ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. SUMMARY Mark Antony one of the Triumvirs of Rome along with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus has neglected his soldierly duties after being beguiled by Egypt's Queen, Cleopatra VII. He ignores Rome's domestic problems, including the fact that his third wife Fulvia rebelled against Octavian and then died. Octavian calls Antony back to Rome from Alexandria in order to help him fight against Sextus Pompey, Menecrates, and Menas, three notorious pirates of the Mediterranean. Back in Rome, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa brings forward the idea that Antony should marry Octavian's sister, Octavia the Younger, in order to cement the bond between the two men. A soothsayer warns Antony that he is sure to lose if he ever tries to fight Octavian. In Egypt, Cleopatra learns of Antony's marriage to Octavia and takes furious revenge upon the messenger that brings her the news. She grows content only when her courtiers assure her that Octavia is homely by Elizabethan standards: short, low-browed, round-faced and with bad hair. At a confrontation, the triumvirs parley(=a duce tratative) with Sextus Pompey, and offer him a truce. He can retain Sicily and Sardinia, but he must help them "rid the sea of pirates" and send them tributes. After some hesitation Pompey accedes. They engage in a drunken celebration on Pompey's galley. Menas suggests to Pompey that he kill the three triumvirs and make himself ruler of Rome, but he refuses, finding it dishonorable. Later, Octavian and Lepidus break their truce with Pompey and war against him. This is unapproved by Antony, and he is furious. Antony returns to Alexandria, Egypt, and crowns Cleopatra and himself as rulers of Egypt and the eastern third of the Roman Empire (which was Antony's share as one of the triumvirs). He accuses Octavian of not giving him his fair share of Pompey's lands, and is angry that Lepidus, whom Octavian has imprisoned, is out of the triumvirate. Octavian agrees to the former demand, but otherwise is very displeased with what Antony has done. Antony prepares to battle Octavian. Ahenobarbus urges Antony to fight on land, where he has the advantage, instead of by sea, where the navy of Octavius is lighter, more mobile and better manned. Antony refuses, since Octavian has dared him to fight at sea. Cleopatra pledges her fleet to aid Antony. However, in the middle of the Battle of Actium, Cleopatra flees with her sixty ships, and Antony follows her, leaving his army to ruin. Ashamed of what he has done for the love of Cleopatra, Antony reproaches her for making him a coward, but also sets this love above all else, saying "Give me a kiss; even this repays me."

Octavian sends a messenger to ask Cleopatra to give up Antony and come over to his side. She hesitates, and flirts with the messenger, when Antony walks in and angrily denounces her behavior. He sends the messenger to be whipped. Eventually, he forgives Cleopatra and pledges to fight another battle for her, this time on land. On the eve of the battle, Antony's soldiers hear strange portents, which they interpret as the god Hercules abandoning his protection of Antony. Furthermore, Ahenobarbus, Antony's long-serving lieutenant, deserts him and goes over to Octavian's side. Rather than confiscating Ahenobarbus's goods, which he did not take with him when he fled to Octavian, Antony orders them to be sent to Ahenobarbus. Ahenobarbus is so overwhelmed by Antony's generosity, and so ashamed of his own disloyalty, that he dies from a broken heart. The battle goes well for Antony, until Octavian shifts it to a sea-fight. Once again, Antony loses when Cleopatra's ships break off action and flee his own fleet surrenders, and he denounces Cleopatra: "This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me." He resolves to kill her for the treachery. Cleopatra decides that the only way to win back Antony's love is to send him word that she killed herself, dying with his name on her lips. She locks herself in her monument, and awaits Antony's return. Her plan fails: rather than rushing back in remorse to see the "dead" Cleopatra, Antony decides that his own life is no longer worth living. He begs one of his aides, Eros, to run him through with a sword, but Eros cannot bear to do it, and kills himself. Antony admires Eros' courage and attempts to do the same, but only succeeds in wounding himself. In great pain, he learns that Cleopatra is indeed alive. He is hoisted up to her in her monument, and dies in her arms. Octavian goes to Cleopatra, trying to persuade her to surrender. She angrily refuses, since she can imagine nothing worse than being led in triumph through the streets of Rome, proclaimed a villain for the ages. She imagines that "the quick comedians / Extemporally will stage us, and present / Our Alexandrian revels: Antony / Shall be brought drunken forth, and I shall see / Some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness / I' th' posture of a whore." This speech is full of dramatic irony, because in Shakespeare's time Cleopatra really was played by a "squeaking boy", and Shakespeare's play does depict Antony's drunken revels. Cleopatra is betrayed and taken into custody by the Romans. She gives Octavian what she claims is a complete account of her wealth, but is betrayed by her treasurer, who claims she is holding treasure back. Octavian reassures her that he is not interested in her wealth, but Dolabella warns her that he intends to parade her at his triumph. Cleopatra resolves to kill herself, using the poison of an asp. She dies calmly and ecstatically, imagining how she will meet Antony again in the afterlife. Her serving maids, Iras and Charmian, also kill themselves. Octavian discovers the dead bodies and experiences conflicting emotions. Antony's and Cleopatra's deaths leave him free to become the first Roman Emperor, but he also feels some kind of sympathy for them: "She

shall be buried by her Antony. / No grave upon the earth shall clip in it / A pair so famous..." He orders a public military funeral.

THEMES One of the major themes running throughout the play is opposition, the main being: Rome versus Egypt, Duty and Honor, Masculine order versus feminine order. Rome versus Egypt Shakespeare constantly juxtaposes the world of Egypt with the world of Rome. This opposition does not only refer to two different spaces, but to the changes that come upon Antony depending on which place he is in. Antony, in some ways, is one man in Egypt and a different one in Rome. Egypt is an exotic frontier, a welcome escape from a life of soldiership and civic duty. In Egypt, Antony rules basically as a king, the kind of king known better for his self-indulgence than his administrative abilities. Antony is torn between duty and passion, soldiership and self-indulgence, political ambition and love of life. Antony seems to delight in Egypt as an escape from his Roman self. Duty and Honor Antony is never able to reconcile his Roman duty with his human passions. Rome is a land that prizes duty very highly. His love for Cleopatra completely undoes his character as a soldier. For Romans, honor and duty are closely linked. The Roman definition of honor is a highly masculine one, with very different standards for men and women. Much less is expected of Cleopatra than of Antony. Different characters are motivated or restrained by their definition of honor at different points in the play. Enobarbus, Antony, Pompey, Cleopatra, and Octavius are characters to watch for different takes on the meaning of honor. Enobarbus sees honor as loyalty between friends, and his failure to live up to that precept leads to his death from grief. Antony sees too late that his honor as a Roman is tied to duty, and tries to salvage his honor through his valor as a warrior. Pompey prizes his honor highly enough to sacrifice ultimate power for principle. Octavius dispenses with loyalty, and works from a definition of honor closely tied to ambition. His duty is to destiny itself. Cleopatra has no understanding of Roman conceptions of honor, and is often baffled by Antony as he becomes unhinged, being unable to understand the principles he has failed to uphold. But she has her own idea of honor, one centered on the glamour and individuality of her own persona. This kind of honor, centered on herself, means she will not allow Caesar to parade her through Rome as a trophy. Masculine order versus feminine order The court of Cleopatra is woman-centered. Rome is a very masculine world. Rome is obsessed with duty and militaristic virtues, and anxiety about being dominated by women is rampant. Alexandria is a world of pleasure, where the female sovereign's rule is uncontested. While the Romans express disgust with Cleopatra's hold on Antony, and eagerly dismiss her as a manipulative, their fascination with her is obvious. When Antony

and his men return to Rome, many of the Roman soldiers are hungry for tales of Egypt's wonders, the greatest wonder of all being Cleopatra. CHARACTERS Mark Antony One of three members of the triumvirate that jointly rules the Roman Empire, the other members being Octavius Caesar and Lepidus. Antony was once a feared and respected soldier, but his credibility and authority have diminished due to his high-profile love affair with Cleopatra. As the play opens, Antony has retreated to Egypt to be close to Cleopatra. He soon finds himself torn between the Western world of duty and reasonrepresented by Romeand the Eastern world of desire and pleasurereflected in Egypt and his love for Cleopatra. Antony feels the need to reaffirm the honor that has made him a celebrated Roman hero, but he cannot deny the love that continually draws him to Cleopatra. Cleopatra The queen of Egypt and Antonys lover. A powerful and attractive woman, Cleopatra derives much joy from the emotional and physical control she wields over Antony. Her emotions are as volatile as they are theatrical, which is seen in her explosive and sensual attempts to manipulate Antony. While her actions and emotions often seem artificial and self-consciously dramatic, her love for Antony appears genuine. Octavius Caesar The second member of the triumvirate that rules the Roman Empire. Octavius is the nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. Ambitious and extremely pragmatic, Octavius lacks Antonys military ability as a general, but his stoic reasoning and political savvy guarantee his success and prevent him from succumbing to the heroic or romantic folly that plagues Antony. Throughout the play, Octavius is placed in opposition to Cleopatra as representations of West and East, respectively. CONCLUSION The tragedy is a Roman play characterized by panoramic shifts in geographical locations and in registers, alternating between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and the more pragmatic, austere Rome. Many consider the role of Cleopatra in this play one of the most complex female roles in Shakespeare's work. She is frequently vain and histrionic, provoking an audience almost to scorn; at the same time, Shakespeare's efforts invest both her and Antony with tragic grandeur. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses.