ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Shakespeare - Antony and Cleopatra



Shakespeare - Antony and Cleopatra

Introduction

Literary devices are one of the most important aspect of literature that author or poet use to convey their message. In the same way, Shakespeare uses his characters to convey his messages through his characters. Cleopatra is one of the most remarkable and influential female personality in the history, which become an unforgettable and magnificent character in the history of literature after a play written by Shakespeare. This character is itself the masterpiece from the masterpiece of Shakespeare. Cleopatra served as the mouthpiece to reflect views and ideas of Shakespeare. She is not just the most feminine characters that could lead men to death with her fatal beauty, but also posses the characteristic tragic flaw of Shakespeare's tragic hero that resulted in a tragic end. Her character contains the element of “frailty” defined as the important character of tragic hero by Aristotle (Quiller-Couch, 2008, p.11-12). She was presented as the most beautiful Egyptian queen with the splendour and fascination of her image that conquered the men in first sight; she was presented as “romantic femme fatale” (Kuiper, 2012, p.73). All these were the most important aspects of Shakespeare's Cleopatra that presented her as one of the most remarkable characters of Shakespearean female with the poetic beauty and heroic dignity.

Thesis Statement

Cleopatra served as an unforgettable and remarkable literary device of Shakespeare as a tragic heroic and femme fatale that fulfils the criteria laid down by Aristotle.

Discussion

The term femme fatale was coined in the Victorian era as a feminine character that can lead to death. It is described as a “disastrous and seductive, yet very intelligent woman” (Toller, 2008, p.12). She was also considered as one of the most influential women with the “lethal danger” and this is the reason that Cleopatra is the perfect picture of femme fatale. Toller identified in detail all the characters of femme fatale such as a woman with the “strong disregard to norms and social conventions” (Toller, 2008, p.12). In Shakespeare's “Antony and Cleopatra”, Enobarbus defined her as a beauty that can “defect perfection” (Shakespeare, 1994, p.194). She was presented as the most beautiful creature that had her deadly charm and spell already woven over Anthony before he met her. She was a clear presentation of perfect beauty and the way she was described in her barged as “burnished throne” (Shakespeare, 1994, p.199-193), proved her unmatchable form of fascination and luxury.

She is a perfect literary device is used by Shakespeare to define each and every move of the play. She contains the elements of female sexuality with all the tricks to keep men under her power and control. She ruled the kings and the generals. She had power, on the most powerful figures of that time. The charm and spell she had on Antony, was revealed in the concern shown by Maecenas “Anthony must leave her utterly” (Shakespeare, 1994, p.19). She had her control over Antony with her beauty and seduction, ...