Antony and Cleopatra
116. Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
This play, set in ancient Rome, is another one of Shakespeare’s great tragic love stories. Mark Antony, Caesar (Octavian), and Lepidus are the three triumvirs who rule over the Roman Empire, and they must unite to deal with the external threat of Pompey. However, they soon begin fighting each other for sole control over the empire. Antony is the strongest and most powerful soldier, but he is distracted by his love affair with Cleopatra, the (in)famous queen of Egypt. Though he loves her deeply, he never quite trusts her; and as the final showdown with Caesar looms, Antony’s passions begin to overrule his reason.
What can I say about this play? It’s Shakespeare! Plus, anyone remotely familiar with the story already knows how it ends! It was interesting to match the events of the play with my (slight) knowledge of classical history - Shakespeare even gives his take on the battle of Actium. I was not terribly invested in the romance between Antony and Cleopatra, because it seemed to me like both of them were acting stupidly. Antony let her boss him around all the time, and he even fled from a crucial battle because he got worried about her. He needed to keep his head in the game! And Cleopatra, while she genuinely loved Antony, kept playing mind games with him, thinking that she needed to mess with his head to keep him interested in her. It seemed like a very high-school mentality to me. :) Nevertheless, I’m glad I read this play.
Oh, and I love this line: "[T]he bright day is done, / And we are for the dark." E. M. Forster quoted it in A Room with a View, one of my favorite books, and I didn't know where it came from until today! I love connecting works of literature like that. :)