Antony And Cleopatra Character Analysis

547 Words2 Pages

The majority of researchers who study William Shakespeare share a common understanding that in the Shakespearean tragedies there is a correlation between certain representations of gender and genre - comedy and tragedy. Studies shows that charismatic, intelligent and courageous women, for example: Portia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Viola, Helena, etc. dominate in comedies, whereas the plot of a tragedy usually revolves around the shattering experiences of a frustrated man, for example: Titus Andronicus, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, etc.
However, an important exception to this rule is brought to us by the tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, in which Shakespeare creates a very magnetic, interesting and different female character that seems to change and destroy the notion we previously had of the above genre (drama).
This first part of my research proposes a rethinking of Cleopatra - one of the most complex female characters created by Shakespeare. The study focuses on the way Shakespeare built the character taking into account the cultural background of his time and the idea the society...

Open Document