From the passage, Plutarch seems to view Cleopatra as some sort of femme fatale, manipulating Antony for her own uses and unmanning him somehow. Though he (Plutarch) seems not to regard Cleopatra as any great beauty, he admits to her being charming and having great force of character (Fear 2008 p10).
The only real admiration, Plutarch seems to show for Cleopatra is in the manner of her death, committing suicide, rather than be used as a trophy and paraded by Octavian.
On the other hand, Plutarch portrays Antony as a man entirely under Cleopatra’s sway, saying that she brings out his worst traits, while suppressing his manly Roman virtues. “ For him (Plutarch) and the Roman moralising tradition, within which he writes, mutual attachment and love are not redeeming qualities and Antony’s presumed infatuation with Cleopatra was seen as an indication of his self indulgence and lack of self control” (Fear 2008 p11).
Plutarch seems to view Antony as rather a weak man, dancing to Cleopatra’s tune and a pawn in Cleopatra’s clutches.
Plutarch’s view seems to be that, as previously stated,any sign of love between Antony and Cleopatra was a sign of weakness and lack of self control, by someone who was previously highly regarded as a Roman statesman and general.
Plutarch regards Antony’s love for Cleopatra as “ The final and crowning mischief that could befall Antony” (Fear 2008 p9) and says “ ever contributing some fresh delight and charm to Antony’s hours of seriousness and mirth, kept him in constant tutelage and released him neither night or day” ( Plutarch in AA100 assignment booklet 2011 p 18)
The Essay on Better to be Feared or Loved?
In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli goes into depth about how it is better to be feared than loved. He states that “Well, one would like to be both; but it’s difficult for one person to be both feared and loved, and when a choice has to be made it is safer to be feared.” I disagree with Machiavelli that it is better to be feared than to be loved. Being feared eventually wears off while being loved ...
Though Plutarch seems wholly of the opinion that Cleopatra uses Antony to enhance her and Egypt’s power and that in her doing so she completely unmans Antony, Plutarch is really putting over the Roman or rather Octavian’s view view of making Antony a poor weak innocent trapped by the feminine wiles of an expert manipulator. Though as Plutarch was writing, some 150 years after the events, it seems likely that
Plutarch was totally reliant on Octavian’s (later Augustus) and allies version of events,and as is said history is written by the victors. In reality it was probable that both Antony and Cleopatra, saw each other as ideal allies, Cleopatra in her struggle to hold onto power in Egypt and Antony as a power base for his own struggle against Octavian and for power in Rome. It seems more likely that both were victims of a cruel and vicious propaganda campaign by Octavian and his supporters, which seems to have wiped from history, the sort of people Antony and Cleopatra really were.
Plutarch seems really put the blame for the Parthian war squarely on Cleopatra’s shoulders, though the truth is most probably somewhat different. Plutarch seems almost as though he disapproves of Cleopatra because she is a strong intelligent woman, and this is the main reason, perhaps for his harsh judgement of Antony.
word count 492.
References
Plutarch, life of Antony 29-30 reprinted in AA100 Assignment booklet (2011 ) , Milton Keynes , The Open University, P18
Trevor Fear, (2008) Cleopatra, Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University Chapter 1:3 pages 9 -10
Reflective Commentary
I have responded to the feedback by making extensive changes to the structure of the piece, in order to try to make the essay, flow easier. I have tried to group my arguments , in order to make the piece easier to follow. This is really the main area in which I need to improve , as after approximately 30 years away from any full time education, I am severely out of practice.
I have also tried to correct references and bibilography and to revise and edit the piece in line with the feedback, as much as I could,. I have attempted to expand on the Roman view on romantic love and also on the politics of the time.
The Essay on Antony And Cleopatra Power Egypt Behaviour
The representations and interplay of types of power: In Shakespeare's famous play Antony and Cleopatra, the powerful are portrayed including their personalities, their reactions to other powerful figures and the interplay of these powers as the characters interact. Antony's Power: Shakespeare uses Rome and Egypt as binary opposites not just to reflect qualities inherent in the two places, but the ...
I really think I am just ‘rusty’ in the process of writing essays and will hopefully improve with practice. Similarly I would hope that as the course proceeds , I will learn to take notes in a more structured pattern, in order to aid my writing.
Word count 165
PI: M2226831
———————–
[1] PI: M2226831
PI: M2226831