Preview

term paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1062 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
term paper
INTRODUCTION
Antony and Octavius Caesar are great roman of their age i.e. first century B.C. In the play,Antony and Cleopatra. Antony is a mature middle-aged general of fifty years, whereas Octavius is a young man of twenty-two whom Antony calls a ‘boy’. After the murder of Julius Caesar, Antony, a great friend of Julius Caesar makes the people continue their love and loyalty to the dead Caesar as beautifully brought out in Shakespeare Roman tragedy, Julius Caesar. Octavius is a nephew of Caesar and successor bearing his name ‘Caesar’. Both combine their forced to defeat the Republicans, Brutus and Cassius divided the vast Roman empire for governance in their parts. Octavius rules over the northern and western part. Lepidus is given Italy and Antonty is made ruler of the eastern part of the empire including Syria, near east and Africa. All the three titans have their ambitions to become the sole ruler of the Roman empire. Thus Antony and Octavius, though friends and brothers after Octavia, elder widowed sister of octavius, marries Antony,are political rivals.

Antony-the creation Shakespeare’s imagination
The play Antony and Cleopatra is based on Plutarch’s life of Mark Antony. Shakespeare follows history of Rome as sketched by Plutarch pretty closely as compared to his other historical plays. Plutarch doesn’t give a rosy picture of Antony or Cleopatra character. Antony has excessive passion for love and pleasures. He drinks, love rivalries, courteans, grandeur to the extent of vulgarity. In his love for Cleopatra he forgets his political duties, welfare of the kingdom and wastes his time in luxury, lust and rivalry at Alexandria with Cleopatra. In the play, Antony is a great soldier ‘a Mars’ in armour, a descendent of Herculues, a generous person and humane, whom his followers and Cleoparta adore. He is highly respected by Octavius and also his adversary, Pompey. While he is enjoying his life in luxury at Alexandria in Cleopatra’s bed, Pompey threatens Rome.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Term Paper

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I recently conducted a statistical study to figure out how an admissions officer can determine which students are most successful in their school. The problem that most colleges face is admitting students who don’t do well. By doing this, it just leads to complications like the student failing in class and not getting a job after they graduate. Because of this, we need to determine which students are most successful at the University of West Erlham County.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Term Paper

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages

    California's criminal justice system is undergoing significant changes as a result of realignment AB 109. The legislation realigns from the state to local level responsibility for supervising people convicted of certain felony crimes.…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Marc Antony was Caesar’s right hand man and best friend. He was a noble person until Caesar was murdered and he became part of the new triumvirate. Having this power made him crave more and he began using public money to fund his army and to become more powerful. He used Lepidus to do his small jobs along with bullying Octavius into doing what he wanted. All this because he was power hungry.…

    • 73 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antony betrayed Brutus and Cassius by saying he was on their side then turned Rome against them mainly because Caesar’s death. “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not praise him, the evil that men are evil”. Antony is telling Rome that the killing of Caesar was wrong and the people were wrong for doing it. Antony stands up for Caesar to protect his honor and to prove to the city of…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, Mark Antony is a loyal Roman who will stand by Caesar and believes him to be a good leader for Rome. Shakespeare displays this through how Antony apologizes for even…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, there are many characters that in the end are a major influence on each other. The three main characters that have the most influence on each other are Cleopatra, Marc Antony, and Octavius Ceasar. Cleopatra was Egypts last pharoh and Marc Antonys lover. Cleopatra favors high drama. She meets Antony and almost immediately falls in love with him. Cleopatras love for Antony becomes the most imporatant thing in her life. She uses her love to manipulate people such as Antony. Although devoted to Antony, she plays games and her main goal is to always have his attention, she is quick to jump to conclusions about their relationship. Cleopatra is more fascinated with her wants and needs then anyone else making her a rather selfish person throughout the play. Her immaturity throughout the play is what makes the relationship between her and Antony not seem like true love. Cleopatra is always jealous of Marc Antonys actions either with his wife or with his duties toward Rome she always thrives to be his center of attention. Cleopatra is not depicted as a mature female character in this play, whenever she dose not get what she wants to begins to throw a fit. She seem to be more of a childish ruler who only wants for herself and will influence anything to go in her favor. In my opinion not very ideal ruler.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare does not reveal much about Antony until after the death of Caesar, but he is found to be loyal to those he loves and ruthless to those he hates.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brutus Is Noble Analysis

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, there is a struggle of power between two very different mindsets. One is Mark Antony and the other is Octavius Caesar, who want revenge for the killing of Julius Caesar. The other is Marcus Brutus, who is trying to keep Rome a republic rather than a monarchy. Marcus Brutus is a very noble Roman in Shakespeare’s play. He is a highly respected man in the upper class of Roman society. At the end of the play, Mark Antony looks at his body after he committed suicide and says that he was, “The most noble Roman of all” on page 870 line 68. He states that out of all the conspirators that killed Caesar, Brutus is the only one who did it out of good intentions to benefit Rome and…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antony then changes the mind of the plebeians as they say, "Traitors, villains!" (3.2.213). This introduces Antony's power to change the minds of many.After Brutus explains the reason for killing Caesar, the plebeians accept the reason and praise Brutus for it but Antony's speech revolts them against the conspirators which reveals his strength and leadership. The plebeians see the fault in the conspirators that they did not see which supports Antony as a potential leader. When fighting in the battle, Antony talks to Octavius stating, "I am in their bosoms, and I know wherefore they do it," (5.1.7-8). This confirms Antony's knowledge of the conspirators and uses it to his advantage. His statement reveals his strategies in warfare, which leads him to victory and death of his enemies. His leadership emphasizes his change in attitude and actions as he yearns for…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Shakespeare ensures that we, as audience, are fully aware that Antony’s character has been completely changed since his meeting Cleopatra; indeed, the play’s first scene is centred around the fact that he, who once had a “captain’s heart”, has “been transformed into a strumpet’s fool” by her. We are left with no doubt that Cleopatra is in control of the pair’s relationship. She has “pursed up his heart” (II.ii), and he has sat back watching her, stunned into submission by the “rare”, intoxicating quality that she appears to behold. She is portrayed at several instances as an enchantress, who has made Antony “the noble ruin of her magic” (III.x), her hold over him is so strong. Antony is torn between his responsibilities as a member of the triumvirate, and his passionate love for Cleopatra. When he is around her, he appears completely besotted by her, unable to acknowledge any other responsibilities or duties that he may have (“Let Rome in Tiber melt and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall!” - I.i ); however, he does seem to understand that their relationship is becoming detrimental to him, worrying in I.ii that he will “lose [him]self in dotage”, and resolving to break “these strong Egyptian fetters” that she is trapping him in.…

    • 1965 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The internal conflicts Antony deals with is far more damaging than he realizes. In the beginning of the play, Antony focuses more on his love for Cleopatra than his duty to Rome. Caesar even mentions that he ignored his requests while basking in the freedoms of Egypt. While in Egypt, Antony tells Cleopatra of his wishes to be away from his wife who is less enchanting than she is. However, once he hears of her death, he is shocked and feels bad. Cleopatra feels taken aback by this since he told her many times he felt nothing for his wife. This confuses her, especially when he agrees to marry Octavia when he is in…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    term paper

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When April comes with his sweet, fragrant showers, which pierce the dry ground of March, and bathe every root of every plant in sweet liquid, then people desire to go on pilgrimages." Thus begins the famous opening to The Canterbury Tales. The narrator (a constructed version of Chaucer himself) is first discovered staying at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (in London), when a company of twenty-nine people descend on the inn, preparing to go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. After talking to them, he agrees to join them on their pilgrimage.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Antony and Cleopatra was written sometime between 1606-07, a time when “according to Bishop Goodman that although people were ‘generally weary of an old woman’s government’ by the end of the Elizabeth’s reign, experience of James soon prompted a revival of her reputation” (1). Therefore it is possible to say that Antony and Cleopatra was used as political exploration in dramatizing the difference between Rome and Egypt, a contemporary audience would take this to represent division in the reigns of Elizabeth and James. This contrast is evident straight away in the very first scene.…

    • 1983 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Antony, in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, was a brave, intelligent, pleasure-loving, and cunning man. He was loyal to his friend, Caesar, whom he considered a true friend. He looked at life as a game in which he had a signified part to play, and played that part with excellent refinement and skill.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays