“The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne, Burned on the
Water: the poop was beaten gold;….
The winds were love sick with them; the oars were silver,” II, ii, 191-194
Enobarbus uses very sensuous language to build up an image in the reader’s mind. He uses colours especially “gold” and “silver”. These are very beautiful colours associated with rich, beautiful, royal people. The whole scene is covered in a plethora of beauty. Food is also used to show the meeting of the two; it is always refereed to in larger quantities “feast”. This helps to show how magnificent the whole ordeal was. The beginning and end of the play open with banquets and Cleopatra uses food as a metaphor for her love for Antony. Cleopatra in particular uses food frequently to express her love for Antony. She uses banquets and strong drink as a way of celebrating his return and whiling the hours away when he is in Rome. Everything is something to be consumed in Cleopatra's eyes. This is shown at the end of the play when she asks the asp seller “will it eat me.”.
“Ere the ninth hour, I drunk him to his bed” II, V, 21.
The opening scene of the play shows Antony and Cleopatra at the peak of their relationship but this degenerates rapidly when Antony finds out his wife Fulvia died and he has to return to Rome. Antony realises his responsibilities lie elsewhere. He has realised that he must break away from Cleopatra “These Egyptian fetters I must break, or loose my self in dotage”
“I must from this enchanting queen break off” I, ii, 125
The first act opens by implying that Antony has his priorities wrong and that he spends more time dreaming about Cleopatra than being of any use “Nay but this dotage of our general’s O’er flows the measure”. This is said by Philo who thinks that Antony who once watched over an army like a god (Hercules) and is now unsettled and looks upon a coloured girl. I believe this is a fair statement as Antony was once a great man and did a lot for the Roman Empire but now is more oh a hindrance than help. The significance of this is that the two men talking are Romans and they portray all of the Romans views of Antony. The passage also dwells on the loss of interest in his country and how Antony is now only interested in a coloured girl “tawny front girl.”
This is the first stage of their relationship in the play and is at its best. Shakespeare chooses this as the beginning of the play because it shows the love between the two before their tragic fall. The degeneration of their relationship occurs very quickly after this point.
Cleopatra throughout the first act encourages Antony to confess his love for her and often twists the things he says so she can asses how far Antony is willing to stoop to keep their relationship together. Antony believes that love can be felt and there is no reason to have to remind each other frequently. Cleopatra, however, shows her insecurity by believing she can’t keep her lover because of her fading beauty “and wrinkled deep in time”. Whilst he is away she seems a lot more secure but still sees her self as past her best. Cleopatra is often sarcastic about Antonies past life especially about his first wife Fulvia who lives in Rome “I laugh’d him out of patients”. She encourages him to go back to Rome which forces Antony to stay in Rome because he knows if he leaves this will make her more paranoid and insecure. He now has to convince Cleoptra that he loves her and she refuses to believe him as he married Fulvia who he now doesn’t love and she worries Antony will go back to Rome for good. Ironically when he goes back to Rome he almost marries Caeser's sister Octavia showing that Cleopatra does have reason to worry although the marriage was forced upon Antony. I believe that Antonys love for Cleopatra is sincere but Cleopatra is only with Antony to further her reputation and would leave him if a better opportunity were to arise.
“but my full heart remains in use
with you” I, iii, 43-44
Also when Fulvia dies Antony must be very cautious because if he cries then Cleopatra will think that he loved her more than her but if he is happy then she will think that he would do the same if she were to die now. Antony can’t win.
Often when Antony and Cleopatra are together they enter their own world where nothing exists and messengers enter frequently. I believe this are a reminder if reality and that Antony still has ties with Rome and he must decide whether or not he wants to break free from Rome or Cleopatra’s hold.
“I must from this enchanting queen break off” I, ii, 125
The death of Fulvia means Antony can no longer neglect his duties or the people of Rome will label him a traitor and will lose his power. The death of Fulvia doesn’t upset Antony but he feel like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders "give the gods a thankful sacrifice" essentially this means that he believes Fulvias death was a good thing. However now Shakespeare creates a new stage in Antony and Cleopatras relationship. This event causes Antony to return to Rome to fix his affairs and whilst he is there he leaves insecure Cleopatra to embellish and exaggerate their relationship. This also creates doubts in Cleopatras mind “in praising Antony, I’ve dispraised Caesar” which means she is considering leaving Antony to escape a tragic end. This also shows that she is only with Antony to enhance her reputation. Antony on the other hand is in Rome and dreams only of returning to his “Egyptian dish” Caesar knows Antony will return to Cleopatra and uses this to his advantage by making Antony marry his sister to capture the now traitorous Antony, which shows how little emotion Caesar has.
“This grief is crowned with consolation” I, ii, 160-165
This event has added to Cleopatras insecurity, she feels if he goes back to Rome he will forget her and stay in Rome. I believe Cleopatra is now using Antony to appease her insecurity.
Act 2 opens with a speech from Pompeii and in this speech he sums up the three triumvirates. Shakespeare has used Pompeii because he has no emotional attachments to the main characters. This is very effective, as it is an unbiased view. I like how Shakespeare has used this man. He is clearly unbiased and makes it very obvious to the audience that this is the way these men really are.
“Mark Antony. In Egypt sits at dinner and will make No wars without doors, Caesar gets money where He loses heart: Lepidus flatters both….”II, I, 12-14.
He says that Antony is a coward and won’t commit to a fight unless there is a way for him to escape and that he is lazy. He says that Caesar is only interested in money and if he keeps taxing his people then they will be lost and finally he says that lepidus is useless which is backed up by the fact he is usually drunk.
Antony who is now in Rome meets with Caesar and he blames Antony for being in Egypt enjoying himself and neglecting his duties.
“Did pocket up my letters; and with taunts
Did gibe my miss ive out of audience “II, ii, 72-73
Aggripa then prompts Antony to marry Ceases sister Octavia. The speech he gives is full of well rehearsed points which will show Antony that Caesar is willing to sacrifice his own sister to capture Antony. Antony must marry Octavia or the triumvirate will fall apart. Antony agrees to marry her but later runs back to his “Egyptian dish” another food image used by Shakespeare in representation of Antony’s love. Shakespeare has used this as a mid point between the stages in their relationship. Antony now is torn between his love and his country. He agrees to marry Octavia to keep the triumvirate together but he could also have realised that Cleopatra will lead him to his downfall. This is where tragedy enters the play for the first time shown when Antony talks with the soothe sayer “He heats thee ‘gainst the odds Antony knows he is going to lose but it shows how courageous he is by risking everything. In contrast Cleopatra is a lot more secure however she does still try to manipulate Antony by changing her moods. She now shows us that in light of these new events she is contemplating her other choices “in praising Antony we dispraised Caesar” this makes us wonder whether Cleopatras feeling for Antony are real. However she is getting old and the only way Caesar would take Cleopatra, as a lover would be as an insult to Antony.
There are now a few battle scenes in which Cleopatra’s inexperience in battle causes them to lose. This makes Antony believe Cleopatra has betrayed him and he is now a complete wreck as he now truly has lost everything.
He has a large argument with Cleopatra, which culminates in her running away and telling a messenger to tell Antony she has committed suicide. This is the third and final change in their relationship. Both characters now have been completely destroyed. Antony has no way of escape and Cleopatra will now only be Caesers toy. Antony feels betrayed he has no will to live and as a final attempt tries to over come a tragic end. When Antony hears of Cleopatras death his attitude becomes more focused and he attempts to kill himself which is a final acceptance of Egyptian values, He fails to kill himself with his own sword, which shows how ineffective he has become. I don’t like the way Antony dies. It seems less tragic than it could have been. Ill admit that he uses the symbolism especially how his sword has become ineffective against himself is excellent but his death seems to lack the honour Antony deserved. He lies there until he is taken to Cleopatra when he finds out she is still alive. Even now Cleopatra won’t let Antony talk and she refuses to get down off her monument to see Antony and makes sure he is taken to her. She refers to sexual imagery and won’t let Antony say his dying words. Antony at least had an honourable death, as he wasn’t going to let Caesar take his life, he chose the time and the place.
“The crown o’the earth doth melt” IV, XV, 62.
When Caesar hears about Antony’s death he shows some emotion for the first time in the play. He becomes very solemn and his language is very plain. However he composes himself quickly. Caesar feels guilty.
“Caesar is touched” V, I, 33.
He now wants Cleopatra to become his lover as a final insult to Antony so that he will be feared and merciless. Cleoptra holds back half of her wealth when Caesar asks for it. We are unsure about her intentions when she did this because it as two outcomes, either she did it to stop Caesar thinking she was going to commit suicide so she could kill herself or that she was planning on running away and building a new empire. Cleo then finally before her death honours Antony'’ memory and it makes the audience believe she really did love Antony, which is the final show of tragedy in the play.
In conclusion I believe Antony and Cleopatra truly did love each other in some way even if it was only a memory. However Antony does say they will enter heaven as “lovers”. This play is fraught with tragedy built up slowly through the play. It truly is a pitiful end for the two lovers. I think Shakespeare has used imagery well to show the love of the two and it helps build up their tragic end. The tragic end comes from the conflict between Rome and Egypt and is illustrated by three images, the sword, armour and dimensions. His lowness or highness shows Antony’s tragic end, Antony’s own sword is ineffective when he tries to kill himself. The final speech is by Caesar in his monotone, simplistic language however he does seem to be inspired and shows how great Antony and Cleopatra were!
“Strike those that make them and their story is
No less in pity than in glory which
Brought them to he lamented." V, ii, 356-61
