How does Shakespeare capture the audiences' attention at the outset of the play?
How does Shakespeare capture the audiences' attention at the outset of the play? Shakespeare probably completed Anthony and Cleopatra towards the end of 1606 or early in 1607, after he had finished Macbeth and before he embarked on Coriolanus. Shakespeare, when writing the opening scene was very aware that he had to capture the audience's attention and interest therefore he opens with a Roman point of view "Nay, but this dotage of our general's overflows the measure," although the play is set in Alexandria Egypt. This will capture the audiences attention because they will be curious to why a roman soldier would be in Egypt. The opening presents the audience with Roman disapproval preparing us for the play later on, which is a miniature version of the whole story. Cleopatra and Anthony lead their lives in public everybody knows everything about their relationship and is often the most talked about subject by the servants, who help bring the plot along. The text in the opening of the outset, spoken by Philo one of Anthony's followers, prepares us for their entrance by calling Cleopatra "a gypsy" a term used for a slag, and Anthony "a strumpets fool"- this is how they both behave. The audience are put right in the thick of it, there is argument between the two main characters, Anthony and Cleopatra, and a relationship is established. In my opinion there is not a better way
Caesar in "Antony and Cleopatra" I.i-III.iii
Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra Octavius Caesar has a pivotal role to play in Antony and Cleopatra: as a member of the triumvirate (the ruling council of the Roman Empire, composed of three members, the others being Lepidus and Antony), he has the responsibility to run part of Empire, he also has a long-standing rivalry with Antony, and dislike Antony's relaxed mood, especially his affair with Cleopatra. We first see Caesar towards the end of scene one, where he is criticising Antony for spending too much time with Cleopatra. Two common habits of Caesar are shown in the first few lines of this scene: It is not Caesar's natural vice to hate our great competitor [Antony] ... he fishes, drinks and wastes the lamps of night in revel. (I.iv.2-3a, 4b-5a) Not only does Caesar like to himself in the third person ("Caesar's natural vice...") he also has a tendency to criticises anyone who likes to enjoy themselves; this is seen again at the feast on Pompey's ship. Caesar then goes on to list more of Antony's faults, as Lepidus, ever eager to stop any arguing, tries in vain to excuse Antony, and calm Caesar down: Lepidus: I must not think that there are Evils enough to darken all his [Antony's] goodness. Caesar: Let's grant that it is not Amiss to tumble on the bed of Ptolemy, [To] keep the turn of tippling with a slave ... and stand the buffet With
How are Rome and Egypt presented in Shakespere's "Antony and Cleopatra"
HOW ARE ROME AND EGYPT PRESENTED WITHIN THE PLAY? The play is set in the decade between 40 and 30 B.C., when Rome is securing its hold on the entire known world. What is at stake, the play reminds us over and over, is not just Rome, and not just the Roman Empire, but the world itself. Antony and Cleopatra details the conflict between Rome and Egypt, giving us an ides of the Elizabethan perceptions of the difference between Western and Eastern cultures, it does not however, make a conclusive statement about which culture ultimately triumphs. In the play, the Western and Eastern poles of the world are characterised by those who inhabit them: Caesar, for example, expresses the emotionless duty of the West, while Cleopatra, in all her theatrical grandeur, represents the free-flowing emotions of the East. Caesar's concerns throughout the play are imperial: he means to invade foreign lands in order to invest them with traditions and sensibilities of his own. The Roman understanding of Cleopatra and her kingdom seems very superficial, to Caesar the queen of Egypt is little more than a whore with flair for drama. His perspective allows little room for the real power of Cleopatra's sexuality-as she can persuade the most powerful men to follow her into dishonourable isolation. In his opening lines to Demetrius, Philo complains that Antony has abandoned the military endeavors on which
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
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
