Using Act III Scene 13, how does Shakespeare present the character of Mark Antony?
Using Act III Scene 13, how does Shakespeare present the character of Mark Antony? In Act III Scene 13, Antony receives the news that Cleopatra's request has been granted, and his ignored. He sends an ambassador to propose a duel between himself and Caesar. Then Caesar's ambassador comes in, and as he is kissing Cleopatra's hand, Antony walks in. He orders for the ambassador, Thidias, to be whipped, inviting Caesar to do the same to his own ambassador. He then shouts angrily at Cleopatra; not only because of Thidias, but also because she was the reason he left the naval battle. After Cleopatra has satisfied Antony with her responses. He then resolves to fight Caesar, and behaves as he did in Julius Caesar, a brave warrior; Shakespeare here shows that Antony has returned to his former self, or at least a close approximation to the attitude displayed in Julius Caesar. In the opening of the scene, Shakespeare presents Antony in a very negative light; Enobarbus says that Antony's 'captainship', his competence as a captain, has been 'nicked' by his infatuation with Cleopatra: 'The itch of his affection should not then/ Have nicked his captainship'. Shakespeare's word choice makes this a particularly demeaning comment; the fact that Antony's love for Cleopatra is reduced to an 'itch' here shows that Enobarbus clearly does not think very highly of Antony's affection, as it is a
Antony and Cleopatra. Comment on the Romans construct of Cleopatra as a cultural stereotype.
Assignment on Antony and Cleopatra Question: Comment on the Roman�s construct of Cleopatra as a cultural stereotype. Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare is one of the best known tragedies of William Shakespeare. The tragedy is a portrayal of the actual events and persons from the Roman history and it also embodies the love story of the title characters. The plot, historical background and the intimate details of the affair between the title characters, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and the Roman General Antony has been borrowed from the Roman historian Plutarch�s �Lives�. In the characters of Antony, Cleopatra and Augustus Caesar; Shakespeare displays larger than life characters. The play is a very involved play that operates with rapid shifts between the homeland of Antony, Rome and the palace of Cleopatra in Alexandria, Egypt. The assortment of perspectives from which we see Cleopatra illustrates the varying understandings of her as a decadent foreign woman and a noble ruler. As Philo and Demetrius take the stage in Act I, scene i, their complaints about Antony�s neglected duties frame the audience�s understanding of Cleopatra, the queen for whom Antony risks his reputation. Within the first ten lines of the
Analyse Shakespeares presentation of the characters of Antony and Cleopatra in Act 1.
Analyse Shakespeare's presentation of the characters of Antony and Cleopatra in Act 1. Shakespeare presents the characters of Antony and Cleopatra as being passionate, intricate and multifaceted but climactically deeply charming and appealing. Antony can be seen as being incredibly masculine, a great ruler and extremely powerful. Cleopatra can be seen as being impulsive, alluring and bewitching. Antony was a great Roman ruler and is part of the Triumvirate with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, the joint rulers of the Roman world. Philo in Scene 1 describes that Antony used to be a "triple pillar" this can connote imagery of strength and power, things Antony used to be. Philo goes on to say that Antony is not just a fool, he is Cleopatra's fool and that he in fact belongs to her suggesting that his pleasure is entirety in Egypt. Antony does realise the importance of his duties in Rome but these realisations do not come very often, in Scene 2 Antony is reminded of his Roman duties when told that Fulvia is dead and that Pompey is a threat to Rome. Cleopatra is the Queen of Egypt and a Jacobean audience would have related to her in several ways. Cleopatra in the play is unmarried and this could help the Jacobean audience to communicate with as their past monarch Queen Elizabeth I was an unmarried queen. Cleopatra can be related to Queen Elizabeth I again when Charmian tells
Discuss Shakespeare's presentation of Cleopatra in the play 'Antony and Cleopatra'
Discuss Shakespeare's presentation of Cleopatra in the play 'Antony and Cleopatra' 'A woman of infinite variety'. This may be a very accurate portrayal of Cleopatra in my opinion. Cleopatra is a very interesting character in Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra'. She is presented in many ways; she is a great lover yet childish within her actions. Her actions are a reflection of her personality and shows how her character develops throughout the play. She goes from childish to suffering her consequences of this. The presentation of Cleopatra contributes to the play's audiences and the things she does are a reflection of her love for Antony. Shakespeare's presentation of Cleopatra helps to make her a credible character and helps audience to relate to her actions taken. An aspect of Cleopatra's presentation is when she is with and without Antony. It is noticeable how her actions change, with the juxtaposition of scenes where she is in Egypt without Antony. Without him, we see her as a woman in love. She spends hours wondering where her beloved Antony is and what is he doing. She often ponders if he is thinking of her. She is infatuated with him. She can't bear to be apart from him. This is shown in act 1 scene 5 when Cleopatra asks to drink 'mandragora'. This is a type of sleeping drug. She is effectively saying that she can't bear to be parted from her lover so she might as
Aristottle defined a tragic hero as a man who's misfortune is not brought about by vice or depravity but by some error of frality.Do you agree that Antony is a hero in this context?
Aristottle defined a tragic hero as a man who's misfortune is not brought about by vice or depravity but by some error of frality. Do you agree that Antony is a hero in this context? In Shakespeare's " Antony and Cleopatra", Antony can be considered a tragic hero as he is lead into misfortunate, unfavourable situations and ultimately his death, not by vice or depravity but by his own fatal flaw; his love for the Eygptian queen Cleopatra. Before Antony met Cleopatra, he was regarded with the highest respect, as he was a military hero and major asset to the Roman empire. Antony's reputation as a powerful general is established through a conversation between two of his soldiers in the opening act. ' His captain's heart, Which in scuffles of great fights hath burst The buckles on his breast'. The soldier's description of Antony shows him to be an exceedingly strong and dynamic military figure and by describing his heart as a 'captain's heart' suggests his heart and life is devoted to the Roman army. However, this all changes when he gets involved with Cleopatra. One learns frmo the soldiers' conversation that the once fierce warrior has been degraded to a 'strumpet's fool' by Cleopatra's affection. His infatuated, obsessive behaviour towards Cleopatra in the commencing act confims the soldiers' accusation and even at the very beginning of the play Antony's weakness for
Analysis of scene one - Antony and Cleopatra
ANLYSIS OF SCENE ONE : ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA Scene One. Cleopatra's palace, in Alexandria. Philo complains to Demetrius that Cleopatra has transformed Antony from a great general to a whore's fool. Antony and Cleopatra enter, with Cleopatra pushing Antony to describe how much he loves her. A messenger comes from Octavius, but Antony, clearly annoyed, commands the messenger to be brief. Cleopatra, partly mocking, partly serious, chides Antony and tells him to hear the message. But in the end Antony refuses to hear the message, and he and Cleopatra set out for a night in the city. Philo and Demetrius do not approve. Scene Two. Cleopatra's palace, in Alexandria. The servants of Cleopatra's court ask a soothsayer to predict their futures. The soothsayer seems to start out well, telling Charmian that she will outlive her mistress, but then he warns that the days to come will be worse than the days past. When the soothsayer insinuates that Charmian's loose, she's had enough. The soothsayer tells Iras that her fortune will be like Charmian's. Cleopatra enters looking for Antony, and the man himself enters shortly after. Cleopatra takes off with a huff, taking her servants with her. Antony hears the messenger: his wife, Fulvia, and his brother have united in a war against Caesar, and have been driven from Italy. The other news is worse: Rome's most powerful adversaries, the
In Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, why is Cleopatra such an enduring figure?
In Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, why is Cleopatra such an enduring figure? 'The Life of Marcus Antonius,' written by Plutarch, was the source used by Shakespeare to create the play of Antony and Cleopatra. Plutarch was a Greek, writing in the first century, and his work on 'The life of Marcus Antonius' was a reflection of the similar lives of the Greeks and Romans. He hints that, although he had accepted Rome as the ruler of Greece, he insisted Greece being a more sophisticated culture of the two. Reasons were because Plutarch gave his characters positive and negative attributes, emphasising more on their way of thinking, rather than their nationality. In doing this, Plutarch is seen to be able to be a fairer judge of character, as his eyes aren't hindered by a different culture or race. Using Plutarch's work, other writers were able to use his work, and were able to create more characters, in order to emphasise Cleopatra's influence and make her more dramatic in her actions. Shakespeare being no exception, as his version of Antony and Cleopatra shows these modifications, as his alterations made Plutarchs work more acceptable, in modern English. Cleopatra seems to be such an enduring figure in her sexual nature. This sexual nature causes people around her to be almost dazed, such as is seen in Antony. He is part of the Triumvirate - one of three pillars, which
While Mark Antony is a great general, one of the three triumvant, it is indeed impossible to feel sympathy for him in his extreme "dotage" for Cleopatra
While Mark Antony is a great general, one of the three triumvant, it is indeed impossible to feel sympathy for him in his extreme "dotage" for Cleopatra. He "fishes, drinks and wastes the lamps of night in revel", hence destroying his own reputation, and even losing his masculinity, and thus, respect. In the opening scene of the play, even before Antony appears, he is constituted by the ideological structure of the Roman world. Antony's identity is discussed to be in a state of oscillation: "This dotage of our general's o'erflows the measure." The "measure" spoken of here refers to a limit that describes the proper standard of Roman identity. Deviation from this identity is what alarms the Roman audience (I.e. Philo and Demetrius). Right from the start, in Philo's opening speech, we learn that Antony's heart refuses all self-restraint. His desire is excessive, producing a transformation from a "pillar of the world" -- a firm bearer of the Roman senate, likened to "Mars", god of war, clad in armour -- "into a strumpet's fool." Antony insists that the measure of his reputation defines his very identity: "If I lose mine honour, I lose myself". Yet as Demetrius and Philo speak from within the ideological structure, they cast a censorious look at Antony "Take but good note...Behold and see". Taking "note" might mean to make a written record; transliterating reputation according
Explore the Ways In Which Shakespeare Presents Cleopatra To an Elizabethan Audience an Elizabethan Audience Would Have Already Had Preconceived Ideas About Cleopatra, As This Play Is Based On a True Story, and Cleopatra Was Commented On In ‘North
EXPLORE THE WAYS IN WHICH SHAKESPEARE PRESENTS CLEOPATRA TO AN ELIZABETHAN AUDIENCE An Elizabethan audience would have already had preconceived ideas about Cleopatra, as this play is based on a true story, and Cleopatra was commented on in 'North's Plutarch', as a "Pesilent plague", meaning that she brings death, panic and havoc to wherever she went. Also the audience would have already had preconceived ideas of Cleopatra, due to oral stories, which were passed from generation to generation. In these stories, she was addressed as a high-class prostitute, who lured men, into her bed, so that she could sleep with them to get whatever she wanted, this included Caesar, She had no morality. The stories say that she seduced Antony, and she overwhelmed him. The audience therefore would have been biased against Cleopatra and feel sympathy for Antony. Most of these stories would have been passed on by word of mouth and she would have been cursed on many times, which 'brain washed' the next generation and so on. Shakespeare presents Cleopatra as a character of "Infinite variety" and tries to give a balanced point of view, so as there are not any biased opinions against her. He keeps it balanced by using some multi-facetted approaches; when Antony was dying, she said, "There is nothing remarkable Beneath the visiting moon" She is saying that now that Antony is dead, there is
Who is to blame for the tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra? Antony bears the guilt
Sarah Rayner Who is to blame for the tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra? Antony bears the guilt: Shakespeare writes ' Antony and Cleopatra ' in a way where the reader places the blame on Cleopatra. Cleopatra brings the downfall of Mark Antony herself. Shakespear proves this play a tragedy by selecting characteristics of ill fated lovers in Antony and Cleopatra. Poor Antony turns victim to Cleopatra's enslavement, and forgets his duties in Rome. Antony is a disgrace to his Roman self, and "loses himself to dotage" of Cleopatra. He also forgets of his marriage to Caesars sister Octavia and flees back to Egypt, to Cleopatra. If Antony flees to Cleopatra of his own free will, then how is she responsible for his actions? Cleopatra, however, is to blame for Antonys acceptance of her military whims Antony is to blame for his own bad judgement but, defeat by a woman is was virtually unheard of in the patriarchal society of Rome. We can argue that Cleopatra effeminizes Antony, to some extent, this is true. Only by flaw of Antony's character, could any of the events occurred. If Cleopatra is the proven cause, it's only because Antony let himself be caught up in the pleasures of the Egyptian court. Cleopatra's to blame for the tragedies: Cleopatra is the main root of Mark Antonys downfall from a well respected and powerful leader of Rome, to a man who spent his days
