Antony and Cleopatra (-Shakespeare)

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to kill her; she hides herself away in her monument for protection and sends word that she has committed suicide Antony determines to join her in the afterlife in grief, commands an attendant to kill him; attendant kills himself instead Antony falls onto his own sword but doesn't die; he is carried to Cleopatra's monument, they reunite briefly, he dies Octavius takes the queen prisoner, wanting to use her as a display of his power; she finds out and kills herself with poisonous snakes Character Introductions 1. Mark Antony • a middle-aged Roman general who rules the Roman Empire along with Lepidus and Octavius Caesar ● member of the so-called second Triumvirate (group of three men who controlled Rome in the late first century BCE following the assassination of Julius Caesar) • torn between his desire for Cleopatra and his responsibilities / the demands of his position as a world ruler rivals with Caesar ● Character Introductions 2. Cleopatra ● aware of her duties as Queen of Egypt powerful woman who can be impulsive & temperamental nevertheless, she is deeply infatuated with Antony her heroic courage is revealed when she and Antony are defeated and she chooses to die in Egypt, rather than return to Rome as a captive Character Introductions 2. Octavius Caesar & Lepidus Octavius adopted son of his grand-uncle Julius Caesar • only in his early twenties, but he is determined to ultimately be the sole ruler of the Roman Empire a strong, powerful, self-restrained man Lepidus ● ● third member of the Triumvirate noticeably weaker than both Antony and Caesar, serves predominantly as a mediator between them has no real power of his own Octavia Character Introductions 3. Octavia, Pompey & Enobarbus sister of Octavius becomes engaged & married to Antony in order to cement a political and military truce between Antony and her brother Caesar Pompey formerly a Roman, left Rome with a faction that included several pirates and some of Caesar's navy enemy of the Triumvirate attempted to form his own kingdom is able to cause the Triumvirate trouble by plundering their ships ● ● ● Enobarbus Antony's trusted lieutenant and close friend begins to doubt Antony over the course of the play eventually chooses his own survival over his loyalty to Antony & abandons the man he once admired later commits suicide in ● ● remorse Interpretation 1. Portrayal of Cleopatra influence and possibilities that a woman in control can possess • theatrical part of Cleopatra questions the dynamics of gender equality, as she steps beyond her female role unapologetic openness of Cleopatra's sexuality stands to threaten the Romans Interpretation 2. The Struggle Between Reason and Emotion Play deals with the battle between reason and emotion ➤ This battle is waged most forcefully in the character of Antony • Antonys is drawn to both his duty to the Empire and his desire for pleasure, his lack of military fame, and his passion for Cleopatra ● • He sacrifices his military position by unwisely allowing Cleopatra to determine his course of action ● He took his own life, after his Roman allies abandon him He is a man ruled by passion as much as by reason Interpretation 3. The Clash of East and West In the play, the Western and Eastern poles of the world are characterized by those who inhabit them ➤ Caesar embodies the stoic duty of the West ➤ Cleopatra, in all her theatrical grandeur, represents the free-flowing passions of the East Caesar's concerns throughout the play are imperial • The Roman understanding of Cleopatra and her kingdom seems superficial ➤Caesar calls her a whore with a flair of drama ● ➤ But Cleopatra is an imperious presence Cleopatra's suicide suggests that the East's spirit, the freedoms and passions cannot be subsumed by Caesar's victory ➤ The east will live on and is inseparable as Antony and Cleopatra Interpretation 4. The definition of honor ● ● Throughout the play, characters define honor variously, and often in ways that are not intuitive Antony links the concept of honor with that of death Antony and Cleopatra think the death invensts them with honor In death, Antony returns to his identity as a true, noble Roman Cleopatra's death is her means of ensuring that she remains her truest, most uncompromised self • Antony and Cleopatra secure honorable deaths by refusing to compromise their identities ● ● ● Historical Context & Accuracy Setting: roman empire Main source: Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Takes places around 2 years after Julius Caesar Caesar is assassinated by Cassius and Brutus, who are defeated by Mark Antony and Octavius Caesar, who then join Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to create a three-man government over the empire Cleopatra was summoned to Tarus, both immediately fell in love, but also saw the benefits in being with each other They soon became lovers and later on had children. 00000000000 Sources https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/antony/context/ (Last accessed: 21.01.2021, 10:12am) • https://www.ancient.eu/article/197/cleopatra-antony/ (Last accessed: 21.01.2021, 10:35am) • https://www.litcharts.com/lit/antony-and-cleopatra/characters (Last accessed: 23.01.2021, ● ● 1:12pm) • https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/antony-and-cleopatra/character-list (Last accessed: ● 23.01.2021, 1:38pm) • http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/lfletcher/ac/rcameron.html (Last accessed: 25.01.2021, 6:51pm) Handout: Overview "Antony and Cleopatra" https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/antony/summary/ (Last accessed 31.01.21, 6.44pm) Picture sources ● ● https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0414fq4 (Last accessed: 30.01.2021, 9:03pm) https://jameskarasreviews.blogspot.com/2015/05/antony-and-cleopatra-review-of.html (Last https://biographyworldweb.blogspot.com/2013/05/mark-antony-biography-profile- childhood.html (Last accessed: 31.01.2021, 2:40pm) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony and Cleopatra (Last accessed: 31.01.2021, 5:49pm) https://thefablesoup.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/rome-versus-egypt-in-antony-and-cleopatra/ accessed: 30.01.2021, 9:12pm) (Last accessed: 31.01.2021, 5:50pm) http://tenpagesormore.blogspot.com/2011/02/1-antony-and-cleopatra-by-william.html (Last accessed: 31.01.2021, 7:18pm) • https://art.famsf.org/henry-tresham/shakespeare-antony-and-cleopatra-act-iii-sceneix-195450 (Last accessed: 31.01.2021, 7:19pm)