length: 1241 words 3.5 double spaced pages destructive power relationships in antony and cleopatra antony and cleopatra's love is not really about love at all. their interaction can only be considered a sort of immature lust power relationship. Their attraction for each other centers around infatuation and a sort of egoistic rush that they are more important than the world. just as a man or woman of today may attempt to control the desires of his or her intended, cleopatra wants to manipulate antony into wanting her: cleopatra. See where he is, who's with him, what he does: i did not send you: if you find him sad, say i am dancing if in mirth, report that i am sudden sick. Cleopatra and antony's relationship is a very worldly one we do not even know if cleopatra applied the asp because she wanted to be with antony in death or if she simply could not stand being left with caesar in life.

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How do the quick scene changes affect the plot? in sheer number of scenes, antony and cleopatra outstrips all other shakespearean plays. Act v, scene ii, the longest scene in the play, is a mere 356 lines, a modest length compared to scenes in shakespeare rsquo s other tragedies. First, geographically speaking, the play shuttles the audience from one end of the roman empire to another, from rome to athens to syria to alexandria. The global span of the scenes mirrors the play rsquo s concern with the construction of an empire. Furthermore, the rapidly shifting scenes quicken the pace of the play and, with it, the audience rsquo s sense of the passage of time. Although antony and cleopatra covers a period of ten years, we feel that events follow one another immediately. For example, ventidius rsquo s war against the parthians takes no more time than octavia rsquo s fateful journey from athens to rome.

This compression of time speeds us toward the play rsquo s outcome, heightening the tragedy rsquo s sense of inevitability. What is the roman perception of egypt? should we have the same perception? among the romans in the play, there is a definite consensus regarding egypt. Philo sets the tone for the west rsquo s perception of the east in the opening lines of the play, when he complains that antony, the paragon of western military might and discipline, has been led to distraction by ldquo a gipsy rsquo s lust rdquo i.i. Caesar seconds philo rsquo s opinion when he condemns antony for abandoning his ldquo kingdom for a mirth rdquo i.iv. According to the romans, who pride themselves on the strength of their reason as much as the strength of their army, egypt is a land in which emotions overshadow rationality, passions dominate and derail the intellect, and pleasure takes priority over duty. Even antony, whose love for cleopatra makes him much more sympathetic than his comrades to egyptian culture, considers egypt a threat to his identity as a roman: ldquo these strong egyptian fetters i must break, / or lose myself in dotage rdquo i.ii. For the roman understanding of the east and, by extension, its representative queen is exceptionally narrow.

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According to caesar, for instance, cleopatra is little more than the whore for whom antony has sacrificed his kingdom and reputation. But just as cleopatra is a multidimensional character who plays the parts of lovesick devotee, grief stricken mourner, jealous harpy, and even, at the end, wife and mother as convincingly as she dons the role of seductress, so too the east contains more than simple base temptations. A homeland of sorts for the passions, freedoms, and imagination that often escape the likes of caesar and antony, shakespeare rsquo s east is best understood as a world larger and more complex than reductive roman thought allows.

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Analyze antony and cleopatra rsquo s relationship, paying close attention to their trust in one another. Compare and contrast cleopatra with caesar, especially in their final confrontation. Shakespearean tragic heroes tend to die cleanly and grandly when they take their own lives.

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Why is this detail significant? what does it suggest about his character or the play? 6. What qualities allow caesar to win their war? home » essay topics and quotations » antony and cleopatra thesis statements and important quotes below you will find four outstanding thesis statements for antony and cleopatra by william shakespeare that can be used as essay starters or paper topics. All five incorporate at least one of the themes in antony and cleopatra and are broad enough so that it will be easy to find textual support, yet narrow enough to provide a focused clear thesis statement. These thesis statements offer a short summary of antony and cleopatra by shakespeare in terms of different elements that could be important in an essay. You are, of course, free to add your own analysis and understanding of the plot of antony and cleopatra or themes to them for your essay.