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Critical review of Antony and Cleopatra
Octavius Caesar as a foil to Antony in Antony and Cleopatra. Act wise scene wise
Critical review of Antony and Cleopatra
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Abstract
Between the characters of Octavia and Cleopatra there exists a "moral contrast" (Bree 110) -a conflict of Roman ideals and Cleopatra's foreignness. Throughout the tradition of Cleopatra, authors, including Plutarch, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Fielding, as well as filmmakers such as Mankiewicz, have separated Cleopatra from Rome and Octavia because of her combination of political power and sexuality: "The notion of Cleopatra that we have inherited identifies her primarily as being the adversary, the Other. Her otherness is twofold. She is an Oriental, and she is a woman…" (Hughes-Hallett 4). If Cleopatra represents the 'Other', then Octavia exemplifies Rome itself. She embodies all of the characteristics of a proper Roman wife: beauty, grace, wisdom, and above all obedience to her husband. Octavia is Antony's celebrated wife throughout the literature although their relationship is dispassionate, while Cleopatra's "otherness" prevents her from attaining the respectable title of Antony's wife despite their love. Octavia acts as a character foil for Cleopatra, highlighting Cleopatra's foreign nature and her sexuality, which the Romans find unattractive and unacceptable in the character of a woman.
Plutarch: The Life of Marcus Antonius
I begin my study of the comparison of Cleopatra and Octavia with Plutarch's The Life of Marcus Antonius, a so-called "historical text." Although Plutarch's writing is perhaps our most trusted source on Cleopatra, his "factual" manuscript is by no means unbiased. Plutarch, as we will see with Shakespeare, Mankiewicz, Dryden, and Fielding in the ensuing pages, presents Cleopatra as the opposite of Octavia. While Octavia represents the Roman ideal of a woman, Cleopatra is a self-seeking Egyp...
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Fielding, Sarah. The Lives of Cleopatra and Octavia. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. Web. 19 June 2015.
https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/studies_in_english_literature/v039/39.3gadeken.html
Hughes-Hallett, Lucy. Cleopatra: histories, dreams, and distortions. New York: Harpercollins, 1991.
Loomba, Ania. Gender, race, Renaissance drama. Oxford University Press, 1992. Web. 9 June 2015.
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Plutarch. The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Excerpts from "The Life of Marcus Antonius." Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Gutenberg.org Web. 14 June 2015.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/674
Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat, and Ed. Paul Werstine. Simon & Schuster, 2005
The issues involving The Tragedy of Julius Ceaser is an equivocal topic, although to narrow one down is to reiterate how the men and women are viewed in this society. This play written by William Shakespeare, he introduced numerous characters but there are a few focal characters that surface around the idea of a bend in gender roles. To clarify, the characters that illustrate this are Julius Ceaser, the romans leader, as well as, his wife Calpurnia; and the other being Brutus, Ceasers friend, and his devoted wife Portia. This book reveals how dominance was ensued in men, while women’s worries were taken into account, but when challenged by a man’s there was no decision to be made the man hurled toward their fellow man’s idea. They felt that the men made more logical decisions when in fact that was utterly wrong.
Feminine sexuality and power has been a controversial topic since the dawn of time. In many ancient societies, females exist as the lesser beings. They were meant only to bear children, and to stay loyal to their husband. Cleopatra VI became one of the first prominent females to exert her power. She reigned as queen of the entire Egyptian kingdom and bowed to no one. Cleopatra used her beauty to get what she wanted and needed for her country, and by doing this, she conquered some of the most politically important men of the Roman republic. Yet for many years, the life of this formidable queen was left unrecognized. The story of Cleopatra VI came back into intrigue with the production of three films: Cleopatra by Cecil B. de Mille in 1934, Cleopatra by Joesph L. Mankiewicz in 1963, and Cleopatra Jones by Jack Starrett in 1973. Each of these productions represents the historical Cleopatra in modern glory and power. They meant to appeal to both men and women; to the woman’s want and need for power in a still male-dominant world, and to the man's lust for an intellectual, and beautiful woman. All three of these films served their purpose accurately; they maintained a close connection to the historical context of Cleopatra, yet successfully attracted their target audience.
Similar to the 1963 film Cleopatra, in Plutarch's The Life of Antony, sexism is maintained in the passage and compatible with its message. Through the author's portrayal of Cleopatra and Antony, he spreads the message that obsession with power is bad and the idea that manipulation and attempts at domination are signs of a bad ruler. Sexism is compatible with such messages because as indicated by Plutarch, Cleopatra utilizes sexist expectations of women in order to manipulate Antony through her aspirations of domination. Therefore, similar to the films Cleopatra and Quo Vadis, because Cleopatra is unsuccessful as she commits suicide in the end and is found "lying dead upon a golden couch," as well as is portrayed as an immoral ruler in Plutarch's Life of Antony, sexism is portrayed in the passage as a negative quality that leads to failure. (Plutarch, Life of Antony, 85) However, Plutarch differs in his treatment of sexism and attitude towards Cleopatra to the extent that he appears to place the fault with Cleopatra. While he maintains that sexism is a negative quality through his portrayal of Cleopatra playing into sexist expectations, by casting Cleopatra as a manipulative woman, Plutarch appears to be blaming Cleopatra for her own weaknesses as a ruler as well as for Antony's downfall. Although the film Cleopatra displayed how Cleopatra got power by using her sexuality and having Caesar and Antony fall in love with her, Plutarch Life of Antony portrays her as even more of a manipulator of men. For example, the author mentions that Cleopatra "pretended to be passionately in love with Antony herself, and reduced her body by slender diet; she put on a look of rapture when Antony drew near, and one of faintness and melancholy when h...
Cleopatra’s upbringing, specifically her education, falls under one of the influences which provided her with the necessary ...
To begin with, the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson are two wealthy sisters who adopt Huck. Thw two sister’s want to teach Huck the importance of religion, manners, and behaving. After staying in the house for a while, Huck realizes that “it [is] rough living in the house all the time”, because the Widow Douglas wants to “sivilize [him]”(Twain, 1). When dinner is ready the widow would call Huck to the table, but before they began eating the widow needs “to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals” (1). Huck knew there was nothing was wrong with the food but because the widow was religious she was trying to instill in Huck that he needs to bless his food and give thanks to God for it. The widow is trying to make religion a part of Huck’s life, which seems to be a negative impact on his life considering the many times Twain portrays religious persons as being gullible. Miss Watson, the more forceful of the two sisters, is adamant about getting huck to behave. To help mold Huck into a person that “go[es] to the good place” also known as heaven, Miss Watson constantly tells him things to do to help him behave such as “don’t put your feet up there” and “set up straight”(2). Besides adopting a religion, and behaving, Hucks appearance needed to be neat and respectable. Although the new clothes made Huck “sweat and sweat,...
It is also a concept prominently shown from beginning to end with Huck Finn. When the story commences, his morals are a result of his direct environment and the absence of his father, who merely seems to appear to instill morals contradicting that of the Widow's, who is responsible for the boy. The Widow wan...
The Romans were immensely furious with Cleopatra and had primary influence over what sources were left behind about her. So certainly this is going to lead to biases and inaccuracies in the depictions we have. Furthermore, we are all well aware of how Hollywood likes to dramatize and embellish stories in order to generate ticket sales and is not worried about the accuracy of the historical anecdote. Because of this and her popularity, our knowledge of Cleopatra has been flooded with twisted truths. When examining Cleopatra’s full reign beyond her love affairs, reveals Cleopatra put all of her effort forth in order to solve the conflict between Egypt and Rome and should be recognized for her masterminded and commanding leadership
...er working memory individuals performed better when they used the usual steps lower WM individuals generally take. In the lower-pressure condition, the lower the individuals’ working memory the more accurate they were by using simpler steps (Beilock & DeCaro, 2007). Beilock and DeCaro (2007) explained their findings as a result that WM availability influences how individuals approach math problems, with the complexity of the task performed and the pressure-level of their environment deciding which skills succeed and fail.
William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra In the play Antony and Cleopatra, the character of Cleopatra is one of
Heichelheim, Fritz, Cedric A. Yeo, and Allen M. Ward. A History Of The Roman People. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1984.
Cleopatra’s embodiment, though, does aim for her to become “one of [them.]” Her new body fits in a very specific niche – she does not f...
Huckleberry Finn seemed to live without a care in the world. He had no mother and an abusive drunk for a father who only showed up when he saw fit. The only person who cared about Huck and wanted him to succeed in life was the Widow Douglas. Her efforts to mold Huck into a respectable young man always seemed futile. Huck would much rather go create mischief with his friend Tom then to be civilized by the Widow Douglas.
The reign of Cleopatra. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. Print. The. Grant, Michael.
Aristotle was said to be the most memorable philosopher in Roman Times. Being in a part of the lower-class, he had more opportunities than the people in his same social class. With these opportunities, Aristotle took full advantage of them and built a life for himself. Throughout his lifetime, he accomplished many things. Aristotle’s findings have proven throughout the many years they have been useful. 1
Greenblatt et al., ed. Antony and Cleopatra. The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc. 1997.