Abstract
This paper reviews the life and history of Mark Antony, born Marcus Antonius. The paper discusses how, thanks to the works of famous writers like Plutarch and Shakespeare, Mark Antony has become a legend. The paper further discusses how his actions following Julius Caesar's death in 44 B.C. and his exploits with Queen Cleopatra have made him interesting reading and a source of entertainment for centuries. However, behind the many stories, there was a man who was a brave general, loyal supporter, dedicated Roman and ardent lover.

From the Paper
"While Caesar was fighting in Egypt and Africa to defeat the last of Pompey's forces, Antonius was given the distinction of being made Master of the Horse (fact). His role was to be a politician and administrator in Italy while Caesar was out of the country. Unfortunately for him, Antonius was not good in that role and was removed in 47 B.C. and even banished from Caesar's sight for two years (unrv). Nevertheless, Antonius was able to work his way back into Caesar's circle; in 44 B.C. he was the one to offer the crown to Caesar, a circumstance much celebrated in the first act of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar (unrv)."

Tags:Octavianus, octavia, Cleopatra, Caesar

Abstract
The paper examines both "Othello" and "Anthony and Cleopatra" and shows how there are relationships of love and death that are consistently connected to one another. The paper discusses the characters' passion for honor at all costs that leads to war and thus creates a strong connection between love and death.

From the Paper
"In both Othello and Antony and Cleopatra there are relationships of love that are questioned in their correctness by society (Bevington 1118). Moor and innocent, servant and queen, the plays provide the foundation for love that is destined for tragedy. Yet, in the eyes of the characters of these plays love and death are consistently connected to one another. Love is he desired state of the heart in both loving another and being loved in return. Both leading couples struggle through much social rejection to accomplish this desire. However, with love comes the understanding that in order to prove love death is inevitable, making love and death linked by nature."

Tags:passion, war, heroism

From the Paper
"Conceptions of honor are addressed in the Shakespeare plays Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. Julius Caesar was written in 1599 and Antony and Cleopatra in 1606-1607. Both are among the Roman plays of Shakespeare, plays set in the Roman Empire, though Antony and Cleopatra actually is more governed by the culture and society of Egypt where the play is set. Honor is an important Roman value, but the meaning of honor and the way it is belied by the actions of certain men are tested by the events in these plays. Honor in some ways is bound with Roman power, and there is a connection between the decline of power and the decline of honor, as Shakespeare is able to bring out centuries later as he looks back at the long lost empire and considers the meaning of honor from an Elizabethan point of view."

From the Paper
"Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" is a tragedy in more than the normal sense of the word. Its main character is a tragic hero, much as Macbeth or Lear were in their respective dramas, and yet Shakespeare adds still another element. He presents us with a second tragic character in the personage of Cleopatra, and the interaction of the two of them provide us with what can be considered a love tragedy. In this sense, Shakespeare has returned to a familiar theme, but more matured and older, he leaves us with a different conclusion. Romeo and Juliet was one of Shakespeare's earliest attempts at tragedy (whereas Antony and Cleopatra is the last tragic drama he wrote), and in this previous play, he explored the "star-crossed lovers," who must die for love in the end, unable to be united in life."

Tags:love, tragedy, conclusion

Abstract
This paper relates that one of the cultural ideologies, which were prominent in Shakespeare's day, was that in order for a woman to be considered a "good" woman, they must embody three certain characteristics: Silence, chastity and obedience. The author points out that Shakespeare's characterization of Cleopatra certainly has similarities to Elizabeth 1, but it goes even further and makes Cleopatra into an exaggerated version of Elizabeth except Cleopatra uses her sexuality to increase her power, while Elizabeth had to remain chaste in order to maintain her power. The paper relates that another manner in which Cleopatra's character diverges from the cultural attitude toward women is that she is not silent although in some points in the play Cleopatra seems submissive and even quiet or passive

From the Paper
"In order to understand the attitudes of society in the early seventeenth century, one must first understand the politics that shaped societies attitude. Shakespeare was born into Elizabethan England in 1564. Elizabeth 1 was the first Queen of England to never marry and this significant in understanding how Cleopatra is conveyed so powerfully. Since the Middle Ages, marriages had always been arranged and this meant that it was almost impossible for a woman to avoid marriage, unless of course the woman was the queen. Although the law gave women virtually the same rights as a man while unmarried, as soon as a woman was married she became the property of her husband. Elizabeth 1 remained unmarried in order to maintain her right to be equal to man and to maintain her power."

Tags:comparison, similarities, exageration, sexuality, power

Abstract
This paper discusses the depictions of Antony's and Cleopatra's respective conflicts, and how those depictions portray the value of romantic love. The discussion begins with Antony's conflict, which is a struggle between reason and emotion, mind and heart. This conflict is a central theme to the play and is even manifest in a geographic and political sense as the struggle between the Western world of Rome and the Eastern world of Egypt. The discussion moves to Cleopatra and shows that she is at the center of the same struggle and is motivated, just as Antony, to choose between political power and love. The paper concludes with an examination of Shakespeare's message about the value of romantic love.

From the Paper
"Cleopatra is portrayed to us as a woman of sublime beauty. She is seductive to such a degree that she is considered an enchantress and is referred to as a witch. Her majesty is described in vivid terms in a narration by Enobarbus; one of Antony's most trusted lieutenants (II.ii.196-210). He describes the golden decks of her barge, purple sails and silver oars. He compares her visage to Venus, and mentions her as surrounded by young servant boys and ladies. His description brings to us the enchanting quality of Cleopatra's presence, and her subsequent hold upon Antony."

Tags:romantic, love, east, west

Abstract
An in-depth analysis of four main characters in two of Shakespeare's plays. This essay details Anthony and his inner conflict between his longing to rule the Roman Empire and his strong love for Cleopatra. It also details the very fickle and dramatic character of Cleopatra and the many versatile parts she can play. It includes a brief discussion of the overwhelming love between Romeo and Juliet as well as their families' feud. Finally, it compares the plays and their characters.

From the Paper
"Antony is a man in conflict throughout this play. He struggles between his need to rule the Roman Empire, and his great love for Cleopatra. When he with Cleopatra, she is the only thing that matters. He says in the first act, "Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch / Of the ranged empire fall" (Cohen, Howard, and Greenblatt I.i.35-36). In just a few moments however, he worries that his love will cause him to "lose [him]self in dotage" (Cohen, Howard, and Greenblatt I.ii.106) and then he is afraid that his wife had died because of him, and that this is just one ill befalling because of his "idleness." He has a hard time deciding whether to follow his passion, and stay with Cleopatra, or follow his duty, and return to Rome."

Tags:Roman, Empire, love, play

Abstract
This paper discusses the way in which food is used as a metaphor throughout the play's dialogue as a measure of how excessive various characters are in love and in politics. It shows how the play begins and ends with the theme of food as its focus and quotes lines from the body of the play to strengthen this claim.

From the Paper
"Cleopatra in particular uses food frequently to express her love for Anthony. She not only does this physically over the course of the play, using banquets and strong drink as a way of celebrating his return and whiling the hours away when he is in Rome. Everything is something to be consumed in Cleopatra's eyes, and food also functions verbally as metaphor for her love and her desire to possess Anthony completely and utterly. "Give me some music, moody food/Of us that trade in love." (2.5.1) However, in the eyes of some of the other characters in the play Cleopatra is herself a kind of food. Enobarbus, Anthony's trusted friend states: "Other women cloy/The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry/Where most she satisfies." (2.2.241-244)"

Tags:Shakespeare, play, food, glutton, feast, Egypt, banquet

Abstract
By analyzing William Shakespeare's play, "Antony and Cleopatra," the paper focuses on images from Roman culture such as gods (Mars, Venus), heroes (Aeneas, Dido), Antony's sword. The paper then explores the images from Egyptian culture such as Isis and Osiris, serpent of the Nile. Finally it shows how these images are a reflection of both characters' ideologies and beliefs.

From the Paper
"The spectators of Anthony and Cleopatra are inevitably overwhelmed by the splendor of imagery and the richness of images in the speeches of the characters. Opposition and juxtaposition of the images from Roman and Egyptian cultures contribute much to this effect. The use of these images is very intense; it reflects the battle of the ideologies that is fought on the stage. The central thematic conflict in Anthony and Cleopatra evolves from the opposing claims upon Anthony of the values and attitudes symbolized by the Roman and the Egyptian worlds."

Tags:tragedy, North-African, Mardian, Aphrodite

Abstract
Throughout "Antony and Cleopatra" by William Shakespeare there is a sharp contrast between the bawdy humor and entertainment of the east and the stern morality and politics of the west. The paper shows that this is best seen in Antony's downfall; his death is caused by a romantic but illogical attempt at conquering Rome. Alsom the battle of Actium shows the decadent Egypt destroyed and the sensible Rome victorious. The paper shows that in Rome, Antony was at his best as a man, a soldier and a statesmen, whereas, as Antony says, "in the East my pleasure lies," as does his downfall.

From the Paper
"Charmian: "My arm is sore. Best play with Mardian.
Cleopatra: As well a women with a Eunuch played as with a woman."

This short exchange presents Egypt as a place of sexual innuendo and entertainment. Such conversations never take place in Rome, and this shows the more impertinent nature of Egypt. There is also a contrast in the treatment of tragic events between Egypt and Rome. In Rome, they are taken very seriously (for example the military aggression of Pompei), but in Egypt they are often given a comic undertone, for example when Cleopatra is speaking to Antony about the death of his wife, Fulvia. At a point of sadness and tragedy, Cleopatra remarks "Can Fulvia really die?" The word die has a secondary meaning in Elizabethan English, to reach sexual climax. Shakespeare illustrates the more irreverent nature of Egyptian life by treating such a tragic issue with bawdy humor."

Tags:Octavius, Caesar, eunuch, actium