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February 22, 2006
Antony and Cleopatra Acts III-V
The characters all seem to contradict themselves at the end, but then turn out to be very much what you stereotyped them to be at the end. This was such an intense, twisted play and I quite enjoyed it. When Antony is trying to get out his last words and die with honor at his own sword, Cleo is still trying to interupt and draw attentiont to herself. It shows that she is still the drama queen and her love for Antony really was based on the control she had over him. When Antony killed himself, I think he kept his honor. I thought the soothsayer had alot to do with their decision making at first and in a way, Antony did follow the advice. He didn't submit to Caesar. There had been foreshadowing before about snakes in the Nile and look what Cleo used to kill herself. In a way, she died for the same thing that Antony did. She didn't want to submit to Caesar. It's funny that all along, Caesar despised Antony's love for Cleo but in the end, he sees the honor in what Antony did and allows them to be buried together. In Romeo and Juliet, they died together in love. In this play, they died out of honor and their own selfishness. What do you think of this?
Posted by ErinWaite at February 22, 2006 11:50 AM
Comments
Erin, I quite enjoyed this play as well. That's a great point about Antony still dying with this honor. I totally agree with that. I think that Ceasar recognizing Antony's love for Cleo is a really great thing to pick up on. We've got to remember, Ceasar was intimidated by Antony and gave him all of the credit that a brave warrior like Antony should get. I think that now that he's gone, Ceasar definately respects how hard he was to defeat and Antony did this even with the distraction of Cleopatra. I really liked this play overall.
Posted by: Andy Lonigro at February 22, 2006 02:17 PM
Thanks, Andy. I think during this time period honor was so important. Look at the movie Gladiator or Braveheart. I think that no matter how great of an enemy you have, if they are a person of true honor there really is nothing you can give them but respect. Even women like Cleo can't hold you guys down, so that's a plus!
Posted by: Erin at February 23, 2006 05:49 PM