“O, my fortunes have corrupted honest men”.
After this noble gesture Enobarbus, and realising Caesar’s intention of using Antony’s own men against him, Enobarbus is overcome by guilt and sorrow when he says,
“I have done ill, of which I do accuse myself so sorely,
That I will joy no more”
William Hazlitt says, “The repentance of Enobarbus after his treachery to his master is the most affecting part of the play”. Here, we begin to get an idea of the love that Antony has inspired in Enobarbus, which is then reinforced when Enobarbus dies of a broken heart with Antony’s name on his lips, exclaiming, “O Antony! O Antony!”
However, after a meeting with the Triumvirs in Rome Caesar accuses Antony of making wars against him, turning his back on Rome, and failing to meet his sworn obligations when he says, “you have broken the article of your oath”. Antony accepts this, and offers a dignified apology for his failings and upon the suggestion of Agrippa agrees to marry Caesars sister Octavia in order to cement their reconciliation. Antony may have gone back to Rome to patch up a peace with Caesar, but in our imaginations the plot is dominated by the secret forces of life that have placed Antony and Caesar on opposite and destructive sides. None of the characters can transcend these forces, and, as critic S.S. Smith observed, ‘the play’s action progresses towards death’. Antony, having earlier being accused of ignoring his public duty and turning his back on Rome is attempting to do the honourable thing and to put to rest the speculation that he has broken his oath to Caesar and to Rome. Upon meeting Octavia in the next scene Antony appears to reinforce his earlier actions and promises to reform:
“I have not kept my square, but that to come shall be done by Th’ rule”.
However, this again this is not the feeling for long. In Macbeth, the resolution of the conflict and the re-establishment of social and moral order are the important elements, along with the hero’s inner awareness of his tragic conflict. Arnold Stein writes, “Antony is no explorer of consciousness. He has very little Hamlet or Macbeth in him”. With that in mind, Antony, having been left alone after an encounter with a fortune-teller reminds us of his torn loyalties as he decides to return to Cleopatra:
“And though I make this marriage for my peace,
I Th’ east my pleasure lies.”
Can we say that Antony inspired love and devotion from his followers? Or are we confusing this with their devotion with the Roman Empire. After all, he led his men into the battle of Actium against the advice of Enobarbus and Canidius, who stated that, “Your ships are not well manned.” Antony rejects their arguments, dismissing their pleas and makes a decision based on nothing but pride, when he says, “For that he dares us to’t”. The verdict of Antony’s men is that Cleopatra is dominating his mind when Canidius says,
“But in this action grows Not in the power on’t: so our leader’s led, And we are women’s men”
This is then forgotten about at the beginning of act four when Antony is seen at his most human - delivering an emotional speech to his followers the night before going into battle. This speech causes them to cry and is noted by Enobarbus, who says,
“Look they weep, and I, an ass, am onion eyed.”
During the play we are reminded of Antony’s qualities as a soldier and as a leader. Evidence of this is delivered by an unlikely source in Pompey, when in a conversation with Menas he claims that, “his soldier ship is twice that of the other twain”. Caesar also echoes these thoughts in a rousing speech in an attempt to lure Antony away from his playboy lifestyle in Egypt by saying,
“Thou didst drink The stale of horses and the
gilded puddle Which beasts would cough at”.
This compliment is emphasised by Antony himself when his army defeats Caesar towards the end of the play. Even though his army won that battle we cannot jump to the conclusion that Antony was a competent leader or tactician. We have already seen the evidence of this at the battle of Actium when he ignores the advice of his men, and forces them to fight at sea, knowing they were unprepared. A short time later we see that Antony's qualities, as a tactician do not match his other soldierly virtues as he leads his army into yet another sea battle against Caesar, Antony says,
“Their preparations are today by sea, we please them not by land”.
His army surrenders and is defeated by Caesar due to Antony’s impulsive attitude. At this point Antony seems to have fallen apart. He fails to exhibit the character of a Roman leader when he says, “I have lost my way forever”. This loss of identity is mirrored by the protagonist in King Lear when he asks, “Doth anyone know me” and “Who is it that can tell me who I am”.
Antony’s qualities as a leader, as a friend, and the relationships he was involved in were important in helping us to decide if the statement made by Maecenas was an accurate one. However, Antony’s death provides us with the most valuable evidence, giving us an insight into the true character of Antony. Antony, convinced that Cleopatra is in league with Caesar, decides to take his own life, when he says to Eros,
“There is left us Ourselves to end ourselves”.
In death Antony shows his love for Cleopatra, his courage, and the characteristic magnanimity in not uttering a word of reproach at Cleopatra’s apparent fatal deception, which raises Antony to proportions of a tragic hero. Or does it? After hearing of Cleopatra’s apparent death from Mardian, Antony decides to take his own life, feeling that without her he has no purpose when he says,
“ Since Cleopatra died, I have lived in such dishonour
that the gods Detest my baseness”
This seems like a selfless act of love on Antony’s part, or is it more of stupidity? I feel I have to agree with Harrier who says, “Antony’s suicide is an impulsive act which, awaiting its effect on Cleopatra hangs portentously between the limbo of dotage and the heaven of love”. We remain to see whether Cleopatra can and will be worthy of Antony’s assertion of the first Act: that the nobleness of life is in the embrace of such a pair. At this point Cleopatra is still alive and has sent Mardain with news of her death in order to find out how it was received by Antony. Again Antony has fallen foul to Cleopatra’s bewitching nature and shown a fatal lack of judgement. In Roman times death by suicide was looked upon as a honourable way to die, but in the case of Antony, was it honourable? After all, he couldn’t bring himself to administer the fatal blow, but asked Eros, one of his loyal followers by saying,
“Draw that thy honest sword, which thou hast worn
Most useful for thy country”
Antony, in ordering Eros to kill him takes away anything honourable in the act of suicide, and shows he to be a coward. However, the self-sacrifice by Eros is eloquent and a moving testimony of the love that Antony inspired in his followers. After having Antony turn around in front of him, Eros stabs himself, saying,
“Why, there then! Thus do I escape the sorrow Of Antony’s death”
Although the actions of Eros provide us with an insight into the love felt by his followers, Antony then falls on his own sword, wounding himself. As the soldiers rush to see what has happened, Antony reminds us of his cowardly nature yet again when he asks one of them to kill him, when he says,
“Let him that loves me, strike me dead”
When Antony is then brought dying to the foot of the monument we are reminded of how Antony is viewed in the eyes of Cleopatra, as she wants the world to go into mourning for Antony when she says,
“Darkling stand The varying shore o’ th’world”
Later in the same scene Cleopatra remarks that the Gods have taken Antony away from her when she says,
“To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods, To tell them that this world did equal theirs Till they had stol’n our jewel”
This is strong use of language from Cleopatra (who is known for over exaggerating) but we must remember that she is in mourning, and this is how she honestly felt about Antony.
Only when Caesar is presented with Antony’s sword, and is informed of his death do we fully begin to understand how he actually felt about Antony, as it causes him to cry, he says,
“The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings To wash the eyes of kings”.
Caesar and his followers continue in their generous praise of Antony, reminding us of his honourable qualities, with the most important memories originating from Caesar when he says,
“That thou, my brother, my competitor In top of all design, my mate in empire, Friend and companion in the front of war”
Throughout the play we see Antony move frequently between Rome and Egypt more than any other character in the play. The differences between Roman and Egyptian ways of life have a considerable influence on Antony’s behaviour which causes him to play different roles; therefore we see different sides of this argument. The question of what makes someone honourable differs in every individual. What might be considered as honourable to one person may not seem honourable to another. At times, Antony as a soldier acted honourably. For example, as he prepared to meet Caesar in battle he declared, “He will live and bathe his dying honour to death”. In death Antony returns to his previous identity as true noble Roman, by being, “A roman by a roman valiantly vanquished”. Or does he? The tragic hero is dead, but the tragic events go on, with interesting effects on the audience’s responses to Antony. Shapiro defines the effect in this way:
“The play does not end with Antony’s death, and so the audience cannot quite accept Antony’s image of himself because the meaning of Antony’s death hinges upon Cleopatra’s response to it”.
Antony marries Octavia, thus bringing in another woman between Cleopatra and himself adding to the conflict getting in the way of his public duty. It may seem honourable in marrying her to ensure political peace; in doing so, he takes the pressure off Rome. However, Antony knew it was never a true wedding of love, but of convenience. Cleopatra still dominated his mind. Antony then led his men into battle and deserted them by fleeing after Cleopatra, then blamed her for his running away, saying,
“My sword, made weak by my affection, would obey it on all cause.”
These are hardly the actions of a warrior or world leader, but of a soldier in decline. It is ironic that Antony refers to his sword when blaming Cleopatra for the desertion of his army in battle. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the sword that was loyal to Antony, once the symbol of Roman virtue is described as, “sole sir o’ the world”. It is this reference to his sword, which is a final reflection of the power that Antony once held, and is now in the possession of Caesar. He has now gained all the power and overtaken Antony’s once great stature.
The critic A.C Bradley believes that Antony was not to blame for his downfall when he says,
“We sympathise warmly with Antony,are greatly drawn to him
and are inclined to regard him as a noble nature, half spoiled by his time”.
A.C Bradley’s idea of Antony is misguided and incorrect. With that in mind I feel I have to disagree with the statement made by Maecenas. I believe that Antony’s taints outweighed his honours considerably. The once great leader showed a complete lack of judgement on the battlefield and in his private life. After all, it was this lack of judgement that led him to believe that Cleopatra was in league with Caesar and therefore decides to take his own life. In Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Othello we accept the deaths of the hero, and we feel a keen sorrow, but in Antony’s case we can hardly do this. It was A.C Bradley’s view that, “It was better for the worlds sake, and not less for his own that he (Antony) should fail and die”. While I am of the opinion that Antony lacked honour, and was not fit for leadership, his actions did not warrant death. It’s true, Cleopatra ruined him, but would these events have occurred had it not been for her? I would have to say that it is too easy to blame Cleopatra for Antony’s downfall. There is no doubt that she had a vital role to play, but it could have been any woman. It was Enobarbus, the person who seemed to know Antony better than he knew himself who said,
“Our courteous Antony, Whom ne’er the world of ‘No’ woman heard speak”
Bibliography
Bradley, A.C. (1909) Oxford lectures on Poetry
Brooke, N (1960) Studies in English Literature, King Lear
Daiches, D (1960) Studies in English Literature, Julius Caesar
Harrier, R (1962) ‘Cleopatra’s End’, Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol XVIII
Hazlitt, W (1909) Shakespeare: Antony and Cloepatra, A Selection of critical essays.
Knight, L.C (1909) Shakespeare: Antony and Cloepatra, A Selection of critical essays.
Lee, R (1971) Studies in English Literature, Antony and Cleopatra
Shapiro, S.A. (1966) ‘The Varying Shore of the world: Ambivalence in Antony and Cleopatra’, Modern Language Quarterly, Vol XXVII.
Smith, S. S (1964) This Great Solemnity: the presentation of death in Antony and Cleoaptra’, English Studies
Sowerby, R (1998) Antony and Cleopatra York Notes
Stein, Arnold (1959) ‘The image of Antony: Lyric and tragic imagination’, Kenyon Review, Vol. XXI.