Antony and Cleopatra- William Shakespeare
Okay I know, its been a few days since I last posted, I have been focusing on geography for the last few days... but this drama piece, as a friend of mine pointed out, is amazing, because it covers all types of love, really... also, I'm lucky enough to have studied this in class, so I know this story inside and out, really. Yay, me :-)
Summary
Antony and Cleopatra is, without a doubt, a tragedy. It revolves around three protagonists, Antony and Cleopatra (duh) and Octavius Caesar. NOT JULIUS CAESAR. I made that mistake in the beginning and it just confused me. The story revolves around Antony, being a Roman and taking his role as leader of a third of the triumvirate too easily, while Caesar wants him to get off his bum and lead. Cleopatra is a carefree Egyptian who loves Antony and would do anything for him (except she chickened out of a battle and made Antony flee the battle too, leading to a series of events which made Antony kill himself... I told you its a tragedy), so what is left, really, is a drama watching the hot mess of two people trying to come out of impossible circumstances. Eventually, Cleopatra sticks a poisonous snake in her boobs and Antony kills himself instead of surrendering to Octavius Caesar. A tragedy. One which shows courage and love between these two characters.
Theme and Analysis
The whole tone of the play is quite poetic, and decadent, almost stoic. The themes which I have picked out are:
Exaggerated declarations of love: "CLEOPATRA 'If it be love indeed tell me how much.' ANTONY 'There's beggary in the love can be reckoned.' CLEOPATRA 'I'll set a bound how far to be beloved' ANTONY 'Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.'" This exchange sets the tone for the rest of the play. Cleopatra wants a love that can be demonstrated.
Female Sexuality- There is this power struggle between Caesar and Cleopatra. Caesar and his men almost condemn Antony for his weakness which makes him bow to the Egyptian queen, and blame his downfall on Cleopatra. When the Romans are not calling her a whore, they refer to her as an enchantress whose beauty is almost enchanting to men. Enobarbus says that she almost has the power to warp the minds and judgement of all men, even "holy priests" who "bless her" even when she acts like a whore. Its almost as if Cleopatra's sexuality is threatening the Romans. In a way, the women in the play (Cleopatra and Octavia) are saddled with both the responsibility for men's political alliances and the blame for their personal failures.
Important bits you can memorise
Betrayal in 'Antony and Cleopatra'- There is this never-ending battle with the characters of the story, where they have to choose to either be loyal to their ideals or to their circumstances. The loyalty of characters is constantly questioned by their quick betrayals of one another, and the question of whether loyalty is an enduring feeling is raised as a result.
Quotes about this: "CLEOPATRA 'O, never was there queen/ So mightily betrayed! Yet at the first I saw the treason planted.' ANTONY 'Cleopatra-' CLEOPATRA 'Why should I think you can be mine, and true-/ Though you in swearing shake the throned gods-/ Who have been false to Fulvia? Riotous madness,/ To be entangled with those mouth-made vows,/ Which break themselves in swearing!'" Essentially, Cleopatra recognises that marriage is supposed to be a sacred act, yet Antony had disregarded his marriage to Fulvia to be with Cleopatra, and she worries that he would do to her what he did to Fulvia and betray her. I don't blame her... once a cheater always a cheater.
Love in 'Antony and Cleopatra'- Even though the foundation of this theme is tragedy, love is still a central theme. Though love ultimately fails in the end (as the lovers cannot be together IRL, but they can in heaven), it is upheld and honoured by the lovers' suicidal loyalty to each other.
Quotes about this: "CLEOPATRA 'If it be love indeed, tell me how much.' ANTONY 'There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned.' CLEOPATRA 'I'll set a born how far to be beloved' ANTONY 'Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new Earth.'" I talked about this quote previously, in the theme and analysis section, give it a read there.
Overall Analysis
Thing about Antony and Cleopatra, is that there is a lot of phallic and yonic imagery. Swords feature prominently in the play as stand-ins for manhood, and they're often linked to the sexual self. There are a lot more inferences, read about them here.
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