Antony And Cleopatra Internal Conflict Analysis

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.

Antony cannot decide to be either the general or the lover; he is both regardless of whether

In his outright declaration of love to his queen after spending time away from her, Antony once more makes it evident that he cannot keep his identity as a general separate from his identity as a lover. Antony tells Cleopatra to leap “through proof of harness to [his] heart” (Act IV, scene 8, l.15). Antony is once more mixing his role in the army with his love for Cleopatra, reason and emotion. His declaration of love to her describing her reaching past his armor, which represents his status as general, and grabbing his heart shows that, though armor is meant to protect the chest and keep others out/away, his emotions surpass his reason and he is more than willing to allow her to do exactly what his armor is supposed to prevent. Towards the end of the play, after every subtle (or not so subtle) hint, Antony’s declaration of love including his armor demonstrates that he has come to understand that he does not need to choose between his two identities and constantly fight reason against emotion, but can instead live with both at the same