Antony and Cleopatra (William Shakespeare)
University of Freiburg
Englisches Seminar,
Freiburg, Germany
Khaled Saifulla
The Triumvirate, Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar and
Marcus Lepidus are the rulers Roman Empire.
Mark Antony living in Egypt, conducts an affair with the queen of Egypt,
Cleopatra. He falls in love with the beauty of her and prefers spending time in
Egypt. In Rome, Demetrius and Philo, friends of Antony surprising to fall in
love of with Cleopatra, discuss about Antony’s ignoring the domestic problems
of Rome. When from Rome a messenger with a letter, arrives to the palace of
Cleopatra, Antony has no mood to hear anything about Rome, Cleopatra insists
him on listening the news though. Antony rather says, “Let Rome in Tiber melt
and the wide arch / Of the ranged empire fall.” (Act i, Scene i). Without
hearing the message, after leaving the couple to the offstage, Demetrius and
Philo express their shock at the general’s disrespect for Caesar and the
military affair of the empire.
Antony comes back on the stage with a messenger who
informs him that Fulvia, Antony’s wife fighting against Caesar, is defeated and
flees away from Rome to Greece. Another new messenger arriving at the stage,
informs that after having fled to Greece, his wife, Fulvia is dead. Antony mourns for his wife’s death and
calling for one of his followers, Domitius Enobarbus, tells him that they must
prepare to go back to Rome and they return to Rome, Cleopatra
does not want Antony to go back though. He says, “I must from this enchanting
queen break off”. (Act 1, Scene 2). Antony returns to Rome to fight against
Pompey, another military leader who tries to take control of the empire. When
Antony is in back in Rome, Octavius complains against him for neglecting his
duty and ignoring military affairs during his living in Egypt. Agrippa,
Octavius Caesar’s follower, suggest that Antony should marry Octavius’s sister,
Octavia to melt the distance between both. Antony accepting the suggestion, marries
Octavia. Antony and Octavius Caesar shake their hands and promise to be
brothers.
On the other hand, when a messenger comes to Cleopatra
and tells her that Antony is married with Octavia, Octavius’s sister, she is
fire with rage in jealous. Cleopatra beats the messenger and sends him off to
get details about Octavia’s age, acts, height and beauty. He comes back and
describes that Octavia is plain and unimpressive with ‘short, low-browed,
round-faced and with unruly hair’. Hearing the details about Octavia, Cleopatra
is confident, and she hopes that Antony will come back again to Egypt.
In Pompey’s house, Pompey and his men, Menas,
Menecrates discussing about the battle against the Triumvirate, he tells them
that they will win the upcoming war because their army is stronger at the sea
than the Triumvirate. However, before the battle, the Triumvirate and Pompey
agree to a treaty by giving back to Pompey Sicily and Sardinia. Antony and
Octavia celebrating the truce with Pompey, Lepidus and Octavius leave Rome for
Athens. Later, Octavius and Lepidus breaking the truce, declare war against
Pompey and Pompey loses the battle. Antony, having learned about the war
against Pompey, he is enraged and serious controversies with Octavia, he
returns to Egypt and Octavia goes back to Rome to be with her brother, Octavius
Caesar. When Octavia returns to Rome, Octavius Caesar being angry at Antony for
the disgrace of his sister and for going back to Cleopatra, gets ready for the
battle against him.
Meanwhile, Antony prepares for the battle with the
help of the Cleopatra’s ships. A soothsayer warns him that he will surely lose;
he tries for a battle against Octavius Caesar though. After starting the war
when Caesar’s army and Antony’s army cross the paths, the sounds of the battle
come from the off-stage. In the middle of the battle when Cleopatra’s ships
turning sail, flee away, Antony follows her, and his forces are defeated.
Antony blames Cleopatra for losing the battle against Caesar. When Cleopatra
begs Antony’s forgiveness for her cowardliness, Antony forgives her saying,
"Give me a kiss. Even this repays me --" (Act iii. Scene xii) and
prepares for another battle against Caesar.
Another battle starts, and Antony’s soldiers are
defeated as well because Cleopatra’s ships surrender to Octavius Caesar and it
seems to support to Caesar’s fleet. Antony being frustrated, accuses Cleopatra
for the loss of the war and he plans to kill her saying, “All is lost! This
foul Egyptian hath betrayed me” (Act iv, Scene xii). In order to protect
herself, Cleopatra sends Mardian, a eunuch, to tell Antony that she has killed
herself and she does really love him, and her last dying word is ‘Antony’.
Antony getting the news of Cleopatra’s suicide, with grief he orders to Eros,
one of his followers, to stab him but Eros kills himself instead. Antony taking
Eros’s valiant act his lesson falls on his sword and he is injured severely.
Arriving at the stage, Diomedes, Cleopatra’s servant brings a news that
Cleopatra really is not dead and still she is alive. Antony hearing this news,
tells his followers to take him to Cleopatra and he is carried off to
Cleopatra’s monument. Cleopatra orders to her ladies to lift Antony to her
because of Caesar’s fearing, she does not want to come down from the monument.
Antony bleeding all over the place, tells Cleopatra that he is dying, Cleopatra
with great sorrow, continues looking at his face and after few times, Antony
dies in her arm. At Octavius Caesar’s camp, learning Antony’s suicide, he mourns
for his death.
An Egyptian servant coming to Octavius Caesar, asks
him about his behavior with Cleopatra. He tells him that he will treat her with
dignity and gently. When Octavius Caesar sends his follower, Proculeius, to
Cleopatra to surrender and to inform that Octavius has assured her safety, she
angrily refuses his proposal. Proculeius leaves and Octavius entering at the
stage, tells Cleopatra that if she surrenders to him, he will not harm her.
Octavius Caesar leaves and Cleopatra thinking herself, decides to die rather
than to be captive to Rome. She asks her servants Charmian and Iras to bring
her clothes and crown because she wants to see her how she looks most beautiful
when she dies. At her request, a common man brings a basket in which he has
hidden several poisonous snakes (asps).
Cleopatra
kisses Iras who immediately overcoming by her emotion, falls in death.
Cleopatra taking a snake from the basket puts it on her breast and expresses
her rage to Caesar. When Charmian seeing a snake on her breast, starts crying
out, Cleopatra putting another snake to her breast, lets it bite her and she
falls dead calmly. As soon as Caesar’s followers enter the stage, Charmian
being very sad, puts a snake to her breast and she dies as well. Octavius Caesar
and Dolabella entering the stage, find three dead bodies and experience
conflicting emotions among them. Caesar admiring her royal nature and noble
end, orders Dolabella to organize the funeral ceremony saying, “She shall be
buried by her Antony. No grave upon the earth shall clip in it. A pair so
famous” (Act v, Scene ii). Cleopatra is buried next to Antony and Antony and
Cleopatra’s death leave Octavius Caesar to be the first Roman Emperor.
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