Antony a better Leader than Caesar in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra:
In Shakespeare?s play 'Antony and Cleopatra' Caesar, while he displays remarkable tactical skills, is calculating and cold hearted. Antony on the other hand embodies many admirable qualities and emotions which make him the greater of the two. Firstly I will look at Caesar?s military victories before examining Antony?s great human qualities.
Looking at Caesar, he is highly successful in his military battles due to his great organisation skills and strategic planning. Caesar values organisation since he receives hourly reports on how matters are abroad (Act I Scene 4 lines 34-36) and keeps detailed accounts of his battles. His logical thought also makes him so successful:
?Strike not by land, keep whole, provoke not battle,
Till we have done at sea? (Act III Scene 8 lines 3-4)
This strategic plan allows Caesar to defeat Antony. Duty is of unmatched importance to Caesar. Caesar condemns Antony for seeking pleasure before duty and he says of himself:
?Doubt not, sir,
I knew it for my bond? (Act I Scene 4 lines 84-85)
So the basis of Caesar?s abundant military victories, also against Antony, are his logical tactics and his sense of duty.
However, Caesar is so determined to succeed and so power hungry that he is willing to hurt and manipulate other people in order to be successful. Caesar is calculating in that he uses Lepidus to defeat Pompey yet then sees to it that Lepdius is deposed as a triumvir so that he can gain more power. Another example of Caesar?s deviousness is:
? Plant those that have revolted in the van,
That Antony may seem to spend his fury
Upon himself.? (Act IV Scene 6 lines 9-11)
Caesar intentionally places...
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...flees the battle, he does not blame Cleopatra but takes responsibility for his own actions and is very ashamed of them:
?I have fled myself, and have instructed cowards
To run and show their shoulders.? (Act III Scene 11 lines 7-8)
It is in particular this characteristic which makes Antony greater than Caesar. Though it would be easy to make another person the culprit, Antony always carries the burden of the blame himself and is truly remorseful of his actions.
In conclusion, Caesar?s arrogant, calculating, unemotional character is opposed to Antony?s forgiving, generous, responsible one. Though Caesar is a great military leader, his success is achieved through deliberate cold-hearted scheming and manipulation of others while Antony displays true nobility through his incomparably great human qualities. Thus, in our minds, Antony is the greater of the two.
In the story Julius Ceaser, Antony was a more honorable and trusting man which stated to
Brutus is a Good Leader in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Brutus is the most fit character to be a leader in the entire book. Brutus is a take. charge of the kind of person.
For thousands of years people have been talking about the great powerful Caesar. He is one of the greatest known dictators known to people today mostly because of all of the things he was able to accomplish during his rein as emperor. After reading primary sources about Caesar, it has given me a better understanding of what other people thought of him during this time period. It’s safe to say that Caesar was obsessed with power and respect from other people that would explain his thirst for war and land, which is one of his greatest strengths and helped in making Rome a great empire.
Character Analysis Antony- What Cassius says about Antony: "You know not what…that which he will utter?" Pg. 582 lines 233-236. This shows that the conspirators are afraid of what Antony will say in his oration to the mob. Cassius is trying to make Brutus see what Antony is really up to, but Brutus is too caught up in honor to notice. What Antony does: He speaks to the crowd making them feel sorry for him, ashamed of themselves, and hate the conspirators. He causes them to go into an angry rage in scene 3. What Antony feels: "O pardon me thou…gentle with these butchers." Pg. 582 lines 254-236. Antony has made a deal with the conspirators that have killed his best friend. This quote is after the conspirators have left, and he is talking to the corpse of Caesar. He spills his true intentions and gives word of his counter conspiracy. He feels that even though the men are honorable, that they have butchered a man that could have been reasoned with and brought out of what it was he did wrong. What Antony says: "Let each man render me his bloody hand…My credit now stands on such slippery ground that one of two bad ways you must conceit me…." Pg. 580 lines 184-194 He leads the conspirators on to trust him, when in fact, he wants to be able to speak to the mob. He uses a vicious pun so that he knows what he is talking about, but the conspirators think that he is simply talking about the blood on the ground being slippery. Caesar- What Caesar says: "Et tù Brute? Then fall Caesar!" Pg. 577 line 77 Caesar is shocked that Brutus, his most loyal friend would do this. His mask comes off at this point and shows his personal face. Throughout the play, he has put himself as an arrogant official, and only when he is around his friends does he show his true identity. This is so important because marks the point when Caesar’s spirit enters Antony’s revenge. The play comes to its climax in this line. What Caesar does: Caesar refuses to let Publius Cimber back into Rome. He, in a way, kills himself by the way he responds. He puts himself up as a god-like man and almost says he is in control of his own destiny. This gives the conspirators final reason to kill him, and they do.
Antony is the trusted lietenant who is popular with Caesar because he follows Julius Caesar by his heart instead of getting wealthy. You disagree with the argument of killing Antony or not because you don’t want to make bloody. However, after Caesar’s death, Antony will be the best speaker to take the chance to speak toward the crowd in public, and he will make a great speech that make people love Caesar more than you, and it causes people to make revenge for Caesar.
More powerful than Brutus, Caesar is a tyrant that talks in third person, which shows his arrogant and egocentric personality. To be a tragic hero, a character must show traits of being...
Julius Caesar, even though he is considered great, turns out to contain many flaws. He believes himself to be untouchable, and has a confidence that he cannot be harmed, even though that is not the case. He says so when he says, “Caesar shall forth. The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on ...
Julius Caesar is a moral, ethical man. He is a selfless man who puts others before himself. When Artemidorus gets word of the conspirator’s plans, he writes a letter to Caesar to warn him of his impending fate and rushes to the Capitol to give him word. Upon telling Caesar the letter is concerning him, Caesar simply brushes it off and responds, “What touches oneself shall be served last”(III,I, 8). Caesar altruistically puts aside an urgent manner concerning him to accept the offer of becoming King of Rome, which is the reason he went to the Capitol in the first place, which shows he is a benevolent, thoughtful person. In
The first impressions the audience gains of Caesar show him to be a complete contrast to what the audiences have previously observed about Antony, one of the other leaders in the Triumvirate. Caesar is very strong-minded about leadership, and prioritises rules and regulations over lov... ... middle of paper ... ... akespeare has portrayed Caesar in 'Antony and Cleopatra' he has a large impact into the tension in the play, due to his contradicting views and attitudes. It is clear how complex the character of Caesar is.
The ambition possessed by each character, leads Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius to power. It will be the same ambition, that quest for power, that makes each one susceptible to their own weakness. For Caesar, it will be his ego and inability to heed warnings, Brutus his love of Rome, and Cassius his dedication to power. These qualities prove that although intentions may be noble, ambition can make a person ruthless and blind them to their original goals. Ambition kills those who lose sight of their conscience and although it may prove beneficial in many instances, in this case, it leads the characters to lose all that they
As a symbol, Caesar is multifaceted. To some he is a coward “Ye gods, it doth amaze me, A man of such a feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world, and bear the palm alone.” (1.2.129). To others he is an ambitious rival “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things! O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, Knew you not Pompey?” (1.1.39). To a few, he is even a friend “He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man.” (3.2.91). However, to all he is a god...
The opening speech raises the audiences’ awareness of the Roman view towards Antony and Cleopatra’s relationship. “You shall see him The triple pillar of the world transformed into a strumpet’s fool,” which ultimately means that Antony is Cleopatra’s jester, that would do anything for her and that his imminent downfall is due to Cleopatra the “Strumpet”.
One of the biggest internal struggles in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is Antony’s struggle between reason and emotion. One of the times this is shown is when Antony turns his ships around after noting that Cleopatra has done so in Act III scene 10. Shakespeare decided to show Antony’s internal struggle by having him follow Cleopatra to emphasize how strongly his emotions and reasoning lead him to mix business with pleasure, intertwining his role of general with his role of lover. From turning his ship around mid-battle to dressing himself after spending the night to outright stating his feelings, Antony shows over and over the unavoidable mutual existence of his roles as general and lover.
If Antony flees to Cleopatra of his own free will, then how is she? responsible for his actions? Cleopatra, however, is to blame. Antony's acceptance of her military whims Antony is to blame for his own bad judgement but, defeat by a woman is virtually unheard of. in the patriarchal society of Rome. We can argue that Cleopatra effeminizes Antony, to some extent, this. is true.
Caesar was also arrogant, he believed that he was too great to be harmed, Caesar