Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" Synopsis and Comments - Set in the Roman Empire after the death of Caesar! A story of the rise and fall of a man addicted to love.
I would like to introduce "Antony and Cleopatra" written by Shakespeare around 1606-1607. I read the Shinchosha edition, the 39th printing of 2014, translated by Tsunen Fukuda.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
After the death of Caesar, Antony, who harbors ambitions to dictate the Roman Empire, falls in love with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. Antony, who has been at the mercy of the sorceress, is defeated in a great naval battle against Octavius and commits suicide, believing the false news of Cleopatra's suicide.... This masterpiece, set in the intriguing Roman Empire, with its various incidents and frequent scene changes, depicts the passion and lust between Antony and Cleopatra, and has been ranked alongside the four great tragedies.
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This film, "Antony and Cleopatra," was previously introducedJulius Caesar."This work is a sequel to
When you say "Julius Caesar," you may be thinking, "Who?" But in the Roman reading, "Caesar" becomes "Caesar".
Caesar is that Caesar who crossed the Rubicon River.
The die is cast, Crossing the Rubicon, I came, I saw, I won, Brutus, you too?
These are also words of wisdom that you have heard at least once.
The story of Brutus, who assassinated this Caesar, and Antony, who defeated Brutus with his famous speech, is the story of the previous film, "Julius Caesar.
Antony's performance in the previous film was tremendous. His famous speeches were overwhelming and enthralling. It was a scene that clearly showed what an effective politician he is, and it left a very strong impression on me as well.
And now, "Antony and Cleopatra" is the story of such a talented politician Antony, but we see a different Antony from the previous one, a useless Antony.
Why does Antony, who was so capable, continue to roll down the slope of doom, and what is the cause, Cleopatra?
Antony is infatuated with Cleopatra. He is so consumed with love that the energy he should be directing toward politics and military affairs is increasingly depleted.
Cleopatra is, in French literary parlance, a veritable femme fatale, nothing short of a demonic woman who destroys men.
But interestingly, in this piece, Cleopatra is also infatuated with Antony.
For Antony, Cleopatra was an irresistible love interest, and for Cleopatra it was the same.
However, they were both in a position to make political decisions in Rome and Egypt. There is no way that the story can end with a simple love story in which these two are united in love and happily ever after.
Rome is a city of intrigue, and in Egypt, political games are being played for the survival of the nation. Antony was in love and made a series of political blunders, which ultimately led to his downfall.
Brutus, the man who defeated Caesar. And even Brutus defeated him.That Antony.I am driven by the thought that this is how the downfall of the
This work is very interesting to read in the vein of "Julius Caesar" to get a sense of the grand rise and fall of the Roman Empire.
Finally, I would like to present here a commentary on Cleopatra that is included at the end of this book. This will give you an idea of the general flow of this work and its historical position in the history of the world.
Cleopatra
Common name of successive queens of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt - omitted - most famous is the woman of Ptolemy XI, born in 69 (or 68) BC.
At the age of 17, she ascended the throne with her brother and became his wife, as was customary in Egypt. A few years later, she was deprived of her throne and retired to Syria, but she did not neglect her military preparations in order to take advantage of the opportunity to be restored to power.
Just then, Julius Caesar invaded Egypt in pursuit of Pompey. Caesar was captured by the charms of Cleopatra, and thus a battle ensued. Her brother Ptolemy was killed in battle, and Cleopatra, along with her younger brother, ascended the throne for the second time, but he too was soon poisoned.
Cleopatra then went to Rome, where she publicly lived with Caesar as his concubine until his assassination. After the assassination, Cleopatra, aware of her unpopularity, immediately returned to Egypt. However, she continued to be Mark Antony's ally and concubine. Their union brought them both into great disrepute among the Romans, and Octavius raised an army against them and won a great victory against Achaemenid. (31 BCE)
Cleopatra fled back to Alexandria, and Antony followed her there. Cleopatra, realizing that she had no chance in the end, accepted Octavius' demand to assassinate Antony and called him to the temple she had built to die with him, but Antony believed the false news that Cleopatra had already committed suicide and killed himself first.
When Cleopatra learned that Octavius was not deceived by her charms, she, according to legend, put the poisonous snake Asp to her breast and took her own life. (August 29, 30 BCE)
With Cleopatra's death, the Ptolemaic dynasty fell and Egypt became Roman territory. Cleopatra had three children with Antony, and Caesar's son Caesarion was executed by Octavius.
Shinchosha, Shakespeare, translated by Tsunen Fukuda, "Antony and Cleopatra," 39th printing edition, 2014, p. 223-224.
Some line breaks have been made.
It is well known that Cleopatra was an immensely beautiful woman, but what kind of life she actually led is a surprisingly blind spot. When I read this commentary, I too was surprised to learn that Cleopatra had actually lived a life of great beauty! I was surprised to read this commentary and wondered "Oh, really?
I was also surprised to learn that before Antony, he was romantically involved with Caesar, and I was also surprised to learn that he had such a deep relationship with the Roman Empire. Conversely, it may be said that he left his name in history because of his deep connection with the Roman Empire.
Antony and Cleopatra" is a work that also gives us a sense of the great history of the ancient Roman Empire. It would be quite difficult to read this work alone, but if you read this work after reading "Julius Caesar," you will be able to feel the interest of this work.
It is a masterpiece that should be read in combination with "Julius Caesar".
The above is a summary of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" - set in the Roman Empire after the death of Caesar! A story of the rise and fall of a man addicted to love".
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