At the beginning of the play, Philo, one of Antony's officers suggests that the once great leader has been transformed "into a strumpets fool". At this early stage the seed has been planted in our minds that Antony's infatuation with Cleopatra has tarnished his former greatness. The thoughts of Antony's officers differ from that of Maecenas' as he feels that Antony's "taints and honours waged equal within him". The statement made by Maecenas and the contrasting views of Antony's followers are thought provoking, causing us to evaluate his taints and honours, thus enabling us to draw our own conclusions about the character of Antony. To enable me to make this decision I will focus on Antony's qualities as a soldier, as a leader, as a friend, and the numerous relationships that he is involved in. It's these factors that shape the character of Antony and play a pivotal role in his rise and fall. The opening scene provides us with an insight into the thoughts of the Roman soldiers on Antony. They feel that Cleopatra has manipulated him into turning his back on Rome and neglecting his public duty as Philo says,

"And he is become the bellows and the fan to cool a gypsy's lust"

These thoughts are reinforced by Antony himself when he protests,

"Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall".

It would seem as though the Roman officers are correct in their comments about Antony. As Philo expresses his criticisms of his general, the Roman values appear more clearly. Military prowess, stern leadership, stability of purpose, self-restraint, and by these standards Antony is degrading himself. In Philo's speech we have the first of which L.C Knights calls 'different and apparently irreconcilable evaluations of the central experience'.

Moments later we see the 'central experience' for ourselves. In forty lines Shakespeare evokes most of the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship through the strong language used by Antony, when he speaks of his love for Cleopatra when he says, "the nobleness of life is to do thus", thus suggesting that their relationship is more than just a sordid affair. Here, Shakespeare puts into his own words a detail from Plutarch who refers to the way of life agreed upon by Antony and Cleopatra as incomparable and unmatchable. This strong use of language by Antony is convincing but how reliable is it? We must remember that during this time he is still married to another woman, and upon hearing of Fulvia's death is overcome by guilt. I feel that I have to agree with Robin Lee when he says "The shock of Fulvia's death reinforces Antony's need to break out of Cleopatra's sphere of influence, and take up his responsibilities in the Roman world", insisting that he will leave Cleopatra when he says,

"I must from this enchanting queen break off".

Can we conclude that Antony was a true and loyal friend? To enable us to make this decision we must look at Antony's relationship with his close friend and right hand man, Enobarbus. Enobarbus plays the role of the choric figure in Antony and Cleopatra, but more importantly mirrors the side of Antony's character that exhibits better judgement. We see an example of this in Act one when Antony becomes annoyed at Cleopatra's playacting when he says, "she is cunning past mans thought". Enobarbus quickly jumps to Cleopatra's defence, saying,

"Alack, sir, no; her passions are made of nothing

But the finest part of pure love"

Although Enobarbus does not particularly like Cleopatra he quickly abolishes any doubts that Antony may be having over his relationship with her. This is Enobarbus' role throughout the play until the end of act three when he decides to leave Antony's side. Having watched Antony make a string of bad decisions on the battlefield, Enobarbus tells himself that he cannot be loyal to someone who is acting so foolishly when he says, "the loyalty well held to fools does make our faith more folly". Antony's reckless behaviour has caused one of his closest friends to leave him, defecting to Caesar's army, thus suggesting that Antony was so self indulgent that he did not take into account Enobarbus' thoughts or feelings. However, Antony redeems himself, when he sends his share of the treasure to Enobarbus, and seems to show no hard feelings towards him for his defection to Caesar by saying,
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"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 ...

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