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Bill Kerwin's Reviews > Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
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This play is so good, it is not merely a masterpiece: it is a mystery. The two protagonists are alternately noble and petty, wise and foolish, and yet they never seem inconsistent or self-contradictory because Shakespeare--here is the mystery--consistently maintains a tone that is paradoxically both ironic and heroic. Part of it is the language, which shifts seamlessly from mellifluous monologues adorned with cosmic imagery (comparing Anthony and Cleopatra to continents, stars,etc.) to the most modern-sounding, most casual and wittiest dialogue of Shakespeare's career. Part of it is the larger-than-life characterization which transforms each vicious and pathetic absurdity into a privilege of the lovers' protean magnificence--as undeniable and unquestionable as the sovreign acts of Olympian gods. Whatever the reason, this play makes me laugh and cry and leaves me with a deep spiritual reverence for the possibilities of the human heart.
I wrote the paragraph above two and a half years ago, and it still reflects my opinion of the play. This time through, though, I was particularly struck by how much the voices of the military subordinates and servants--Enobarbus and Charmion, Ventidius and Alexis, and many others, including even unnamed messengers and soldiers--contribute to this double movement of the ironic and heroic, celebrating the leaders' mythic qualities but also commenting on their great flaws. Enobarbus--with his loyal (albeit amused) appreciation, his disillusioned betrayal, and his subsequent death from what can best be described as a broken heart--is central to this aspect of the play.
by
This play is so good, it is not merely a masterpiece: it is a mystery. The two protagonists are alternately noble and petty, wise and foolish, and yet they never seem inconsistent or self-contradictory because Shakespeare--here is the mystery--consistently maintains a tone that is paradoxically both ironic and heroic. Part of it is the language, which shifts seamlessly from mellifluous monologues adorned with cosmic imagery (comparing Anthony and Cleopatra to continents, stars,etc.) to the most modern-sounding, most casual and wittiest dialogue of Shakespeare's career. Part of it is the larger-than-life characterization which transforms each vicious and pathetic absurdity into a privilege of the lovers' protean magnificence--as undeniable and unquestionable as the sovreign acts of Olympian gods. Whatever the reason, this play makes me laugh and cry and leaves me with a deep spiritual reverence for the possibilities of the human heart.
I wrote the paragraph above two and a half years ago, and it still reflects my opinion of the play. This time through, though, I was particularly struck by how much the voices of the military subordinates and servants--Enobarbus and Charmion, Ventidius and Alexis, and many others, including even unnamed messengers and soldiers--contribute to this double movement of the ironic and heroic, celebrating the leaders' mythic qualities but also commenting on their great flaws. Enobarbus--with his loyal (albeit amused) appreciation, his disillusioned betrayal, and his subsequent death from what can best be described as a broken heart--is central to this aspect of the play.
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Reading Progress
May 12, 2007
– Shelved
December 8, 2010
– Shelved as:
16th-17th-c-brit
November 22, 2011
–
Started Reading
November 23, 2011
–
Finished Reading
August 20, 2012
– Shelved as:
stuart-drama
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Vicki
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rated it 4 stars
Aug 03, 2013 08:37PM
I 'm reading it now for the first time to prepare for a live performance presented by the Houston Shakespeare Festival. Will keep your comments in mind as I read.
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Sounds like fun! I feel honored to be part of your experience!
Bill, thank you very much for this review. I have seen the play several times but have never read it. You have now inspired me to read it. (And may I add how much I admire your ability to read so quickly as you do!)
Tina wrote: "Bill, thank you very much for this review. I have seen the play several times but have never read it. You have now inspired me to read it. (And may I add how much I admire your ability to read so q..."Not that quickly--about 8 books a month. But if someone likes an old review of mine, I'll repost it, figuring some other new friends may like it too.
Have not read this one but I want to after reading your review Tina, it sounds great!
A&C is one of those plays, like King Lear, that reveals its brilliance in reading rather than performance - which is unusual for Shakespeare, which is usually the other way round.
Did you ever hear a resonance of Henry V in the way Shakespeare portrays Antony? I felt that Shakespeare looked favorably on Antony, despite his poor decisions and foolish behavior, in the same manner he portrayed Henry V -- motivated by the wrong things, but ultimately aspiring to be a decent human being. The way that he treated his servants and messengers, the way he diplomatically handled his confrontation with Caesar regarding Fulvia's actions, the way he forgave Enobarbus, (though that was possibly motivated by guilt...), it just seems that Antony always strove to take the high road. Just wondering if this left a similar impression with you...
Natalya wrote: "Did you ever hear a resonance of Henry V in the way Shakespeare portrays Antony? I felt that Shakespeare looked favorably on Antony, despite his poor decisions and foolish behavior, in the same man..."Interesting comparison. I think they are both "noble" in Shakespeare's sense--impulsive and magnanimous, they can be cold and occasionally cruel, but never petty. Hamlet is like this too.
Thanks, Bill, this is a perceptive review with useful commentary on the supporting players. I'm now reading Coriolanus again after my first encounter about 30 years ago.
Richard wrote: "Thanks, Bill, this is a perceptive review with useful commentary on the supporting players. I'm now reading Coriolanus again after my first encounter about 30 years ago."I like this play a lot too. I find the protagonist to be a surprisingly sympathetic character, in spite of his arrogance and elitism. The poetry is very good too--fierce and harder than most Shakespeare verse (which is appropriate to the play).
Harold Bloom ranks this among the great tragedies. This is the fifth of the "great" tragedies in his reading.What would you think?
I started it. It's long. It will take some time. But I'm liking it so far
Anand wrote: "Harold Bloom ranks this among the great tragedies. This is the fifth of the "great" tragedies in his reading.What would you think?
I started it. It's long. It will take some time. But I'm liking..."
The tragedies are all great, each in its own way. But if I had to establish a hierarchy of greatness, I would pick Hamlet, Lear, and Anthony and Cleopatra as the greatest, because their political, social and moral worlds are more expansive and inclusive than the others.
Macbeth and Othello are wonderful plays, with magnificent poetry, but their worlds are significantly smaller.
Cool. Yeah, Hamlet and Lear are very special.I'm more of a Macbeth/Lear person, but I've come to love Hamlet much better thanks to a second reading and a great professor to teach it.
Yes, Hamlet has a grand political scale like Antony and Cleopatra, though the political drama is subdued compared to the great interior and the great consciousness of it all. Antony and Cleopatra has that global imperial scale. King Lear's scale is something more cosmic, Jobean, primal, yet touchingly human and deeply sad yet with a power of good to it.
Anand wrote: "Antony and Cleopatra has that global imperial scale. King Lear's scale is something more cosmic, Jobean, primal, yet touchingly human and deeply sad yet with a power of good to it. "Yes..the reasons you give demonstrate why Lear may be the greatest of the plays after all. I go back and forth, really. I think, though, that it may boil down to the fact I like to be (perhaps too much!) different, and pick A&C partly because it is a more unusual choice.
This is my favorite Shakespeare. It's truly an achievement.
One of my favorite details in this play is the meta-level. Cleopatra has a few lines to the effect of being played by a young boy whose voice had yet broken, which given how her actual role in the play would be played by a boy-actor, adds another dimension to interaction between text and theatre proper.
I wrote the paragraph above two and a half years ago...Wonderful, Bill. I so much enjoy your reviews. There are far too many books I ache to read, and I know that reviews are about as close as I will get. Your reviews are always marvellous, Thank you.
Currently reading this. Your reviews are awesome Bill.
Thanks Bill. Your reviews are so distinctly acute and balanced!
I agree about the 'double movement of the heroic and ironic', but would go further and claim he was consciously subordinating the heroic to the ironic. He was getting on in age, with its consequent jaded effect on one's reason.
