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Literary analysis of shakespeare
Shakespeare literary techniques
Literary analysis of shakespeare
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One of the biggest internal struggles in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is Antony’s struggle between reason and emotion. One of the times this is shown is when Antony turns his ships around after noting that Cleopatra has done so in Act III scene 10. Shakespeare decided to show Antony’s internal struggle by having him follow Cleopatra to emphasize how strongly his emotions and reasoning lead him to mix business with pleasure, intertwining his role of general with his role of lover. From turning his ship around mid-battle to dressing himself after spending the night to outright stating his feelings, Antony shows over and over the unavoidable mutual existence of his roles as general and lover.
Antony cannot decide to be either the general or the lover; he is both regardless of whether
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In his outright declaration of love to his queen after spending time away from her, Antony once more makes it evident that he cannot keep his identity as a general separate from his identity as a lover. Antony tells Cleopatra to leap “through proof of harness to [his] heart” (Act IV, scene 8, l.15). Antony is once more mixing his role in the army with his love for Cleopatra, reason and emotion. His declaration of love to her describing her reaching past his armor, which represents his status as general, and grabbing his heart shows that, though armor is meant to protect the chest and keep others out/away, his emotions surpass his reason and he is more than willing to allow her to do exactly what his armor is supposed to prevent. Towards the end of the play, after every subtle (or not so subtle) hint, Antony’s declaration of love including his armor demonstrates that he has come to understand that he does not need to choose between his two identities and constantly fight reason against emotion, but can instead live with both at the same
With the use of pathos, Antony directly touched the emotions of the people by stating how greatly affected he was by the death of Caesar and how he did not deserve to die. Next, by the use of ethos, Antony reminded the people that they once loved Caesar and that he was a morally good
In conclusion, The Aeneid’s lovers and Antony and Cleopatra are both tragic tales with many connections to each other. They share a common theme of a patriotic, heroic man having to choose between duty to his country and the passionate love of a beautiful, foreign and strong queen. Then on the otherside, they both depict a powerful and noble queen who is able to overcome the rampant patriarchy in their cities and rule with a firm loyal hand.
Mark Antony’s loyalty to Julius Caesar was one of the most loyal bonds history can account for. He had changed his political preference to accommodate for Julius Caesar’s friendship. He put his life on the line on multiple occasions to prove his loyalty to Caesar. Even though Julius Caesar’s party sought his demise Mark Antony stayed true to Caesar. After the death of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony proved his love for Caesar by giving a eulogy at his funeral. During the eulogy,which Brutus gave permission to Antony to give, Antony cleverly made Julius Caesar look good as he sarcastically destroys the reputations of the conspirators ”He was my friend,and just to me. But Brutus says he was ambitious, And Brutus is an honorable man.”(lll.ii.84-86) Antony also hunted down some of the conspirators that led to the death of his lord.
There are two reasons why The Aeneid is associated with the Shakespearean play Antony and Cleopatra. First, The Aeneid was written by a Roman named Virgil who, among many other reasons, wrote it as a tribute for Augustus Caesar, the leader of the Roman Empire. Augustus Caesar was formally named Octavian and is a character in Shakespeare's play. Secondly, both The Aeneid and Antony and Cleopatra share a common theme of a patriotic, heroic man having to choose between duty to his country and the passionate love of a beautiful, foreign and strong queen. In The Aeneid, the lovers are Aeneas and Dido and Antony and Cleopatra are the lovers in Shakespeare's play.
Cleopatra. Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison. Twentieth Century Fox Productions, 1963.
In conclusion, Caesar?s arrogant, calculating, unemotional character is opposed to Antony?s forgiving, generous, responsible one. Though Caesar is a great military leader, his success is achieved through deliberate cold-hearted scheming and manipulation of others while Antony displays true nobility through his incomparably great human qualities. Thus, in our minds, Antony is the greater of the two.
The Variety and Range of Enobarbus' Dramatic Contribution to the Play Antony and Cleopatra Shakespeare uses Enobarbus in a number of ways during the play 'Antony
William Shakespeare's Presentation of Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra Shakespeare portrays Octavius Caesar as a very complex character in 'Antony and Cleopatra.' Shakespeare shows the audience how he has very strong feelings about War, leadership, the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra, and his sister Octavia. These attitudes can be seen as being too rational, too ambitious, and too efficient. However it is these characteristics which in some ways, form the particular contrast with Antony, which shows us his complex character, which also contributes to the conflicts which arise in the play. Shakespeare is very clever in the portrayal of Caesar; he uses Caesar as a foil for Antony, however he is a character in his own right.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is an intimate portrayal of the famed assassination of Julius Caesar and the complex inner workings of the men who committed the crime. In one particularly revealing scene, two of the men closest to Caesar, one a conspirator in his murder and one his second-in command, give orations for the deceased. Despite being simple in appearance, these two speeches do much of the work in developing and exposing the two characters in question. Though both have a love for Caesar, Mark Antony's is mixed with a selfish desire for power, while Brutus' is pure in nature, brought to a screeching halt by his overpowering stoicism. These starkly-contrasted personalities influence the whole of the play, leading to its tragic-but-inevitable end.
Before the audience meets Antony, Shakespeare presents us with two soldiers discussing Antony’s current debauched life. This is dramatically effective staging because they are acting as a Greek chorus; relaying to the audience the general feeling in Rome and making us privy to feelings of irritation that Antony is unaware of. Philo tells us scathingly that “this dotage of our general’s/O’erflows the measure.” The use of the word “general” in the first line immediately tells us that Antony is a man of great rank. Quickly following this, he tells us that Antony “glowed like plated Mars” on the battlefield. This immediately raises his status to that of a god of war. This allows the audience to recognise Antony as a man who has gone into decline; he was not always a pleasure seeking man. Rank and stature are important aspects of the tragic hero; Aristotle believed that a tragic hero has to be a man of noble stature because it will emphasise the extent of his downfall, making it much more tragic.
Between the characters of Octavia and Cleopatra there exists a "moral contrast" (Bree 110) -a conflict of Roman ideals and Cleopatra's foreignness. Throughout the tradition of Cleopatra, authors, including Plutarch, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Fielding, as well as filmmakers such as Mankiewicz, have separated Cleopatra from Rome and Octavia because of her combination of political power and sexuality: "The notion of Cleopatra that we have inherited identifies her primarily as being the adversary, the Other. Her otherness is twofold. She is an Oriental, and she is a woman…" (Hughes-Hallett 4). If Cleopatra represents the 'Other', then Octavia exemplifies Rome itself. She embodies all of the characteristics of a proper Roman wife: beauty, grace, wisdom, and above all obedience to her husband. Octavia is Antony's celebrated wife throughout the literature although their relationship is dispassionate, while Cleopatra's "otherness" prevents her from attaining the respectable title of Antony's wife despite their love. Octavia acts as a character foil for Cleopatra, highlighting Cleopatra's foreign nature and her sexuality, which the Romans find unattractive and unacceptable in the character of a woman.
Question of politics and duty are present throughout Antony and Cleopatra, and the love story cannot be considered independently of them. The private emotions of the characters are influenced by the public world that they inhabit, and their actions are not only the actions of individuals, but also of powerful leaders.
The play of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ was written in 1606, and is mainly set in their respective worlds of Rome and Egypt. ‘Antony and Cleopatra,’ like Shakespeare’s other plays was written to be performed on the Jacobean Stage. In Shakespeare’s time there was a lack of scenery and stage props, but he compensated with his use of language that he gave to the audience, to assist them, bring to life the characters, plot and the setting in their own minds.
Antony. Shakespeare proves this play a tragedy by selecting characteristics of ill-fated lovers in Antony and Cleopatra. Poor Antony turns victim to Cleopatra's enslavement, and forgets his duties in Rome. Antony is a disgrace to his Roman self, and "loses" himself to dotage" of Cleopatra. He also forgets of his marriage to Caesars sister Octavia flees back to Egypt, to Cleopatra.
...in the play. On one occasion, Cleopatra herself becomes over sentimental, saying that Nature had intended her as "a wife, a silly, harmless house hold dove, fond without art and kind without deceit." In Act V, she bewails (laments) the curse of doting (loving) on her lover. The play indeed brings out the catharsis of the feeling of pity. Characters are responsible for their calamity and misfortunes. Their suffering and deaths here are entirely due to the faults in the characters - hero and heroine. They had not control over their illicit passion because fate had made Antony and Cleopatra, in capable of any control.