recommend fellow stoics read some of his works. So far been through four and found them to be very powerful though I may be bias reading from a perspective of a aspiring stoic.
"Who even knew the heavens menace so? Those that have known the earth so full of faults" - Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)
Hi again!
For my Women in Shakespeare class, we had an in-depth discussion about how Cleopatra is depicted in her play. There seemed to be a few differences among us. Just out of curiosity, what does everyone here think about the way she is portrayed? Who does the play suggest she is?
As a student in a women's college, we could be potentially biased, but it does add to deeper discussions pertaining to women. I am interested in how everyone else sees this powerful woman/leader and thinking about potentially writing a thesis based on this topic. Thank you!
When we entered the chamber we saw hundreds of skeletons littering the ground, right before the door locked us in.
Having scrolled through a few posts in this sub's history, I've found there to be quite a bit of division in the reception of Antony and Cleopatra. Some people seem to think it's one of Shakespeare's tragic masterpieces and deserves a spot just under the holy quintet of Hamlet-Othello-Lear-Macbeth-R&J. Most of the arguments I've seen for this seem to revolve around Cleopatra's spectacular mystique, questions about her character and motives, and (most of all) her suicide. Others don't seem to be as gentle, and they say that A&C is vastly overrated compared to other Shakespearean tragedies. Some of the arguments for this seem to be related to the extravagant number of scenes (it's the only Shakespeare play I can think of where the number of scenes in an act go into the teens, and this happens twice) and the (admittedly rather sloppy) excess of battle scenes and quick scenes comprised of only a few lines. I've also read some people say that the play basically relies entirely on the character of Cleopatra.
Now, I've always enjoyed Antony and Cleopatra, but a lot of that may come from the sentimental memories this play brings me (it was the only one I read together with my mother because she wanted to read something about Cleopatra). That being said, I can definitely see the arguments for both sides, and although I have fond memories of it (and Cleopatra remains one of my favorite characters in all of Shakespeare), I can definitely see, in retrospect, how it can all feel a bit rushed and sloppy throughout the third and fourth acts. Still, it's been a while since I read the play and since I'm still finishing up my summer semester I unfortunately don't have the time to really delve into it to reread it, so I figured I could get a discussion going here.
What do you think? Is A&C one of Shakespeare's great tragedies, or is it simply a middling success compared to the rest of his works?
made out to be a great character but she’s just self centered and manipulative literally 90% of the time and all the way until the end tbh
When I first heard it back in 2014, it sounded really familiar. Since this song is from the Anjunadeep label, I figured this would be the appropriate place to ask about this here. Anyone know what 90s song is the original? I cannot recall off the top of my head.
On October 23, 42BC- Octavian and Mark Antony defeat Marcus Junius Brutus, assassin of Julius Caesar and leader of Republican Senate forces at the Second Battle of Philippi in Macedonia, Greece. The victory establishes Octavian, Antony and Marcus Lepidus as the undisputed rulers of Rome in the form of a power sharing arrangement: the Second Triumvirate.
Brutus' death was in some ways a fitting end to the Republic. He came from one of the oldest and most prominent patrician families of Rome. One of his ancestors was a leader in ousting the last king of Rome ushering in the Republican era. When Julius Caesar defeated Pompey and became the de facto ruler of Rome, the latter day Brutus led the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar with Gaius Cassius Longinus. In the power struggle that followed, Brutus and Cassius led the Senate forces opposing the Caesarian faction of Octavian, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus. Cassius committed suicide at the first Battle of Philippi mistakenly believing Brutus had died. Thus a Brutus helped found the Roman Republic and another oversaw its demise.
