Oct 7, 2008

Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra

In the first essay, L. J. Mills argues against critics who regard Antony as the play's tragic figure to the exclusion of Cleopatra. In the second essay Maurice Charney discusses Cleopatra from the point of view of other characters in the play.

There is much critical debate about the true nature of Shakespeare's Cleopatra. Maurice Charney calls her "the most puzzling figure in Antony and Cleopatra" and examines the ways in which other characters view her. Charney notes that Enobarbus refers to Cleopatra as no longer young even as he asserts that she is fascinating to men. Charney quotes Cleopatra's own instructions to her maid Charmian concerning Antony as an example of her "infinite variety": If you find him sad, / Say I am dancing; if in mirth, report / That I am sudden sick." Ultimately, Charney suggests that Cleopatra...