Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

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Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra is a play in which the balance of power swings

interestingly between two lovers. It is set in the First Century BC

between Rome and Egypt. Antony is one of the three members of the

second triumvirate who jointly rule the Roman Empire. Antony is the

eponymous tragic hero, who allows his love for Cleopatra to cloud his

judgement. According to Aristotle this is hamartia, an error of

judgment caused by fate. This leads to his downfall. Cleopatra is the

Queen of Egypt; she is a very clever yet volatile lady. We follow

their relationship and changes in power between them throughout the

play in chronological order. The great feeling of love between the two

characters allows the play to have unexpected twists. Culminating in

both their suicides, unusually Cleopatra lives on past Antony's death.

We can easily see the balance of power shift throughout the play,

between Antony and Cleopatra.

From the opening of the play we see the imbalance of power between the

two as in Act one Scene one which is framed by disapproval as two

offices lament the change that has came over their leader; "And is

become the bellows and the fan/ To cool a gipsy's lust". This is a

typical Roman view of Antony being subservient to Cleopatra, given to

us from Philo a Roman soldier based in Egypt. The soldier also states

from what a great height Antony has fallen; "The triple pillar of the

world transform'd / Into a strumpet's fool." These two passages show

us that even from the beginning the audience is made aware of

Cleopatra's effect on Antony. The language Philo uses shows how he

feel as "strumpe...

... middle of paper ...

...eath. "Not Caesars

valour hath oer'thrown Antony,/But Antony's hath triumph'd on itself."

Cleopatra changes her tone considerably after Antony's death. She

becomes very subdued and dignified which leads to a restrained end to

a tempestuous scene.

Cleopatra ends the play in Act five with all the power, as Antony is

dead and she still has the final scene to herself which is very

unusual as a female character is never given the final scene. She has

achieved power over Antony in his life and his death proving she is a

domineering and ingenious woman, much to the Romans disapproval.

In conclusion, Shakespeare's handling of the balance of power is

wonderfully documented through the plot of the play and through his

use of language. The lifestyle enjoyed by Antony and Cleopatra is

shown through the hyperbolical poetry.

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