East and West in Antony and Cleopatra Essay

Shakespeare used as his point of reference for the play Norths translation of Plutarchs Lives of the Noble Grecians and roman prints. Plutarch, along with other Greek and Roman authors, saw an opposition between the conquering west, standing(a) for moral and political virtue, and the conquered einsteinium, representing luxury and decadence.Do you summate that this is essenti each(prenominal)y how Shakespeare presents the opposition between East and west in Antony and Cleopatra?capital of Italy and Egypt have conditional relation farthermost beyond physical locations they symbolize two oppositional nurse systems essential within twain society and the psyche. The population of Antony and Cleopatra is riddled with polarised opposites, such as civilisation and nature, common and private, and, perhaps most of the essence(p)ly, passion and honour.The inability of the East and West to reconcile their determine inevitably causes conflict, forcing Antony, the tragical protagon ist, to choose between the spheres. In suicide, he transcends the limitations the public thrusts upon him joined later by Cleopatra, who finally discovers the significance of Western values, in a triumphant death.The caprice of all sphere having moral superiority to the other is moot Shakespeare passes no concrete judgement, and no impartial platitude of good and evil could suffice to rationalise the complex behaviour of the principal characters.Neither Egypt nor capital of Italy seems to be truly virtuous, despite the moralising of the Roman characters. In Rome the traditional system of honour is speedily being subjugated beneath Caesars algid quest for individual supremacy. Loyalty now belongs lonesome(prenominal) to the winner, and individuals such as Lepidus and Pompey are sacrificed in the imperialistic drive of Octavius. A certain misogyny is Rome, with women denounced as whores, and the harsh treatment that Cleopatra would have faced as a captive indicates the presen ce of violence in the Roman psyche.Nor is Egypt an ideal of purity. A society purse deep in time, its preoccupation with sensation leads it to recklessness (such as when Cleopatra flees the Battle of Actium). Theatrical and dramatic, the modus vivendi at court is extremely decadent, often climax vulgarity. Cleopatra is cosseted by her courtiers, and encouraged towards vanity, narcissism, pettiness and self-indulgence,The notion of a duality is more important than the probity of either force by being opposites, East and West become inextricable. Without East there would be no concept of West, and vice versa, and this pattern is applicable to all the converses that the antithetical spheres represent.Both are equally important in the development of full servicemanity the values that West and East represent should be in harmony within both society and the human psyche. In Antony and Cleopatra they seem to be inherently conflicted, and the ensuant polarisation causes the demise of t he lovers, which allows them to, paradoxically, conquer the hearts of a world that has tried to conquer and restrict them.The social organization of the play serves to highlight the antithesis, with frequent changes between the machinations of Rome and the hyperbole of Cleopatras court emphasizing both the opposition of the value systems and the effect that exposure to both has upon Antony.