Literary Devices in The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Egypt is represented by the natural world, and is contrasted to of the unnatural Roman world. Antony describes the wonders of the Nile that bring drought and lush harvests. Cleopatra meets Antony i...
Setting
The play takes place all over the Roman Empire, from Parthia (modern-day Iraq), Athens, and Syria to various battlefields in-between. The main action, however, occurs in Rome with Caesar and in Egy...
Narrator Point of View
Though all works of literature present the author’s point of view, they don’t all have a narrator or a narrative voice that ties together and presents the story. This particular piece o...
Genre
The play is a tragedy insofar as it ends in a slew of deaths. But the good news is that it’s also a love story (remember it’s not a romance, as that refers to a type of whimsical play, rather t...
Tone
Antony and Cleopatra is a kind-of-history play about two of the most glorious societies in the Ancient World. Shakespeare used his poetic skill to spruce up history, to great effect. The scenes abo...
Writing Style
Shakespeare’s style in this play is befitting of the drama and passion of the story, full of the fury and passion of love and war. Enobarbus’s speech about Cleopatra and Antony’s description...
What’s Up With the Title?
The play features Antony, one of Rome’s rulers, and Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. The title tells us right off the bat that though the lovers are the focus of the play, their love isn’t. We kn...
Plot Analysis
Antony lives a life of luxury in Egypt. Antony is living in Egypt, and is happy to be infatuated with Cleopatra. Everything in Egypt is going great, and then Antony gets word that things are falli...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Antony dotes on Cleopatra happily, but realizes he’s turning into a fool for love. He gets word that affairs in Rome and his part of the kingdom are falling apart in his absence. Antony is pret...
Trivia
You may have noticed that folks in the play got around a lot. In the real story, Octavia was left to take care of everybody’s kids. After Antony and Cleopatra died, Octavia became the caret...
Steaminess Rating
Allusions to sex are far more prevalent in the play than sex itself. If anything, the most powerful suggestion of sex is the enduring relationship between Antony and Cleopatra. Whatever is going on...
Allusions
Isis (3.6.17 and repeatedly in 1.2) Dido and Aenas (4.14.53) Mars (1.1.4, 2.5.117) Hercules (4.3.16) Pompey the Elder (2.6.83) Brutus (2.6.16, 3.11.37) Cassius (2.6.15, 3.11.38) Julius Caesar (2.6...