Cleopatra Masculinity

1347 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roles of women in julius caesar

Ania Loomba’s critical essay on Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra looks into a variety of themes that are projected by the tragedy. She discusses power struggles between the East and the West, non-traditional gender roles, Cleopatra’s image as a seductive gypsy and racial views of Egypt at the time. There did seem to be a re-occurring stance which I thought was “Antony’s fatal attraction to Cleopatra speaks to contemporary English fears about the erosion of racial identity and masculinity” (Norton 279). Throughout her essay she gives examples of the East representing feminine qualities (Cleopatra) and the West representing masculine (Caesar) qualities (Norton 264), and how the English regarded Egypt or the East as vindictive, seductresses. …show more content…

In the play Caesar’s war is against Antony and Cleopatra and he achieves this by the end of the story. Loomba states that Imperial victory throughout history is represented by the sexual control of defeated women (Norton 264). In this case, by the end of the play when Cleopatra is defeated by Caesar after Antony’s death, Caesar does not necessarily wish to use Cleopatra as a sexual reward, however show her off as a display of how he conquered. This leads to Cleopatra committing suicide to escape the reign of Caesar and it symbolizes masculinity’s victory over femininity and femininity’s refusal to be …show more content…

The movie commences with a cross cut shot of Philo speaking of Antony and Antony and Cleopatra in her bedroom. Antony and Cleopatra are intimate and she lays on a couch above him and he sits on the floor while she teasingly puts makeup on him. You can see here the symbolism of Cleopatra being above Antony, and by putting make up on him also shows the example of cross dressing again. The duration of the cross cut of scenes are short and go on until Philo enters Cleopatra’s chamber, you can see that the director attempts to connect the two to show us how Antony is described by Philo. The scenery throughout the scenes are soft and pretty much everything is in focus. Looking at the mise-en-scene’s which are props in Cleopatra’s room consists of feminine qualities such as silk drapes, make up drinks etc. and Antony is not dressed like Philo or the messenger but in a white gown like shirt which also embraces the

Show More
Related

  • Cleopatra Sparknotes

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Out of the ashes of history Schiff argues for Cleopatra’s intellect rather than her maliciousness was what led to all her achievements. Politically and tacitly apt she won the hearts of a populace through the use of spectacles and dramas that painted her into a god like queen. Her creativity and audacity armored with her intellect allowed her to be revered and made both goddess and empress of an Empire to which she had no legitimate claim. Both Caesar and Mark Anthony fell helpless to her charm, intelligence and displays of opulent extravagance which were almost divine. She understood what powerful, intellectual men were attracted to. Most captivating, she was able to navigate her way through to the hearts of these powerful men who came from a different world than hers. As where her Egypt was the champion of women’s rights in antiquity, Rome was known for the polar opposite. To achieve such drastic success where her gender

    Read More

  • The Changing Depictions of Cleopatra's Legacy

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    Changing social habits of a contemporary society have seen Cleopatra depicted in many different ways. Whilst few artefacts remain of the true image of Cleopatra, we see from her portrait on the coins (Fear, 2008, p, 21 Fig 1.4) that despite being no legendary beauty, she had the power to captivate two of the greatest Romans of her time. Cleopatra consummated her union with Julius Caesar, which strengthened her grip on the throne, following his assassination; she formed alliance with Mark Antony, in opposition to Octavian, a coalition that would lead to her downfall as both Antony and Cleopatra’s combined forces would be defeated against Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. (Fear, 2008, p.7)

    Read More

  • Essay On The Real Cleopatra Costumes

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    When researching the three earlier versions of Cleopatra (1917, 1934, and 1963) I found a similar theme in costume for all three time periods. The role of Cleopatra in regards to costume design and character portrayal were all heavily influenced by the current state of America and its fashion. All three designs created for the movies were inaccurate historically for the real Cleopatra, but was accurate in depicting that specific times fashion.

    Read More

  • The Tragedy of Julius Ceaser: A Story of Abstract Gender Roles

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    The issues involving The Tragedy of Julius Ceaser is an equivocal topic, although to narrow one down is to reiterate how the men and women are viewed in this society. This play written by William Shakespeare, he introduced numerous characters but there are a few focal characters that surface around the idea of a bend in gender roles. To clarify, the characters that illustrate this are Julius Ceaser, the romans leader, as well as, his wife Calpurnia; and the other being Brutus, Ceasers friend, and his devoted wife Portia. This book reveals how dominance was ensued in men, while women’s worries were taken into account, but when challenged by a man’s there was no decision to be made the man hurled toward their fellow man’s idea. They felt that the men made more logical decisions when in fact that was utterly wrong.

    Read More

  • Cleopatra: The Natural Nemesis of Rome

    2718 Words  | 6 Pages

    Cleopatra is most often remembered as the lover of two Roman consuls, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, thereby forever connecting the Egyptian queen to the history of Rome. The stories of her relationships with the two men do not always paint a flattering picture of Cleopatra, as her reported promiscuity and presumption give her a colorful reputation. Cleopatra is also sometimes seen as a misunderstood woman, someone who was never given a fair opportunity to be accepted as the wife of Marc Antony nor the mother of Caesar's child. Some historians and authors use the issue of Cleopatra's race as a reason that she was ostracized from Roman society, saying that the Romans were prejudiced against Egyptians, and despite Cleopatra's Greek background, would never accept her as a suitable mate for a Roman consul. This theory, however, is far outweighed by the numerous justifications the Roman people had for their distaste of Cleoaptra. It is not surprising that Cleopatra never found acceptance in Rome, as she offered nothing to the relationship between Egypt and Rome, she stood for everything they were against, and little by little, she succeeded in destroying parts of the society that the Roman people had worked to build.

    Read More

  • Othello Reflects the Context and Values of its Time

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey

    Read More

  • Othello Analysis

    2032 Words  | 5 Pages

    The European Renaissance forever changed the life of the contemporary individual. Explosive advancements in education, technology, and trade broadened geographic and mental horizons; however, in England these developments were paired with population crises of poverty and unemployment. In addition, the increased interaction with foreign cultures fomented by various commercial and diplomatic engagements gave rise to apprehension in English sensibility. Eventually, Christian England would attempt to reshape these ‘strangers’ in their image and modern racial tensions sprung forth. Recursion of the trope of race, under the guise of blackness, heathenry, or even femininity occurs extensively in literary tradition, and especially within Shakespeare’s oeuvre. “There exists in all literature an archetypal figure who escapes both poles of the classic definition – appearing sometimes as hero, sometimes as villain, sometimes as clown…[he] has been named variously the ‘shadow,’ the ‘other,’ the ‘alien,’ the ‘outsider,’ the ‘stranger.’” It is with this borderline figure, mired in ambiguity, that this investigation is concerned: primarily with the stranger as the Moor in Othello, the Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1, and the woman in both.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Julius Caesar

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters in Julius Caesar, Portia and Calpurnia do not play a pivotal role in the overall plot of the story, their presence is vital in illuminating and developing the characters of their husbands, Brutus and Caesar. What they reveal about their husbands leads the reader to infer that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character.

    Read More

  • Animality and Darkness in Othello

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...scene and the misogynistic views of such as Iago, 'How if she be black and witty'' with the later scene of Act IV Scne iii and Desdemona's refusal to say the word 'whore', 'I cannot say whore/It does abhor me', then the dark baseness of the male world is seen in opposition and dark contrast to the innocence and naivety of Desdemona.

    Read More

  • The Power of Cleopatra

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    Around 69 B.C, one of the most famous female rulers ever known was born, she was Cleopatra. She was the descendent of the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XII, and she would eventually became the queen of ancient Egypt herself. She was known for being extremely intelligent and very charming, and because of this many romans feared her and viewed her as a threat. When her father died the throne of Egypt was left to her and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, and rivalry formed between the two, making her even more determined to become the sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra had trained all her life to be the successor of Egypt and she hungered for power. Like her father, she tried to have peace with Rome and maybe even have power over them. She would gain her power by having Caesar one and only son, Caesarion, the loyalty of Marc Antony, a well-known general who was popular among the troops in Rome, and of course by using her intelligence and Egypt’s resources. Cleopatra was a successful ruler because she had a thirst for power.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Julius Caesar

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters in Julius Caesar, Portia and Calpurnia do not play a pivotal role in the overall plot of the story, their presence is vital in illuminating and developing the characters of their husbands, Brutus and Caesar. What they reveal about their husbands leads the reader to infer that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character.

    Read More

  • Race in Othello

    2295 Words  | 5 Pages

    From its 1604 publishing date until the modern era, Shakespeare’s Othello has continued to be an essential sociological tool in its historical evocation of discussions of prejudice. The modern chronology of Othello’s worldwide criticism is consistently laden with race issues and exhibits the development of human thought in its gradual drift away from the archaic structural notions of human difference toward a more humanist and sensible perspective. This timeline of documented literary reactions validate the importance of discussing race in Othello.

    Read More

  • Antony And Cleopatra Internal Conflict Analysis

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Antony And Cleopatra Comparison Essay

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antony was furious at Cleopatra and wanted to kill her. When he got tricked into thinking that she had committed suicide he then decided to kill himself. This shows how much power she holds over him and how weak he truthfully is. It seems that at this point he is only acting tough because if he really did want to kill the “foul Egyptian” (211) that betrayed him he would not be upset when she died. The most pathetic part is he could not even complete the task that a warrior is supposed to do, which is kill. He could not kill himself so he asked one of the few men that he had with him to do it. Eros did not accept the request but instead stabs himself to “escape the sorrow of Antony’s death.” (223) The play made this more serious because they did not include the part where the guards come in and think that Eros just fainted. What still remained to be hilarious is Antony's death when they had to hoist him up to see Cleopatra. This shows the true death of his power and strength because he is relying on others to help him move. It also shows how much power Cleopatra has because even though she is the reason he stabbed himself he still wants to be with her in his final moments. Even when he is about to die they are making fun of him saying “how heavy weighs my lord!” when they are trying to lift him up to kiss her. This is the most awkward death I have ever heard of and the play did a wonderful job of portraying this. Almost everyone in the crowd was laughing at this unfortunate

    Read More

  • All For Love: More Sentiment than Tragedy

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

More about Cleopatra Masculinity

Open Document