Antony is often talked of as a tragic hero, a great and admiral man but fatally flawed - Discuss this in relation to the first three acts.

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Antony is often talked of as a tragic hero, a great and admiral man but fatally flawed. Discuss this in relation to the first three acts.

Antony's fatal flaws are what make him such a brilliant tragic hero. Through the way Antony is talked about, the audience learns just how great and admirable he is. Through the first three acts, the audience sees just how flawed Antony is.

The audience observe immediately that Antony has one huge flaw, Cleopatra. Straight away the audience finds this as in Philo's speech he says

"But this dotage of our general's

O'erflows the measure."

This is saying that Antony loves and dotes on Cleopatra an amazing amount which Philo doesn't agree with as he is saying it is too much.

The audience also sees just how much of a flaw Cleopatra is when she tells Antony to listen to the messenger and he replies

"Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the

Wide arch of the ranged empire fall!

Here is my space."

Here he is saying let my country fail and fall apart I don't care I just want to be with Cleopatra here in Egypt.

Later on in the same act, Caesar is telling Lepidus all of Antony's flaws. He says

"Yet must Antony no way excuse

His foils when we do bear so great

Weight in his lightness."

This is Caesar saying that Antony is taking advantage of Caesar and Lepidus because whilst Antony is away in Egypt, all of his duties and responsibilities have been left to the other two members of the triumvir.

Whilst Cleopatra and Antony are having an argument about Fulvia, Cleopatra shouts at Antony,

"The greatest soldier of the world,

Art turned the greatest liar."

This is Cleopatra saying that even though Antony was the greatest soldier in the world, he has now become the greatest liar. This statement is very important as it claims that Antony has another fault. It now says he is a liar as well.

Whilst Antony is having an argument with Caesar about Antony being in Rome, Caesar says

"Your wife and brother made wars upon me,

And their contestation was theme for you.

You were the word of war."

Here Caesar accuses Antony of telling Fulvia and Antony's brother to go to war with Caesar and that Antony is the reason why this whole war started. This is also important as it claims that Antony is disloyal and therefore has yet another fault.
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Also the oath of the triumvir is - "To lend me arms and aid when I required them." Caesar tells Antony

"You have broken the article of your oath"

he also says

"To lend me arms and aid when I required them,

The which you both denied."

Here Caesar is reminding Antony that he has broken his oath because when Caesar needed help whilst he was fighting Pompey, Antony deliberately refused to help him once again showing that he is disloyal to the triumvir and that he doesn't care about his duties.

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