Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra: Passion, Power, and Tragedy

Shakespeare's Place in the Literary World

William Shakespeare is important because, as T.S. Eliot said, Shakespeare (along with Dante) "divide the world between them; there is no third."¹ Eliot's point is that Shakespeare represents the height of modern drama and remains the ultimate "truth teller" for the modern world.² Thus, Shakespeare's depiction of the classical figures of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, while not strictly historically accurate, is accurate in a more dramatic sense: they are representatives of the height and exaltation of human passion at odds with duty, and of the corrupting effects of the affairs of state.

Antony and Cleopatra sit as though at the top of the world and may, in a sense, reflect the exultation that Shakespeare himself was feeling as a successful playwright in London — performing before the monarch, enjoying prestige and patronage, and sensing his own role in the reshaping and retelling of history through a lens that is at once medieval and modern and wholly human. So as Shakespeare embodied the Christian and classical vision of the past (the Roman font of knowledge) and used it as a framework for his representation of the world during the Golden Age of Theater in England, the student of Shakespeare can develop a masterful understanding of human nature simply by studying his plays.

In Antony and Cleopatra, one receives not just a vision of the two historical characters through the eyes of a man described as having one foot in the medieval world and one foot in the modern world, but also a grand vision of the heights of human passion and love, as well as its terrible and terrifying lows.³ Ultimately, Antony and Cleopatra is not so much a history of the two lovers as it is a tragic romance that displaces the Romantic — with a capital "R" — notion of sweet, saccharine, sentimental love and replaces it with real choices, real consequences, and real displays of willfulness and folly, coupled with real displays of affection and the drug-like effect love can have on one at the height of his power, such as Antony. After all, it is Antony who acts like one of Homer's Lotus-Eaters, forgetful of his duty to Rome during his extended sojourn with Cleopatra.

Tudor England and Shakespeare's Catholic Vision

Shakespeare affected and was affected by the Tudor world in several ways. The Tudor period of English history spans from 1485 to 1603 — essentially the reign of the Tudor dynasty, beginning with Henry VII and ending with the death of Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare's theater company performed for the English monarchs, Elizabeth and later James, and thus presented English history in a way favorable to the crown.

However, while there is much evidence to support the view that Shakespeare was Catholic and that his plays were informed by the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church regarding human nature, Original Sin, salvation, and related matters, he lived in a time when England was Protestant and Roman Catholicism was undergoing suppression. For this reason, it is argued by White and other scholars that the Catholicism in Shakespeare's plays is discernible but not explicit.⁴ This did not prevent Shakespeare from ridiculing Protestant notions when he saw fit, as he does through the character of Malvolio in Twelfth Night. So while Shakespeare did not publicly declare his Catholicism in a time of persecution, he did present the religious questions of the day in his plays and ultimately projected a cohesive Catholic view to his Protestant audience — though never preaching nor condemning. This may be said to be the case in many of his plays, including Antony and Cleopatra, not just the English history plays.

Christian Allegory and Human Passion in the Play

In Antony and Cleopatra, the death scene of Cleopatra — in which she succumbs to the poison of the asps — may be read by a Christian audience as indicative of the relationship between Eve, the serpent, and fallen human nature. Yet the reference is not overt and thus does not need to be taken in a specifically Christian or Catholic context. The horror of the scene is apparent enough without requiring specific religious allegory: "Peace, peace! Dost thou not see my baby at my breast, that suck the nurse asleep?" says Cleopatra to Charmian, referring to the deadly asp she has placed upon herself.⁵

These are words of madness and despair, and recall the insanity of Lady Macbeth during her plunge into darkness. It is a two-fold recollection, since Lady Macbeth also makes reference at the outset of her decline to "giving suck" to babies, whom she would snatch from her breast and destroy if necessity demanded it. Shakespeare's audience would likely have made the connection, since Antony and Cleopatra was probably performed for the first time after Macbeth had already been staged.⁶

Nobility, Excess, and Shakespeare's Social Commentary

The England of Shakespeare's day appreciated his honesty regarding society and human nature, and made his company one of the most profitable in London.⁷ Shakespeare depicted the relationship between nobility and excess most eloquently in Antony and Cleopatra, showing how great characters often allow themselves to engage in "riotous" merriment — as Antony does, more so than Caesar.⁸ The ale-loving houses of London surely admired a playwright who so astutely understood their penchant for drink.

Here, it may be argued that Shakespeare did for the Tudor dynasty what no other playwright had done for history: he depicted its strengths and weaknesses in a dramatic and comedic way that did not shy away from uglier moments, while also representing dynastic history in a light that filled the audience with awe, pride, sometimes horror, sometimes mirth — but always appreciation.

Bibliography

Eliot, T.S. "The Waste Land."

Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004.

Montrose, Louis. The Subject of Elizabeth. IL: University Press, 2006.

Scott, John. Understanding Dante. IN: University Press, 2004.

Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra.

Verma, Rajiva. "Winners and Losers: A Study of Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra." The Modern Language Review, vol. 81, no. 4 (Oct., 1986): 838–847.

White, David Allen. Lectures on Shakespeare. Winona: St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, 2000.