defined by Empire and duty, and the Egyptian side of Antony, defined by folly and lust. “Antony and Cleopatra” is a tragedy involving Antony, one of the triumvirates who rule the world, who…

However, as Act 1 progresses, arguments between the pair become much more frequent and it becomes obvious their relationship is not always a happy one. The topic of Antony's wife, Fulvia, causes much disruption between the pair, and following news of her death in Scene 2, Cleopatra still finds it hard to believe that Antony truly loves her, and is slightly hostile toward him. At one point she says "O, my oblivion is a very Antony", suggesting she is extremely…

Antony and Cleopatra's relationship involves much manipulation like the politics of empire. Cleopatra asks him, 'if it be love, tell me how much'. She also tells a messenger that when he sees Antony 'If you find him sad, /Say I am dancing; if in mirth report /That I am sudden sick'. Love is often used as a political tool. Cleopatra engineered a relationship with Julius Caesar to advance her own power. The audience are also shown later that Cleopatra needs…

Examine the Strengths and Weak Points of Antony and Cleopatra's relationship and the significance love has on important occasions in the play. Antony and Cleopatra's strengths in love change tremendously. Their behaviours towards each other create a chain reaction in the formation of occasions within the play. It is for these reasons, which determine the direction of the narrative. Antony behaviour is demonstrative of extreme strengths in his love toward Cleopatra, as he is prepared to disregard all his responsibilities…

Antony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare's most dramatic plays; however it has not been staged nearly as many as plays such as Hamlet or Macbeth because it is such a hard play to produce due to its enormous variety of content. However the mere strength of the characters within the play creates intense tragic possibilities, despite the difficulties that may be faced in production. Cleopatra and Octavia are contrasting characters in the play Antony and Cleopatra. Each embodies different…

Mark Antony is known to us through two chief mediums. The first is from the two plays of Shakespeare- ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ where a romanticized and magnified version of his character is presented. The second comes from the historical analysis and commentaries of Plutarch who compares, contrasts and views all the actions of Mark Antony in back-drop his three contemporaries who also happen to be three of the greatest figures of history-Julius Caesar, Octavian (Augustus) Caesar, and…

Betrayal in the play ultimately causes the downfall of many main characters; weather it be betrayal of buddies or of their initial suitables and morals. If we take the example of Enobarbus' case, his decline from the stringent Roman ethics into the looser morals that symbolise more Egyptian perfects, leads him to betray his general and buddy, Antony. Enobarbus then goes onto to die of the regret and broken heartedness he experiences as a result of his treachery towards Antony…

These 2 Shakespearian plays are extremely comparable in setting and plot. There seems to be a comparable balance of corresponding characters who are relatively alike in each play, for examples Antony and Romeo, Cleopatra and Juliet, Enobarbus and Mercutio etc, although the time and geographical setting is different. In both plays the 2 main characters experience love and a relationship in regards to enthusiasm that is pressed and pulled to all extremities. All the primary characters' mindset to like ways…