East and West in Antony and Cleopatra Essay

Shakespeare used as his source for the play Norths translation of Plutarchs Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Plutarch, along with other Greek and Roman authors, saw an opposition between the conquering West, standing for moral and political virtue, and the conquered East, representing high life and decadence.Do you agree that this is essentially how Shakespeare presents the opposition between East and West in Antony and Cleopatra?Rome and Egypt induct significance far beyond physical locations they symbolise two oppositional value systems essential within both society and the psyche. The world of Antony and Cleopatra is riddled with polarised opposites, such as civilisation and nature, public and private, and, perhaps most importantly, heating system and honour.The inability of the East and West to reconcile their values inevitably causes conflict, forcing Antony, the tragic protagonist, to choose between the spheres. In suicide, he transcends the limitations the world thr usts upon him joined later by Cleopatra, who finally discovers the significance of Western values, in a triumphant death.The notion of either sphere having moral superiority to the other is moot Shakespeare passes no concrete judgement, and no simple platitude of good and evil could suffice to explain the complex behaviour of the principal characters.Neither Egypt nor Rome seems to be truly virtuous, despite the moralising of the Roman characters. In Rome the traditional system of honour is rapidly being subjugated beneath Caesars cold quest for individual supremacy. subjection now belongs only 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 presence of violence in the Roman psyche.Nor is Egypt an ideal of purity. A society wrinkled deep in snip, its preoccupation with emotio n leads it to recklessness (such as when Cleopatra flees the Battle of Actium). Theatrical and dramatic, the lifestyle at court is extremely decadent, often approaching vulgarity. Cleopatra is cosseted by her courtiers, and encouraged towards vanity, narcissism, triviality 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 in that location 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 abounding humanity 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 subsequent polarisation causes the demise of the lovers, which allows them to, paradoxically, conquer the hearts of a world that has tried to conquer and restri ct them.The structure of the play serves to highlight the antithesis, with patronise 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.