The text I’m going to analyse is the historical tragedy of Antonio and Cleopatra, wrote by William Shakespeare in 1607.
In the first scene of the first act we can find some typical aspects of the Shakespeare’s theatrical language used to capture the interest and imagination of the audience right from the beginning of the play. Shakespeare used language to create interesting situations both in comedies and tragedies.
The play Antonio and Cleopatra starts till the beginning with a conversation as usual in tragedies.
The first scene of Antonio and Cleopatra starts with Philo who is talking with Demetrius about their general’s dotage. After that Cleopatra and Antonio came in the room and a messenger brought to Antonio news from Rome. Cleopatra supposed that could be something from Caesar who could order something to her lover. Antonio said: “Let Rome in the Tiber melt, and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall! Here is my space. Kingdoms are clay. Our dungy earth alike feeds beast as man. The nobleness of life is to do thus – when such a mutual pair of and such a twain can do’t, in which I bind, on pain of punishment, the world to weet we stand up peerless.” From this sentence we can understand that Antonio didn’t see very well what Caesar tell him to do and he wish bad luck to Rome. Thus, the reader understand that there is an indirect conflict between Antonio and the Romans (they tell him what to do and how to govern Egypt).
This can be see as a theme used by Shakespeare to capture the attention of the audience and to permit it to understand which could be the develops of the play. In addition, Antonio and Cleopatra’s opening points to future difficulties and with them the audience can suppose what will happen.
Philo answered to his master that Antonio has so few qualities that a general could have because he isn’t sometimes himself.
Through the second scene of the first act of the tragedy Antonio and Cleopatra the reader can find new aspects of Shakespeare’s characteristics.
Even if this is a historical tragedy, there are same lines that present irony in proposal of the prevision of the future events. For example, “You shall be yet far fairer than you are”, “Wrinkles forbid!”, “You shall be more beloving than beloved” “I had rather heat my liver with drinking”. In this scene there is a monologue said by Carmiana who is praying Iside to give Alexas luck. Monologues are a typical element of the Shakespeare’ plays. The rivalry with the Romans is remembered in the words of Antonio when he is speaking with a messenger who is bringing him news from Rome. Antonio said “Name Cleopatra as she is called in Rome. Rail thou in Fulvia’s phrase, and taunt my faults which such full licence as both truth and malice have power to utter”. When Antonio knew that Fulvia is dead he started to see his ex wife under a different light: he said that his hand could pluck her back that shoved her on and that he must go away from Cleopatra.
Antonio said to Enobarbus that Cleopatra is cunning past man’s thought, but Enobarbus repeat that her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love.
In telling tragedies, Shakespeare made statements about many aspects of of human life, but mainly about the nature of political power and the problems of the powerful in a world that was chainging.