Seminar Paper on "Antony and Cleopatra Play"

Seminar Paper 4 pages (1160 words) Sources: 0 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Grief is expressed in many way. Some of which are related to how one perceives loss and how one deals with it. Loss can be caused by love of another, love of one's self, romantic love, or even just loss in general. Love is a powerful emotion as is grief. And although many films, plays, and stories portray the loss of love and grief, no one quite does it like William Shakespeare.

Hamilton correctly deliberates in one article how accounts of defeat, loss and most frequently, gone love, drive intricacy and determination in characters. "Contrary to this assumption however, there exists among the works of poets and storytellers writing of love a rich supply of references, as laudatory as Chaucer's ranking Antony and Cleopatra with other famous lovers of antiquity as exemplars of truth and faithfulness ." (Hamilton 245) Tale of loss and heart ache possesses an inherent ability to generate passion and a state of imbalance that therefore, especially during the time of Shakespeare make it appear accurate to have characters expire solely from sadness.

"…it helps us to grasp another dimension of the artistry of the play, for in his manipulation of this tradition the dramatist enhances and controls its complexity."(Hamilton 245) Audience crave a good story. They wish to feel the character's pain and see what they may not ordinarily in their everyday lives. Consequently writers will then generate emotionally powerful scenes to get the desired reaction from the audience. Reactions are what promote a play.

The type of play that normally shows the kind of emotional and intense dramatic scenes are called Jacobean plays. "The disjunctive dramaturgical effects which color Antony and Cleopatra can be found to a greater or lesser degree in many Jacobean plays." (Shapiro 1-15) Jacobean plays, which were popular during Shakespeare's time demonstrate grief and loss vividly and in such a way that makes it memorable. Still, Antony and Cleopatra distinguishes itself from others: "Even those modern critics who would side with Coleridge against Bradley recognize some fundamental differences between Antony and Cleopatra and the other four tragedies: the sprawling untidiness, the double catastrophe, the unique style, and the transcendental view of death which foreshadows late romances." (Shapiro 1-15)

Paper

The character of Enobarbus from William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra deserts Antony and in his grief expires. This is one of the most memorable scenes of Antony and Cleopatra. Grief as seen through the actions and sentiments of Enobarbus was accomplished in such a way that a play of this kind can be seen as a predecessor of modern day soap operas. The scene of Enobarbus, along with others, showcase what Jacobean plays promoted in their stories, but also how Shakespeare felt about grief, specifically guilt and betrayal. Several times in Antony and Cleopatra, characters go insane fueled by feelings of despair and grief.

This research paper discusses Antony and Cleopatra in the context of grief and how people during Shakespeare's time viewed grief. Moreover it will focus on what encouraged Shakespeare to generate characters that act and think like Enobarbus and why these divergent and fantastic reactions spawn from them. The articles highlight and explain in greater detail the death of Enobarbus, how Jacobean plays inspired William Shakespeare, as well as distinguish some central variances in plays like Antony and Cleopatra along with other works by Shakespeare.

Jacobean plays during Shakespeare's time focused on Roman themes. Some of which centered on Cesar and Pompey. (Sabatier 181) the aftermath of rivalry between… READ MORE

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