'Antony and Cleopatra' by William Shakespeare is a tragic play focusing on the famous love story of the eponymous characters and its political and personal repercussions. In the first act, Shakespeare uses both the distinction of time and place to portray Antony's duality. The conflict within the protagonist is that between love and duty, fueled by two separate internal forces: reason and emotion. It is this clash between Roman virtue and Egyptian vice that constitutes the core of the work. As much of an internal conflict as it may be, as an eminent Roman general and statesman, it is in no way private; Antony's personal activities are laid bare across the realms for others to judge, both primary and secondary characters play a vital role in illuminating both sides of his character through their reflections and opinions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Once a paragon of Roman virtue, Mark Antony was an indispensable soldier for Julius Caesar, demonstrating his military proficiency in campaigns in Gaul and Germany. The protagonist the audience meets in the first act is not this man. It is no longer Rome and heroism that dominate his thoughts and character, but the Egyptian lover at his side, Octavius' messengers who represent an occasional reminder of the empire he seems to have left behind. This new attitude is most strikingly expressed in the following words in the first scene, where he makes it clear to Cleopatra that his love is now his main concern: "Let Rome in the Tiber melt, and the broad arch of the arrayed empire fall! " Here, Antony's indifference to Rome's plight borders on betrayal. , with the devastatingly attractive figure of Cleopatra casting a shadow over the needs of an empire and its people. The true sense of abandonment, of desertion in these lines serves to underline the depth and strength of Antonio's feeling; at this point in the law, he is lost and blinded by emotions, unfit for the responsibility of a statesman. A line is drawn between his past and himself, between war hero and lover. In the first act, Shakespeare uses the Roman characters as the primary spokesperson for this form of distinction, with their reminiscence of the Antony of past heroic battles portraying a different character to the one we initially see with Cleopatra at the Egyptian court. In the opening scene of the play, the audience is informed of this significant change in the approach and priorities of Antony of Philo, a Roman soldier: "The heart of his captain, who in the brawls of great fighting broke out, The buckles on his chest, disavows all temperament" Here, the audience finds themselves in Antonio's present, looking back on the legacy of a once heroic and acclaimed soldier. In these words, Shakespeare defines the two sides of Antony's character sequentially, marking a sharp contrast between the man he was and the man he is shown to be in Act 1. The use of the past tense followed by the present tense in these rows depicts the Roman perspective: the chronological decline of Anthony. The Romans appear to characterize "Antony" as the man they witnessed, purely in terms of "Roman" qualities of honor, courage and responsibility, with Philo remarking that he is "not Antony" ' when he is Cleopatra's lover at Egyptian court. This chronological differentiation is no clearer than in two speeches by Octavius ​​in Act 1, scene 4. In the first speech, Octavius ​​expresses his disappointment at Antony's distance and abandonment of Rome. He laments how Lepidus and himself “…bear / so great a burden in hislevity", chastising Antony's pursuit of pleasure and lust in the wake of Pompey's threats to the Second Triumvirate. In this final speech, Octavius ​​contrasts this character with the Antony he once admired; a man willing to "drink/ the stale of horses" to achieve victory for his empire. In the first act, Shakespeare uses the distinction of time to provide the audience with two sketches: of the side seen and of the side seen now. However, the playwright presents duality rather than change permanent and irreversible. When it uses chronology as a framework to illustrate the two sides of the protagonist, it does not indicate that Antonio's personality as a soldier and statesman has completely given way to a new personality as a lover and hedonist; priority between the two. This "previous" side of Antonio is not lost, it is simply dormant: eclipsed by the emotions. This is indicated by the fragments of statesmanship we witness throughout the Act, when reason attempts to break the "strong". Egyptian chains" of his intoxicating infatuation. . This is especially evident in his decision to leave Egypt for Rome at the end of scene 2, after reading about his wife's death. He recognizes the effect of his fantastic and harmful relationship with Cleopatra in the following words: "Ten thousand damages, more than the evils I know, my idleness unfolds." These lines indicate that Antony is very aware of the influence Cleopatra has on him, and the detrimental impact of this on his role as a Roman leader. He recognizes his own "idleness" and this recognition makes him uncomfortable; he is not yet willing to cede all control to the Egyptian queen and submit to a life of pure hedonism, devoid of any Roman responsibility. The second important technique Shakespeare employs in Act 1 to distinguish and represent the two sides of Antony is setting. Antony's head is rooted in Rome, but his heart lies in Alexandria. These two settings act not only as poles, pulling Antonio from east to west and back again, but as portraits of his duality. Egypt not only satisfies his emotional and hedonistic side, but represents it, while Rome embodies the rational attributes of Antony the statesman, the soldier. In line with this distinction, Cleopatra describes how "A Roman thought struck" Antony in Act 1, Scene 2, referring to him displaying the qualities favored by Rome and its leaders: reason and responsibility. These are qualities that contrast sharply with the setting in which Cleopatra speaks, with her servant having just expressed her desire to "marry three kings in one morning and make them all widowers." Shakespeare's tendency to use prose rather than verse in Egyptian scenes is also indicative of a certain elasticity among the characters of the court. The scene set in Rome instead maintains a rigid decasyllabic scheme; where dialogue in the East is often light and banal, that in the West remains proactive and solemn. Of course, where populations can be influenced by their geographical environment, civilizations - such as great ancient Rome and Egypt - are human constructs, defined and shaped by the people who constitute them. Consequently, it is not in the geographical environments themselves that Antonio's traits are actualized, but in the people who inhabit them. Geography is simply a device used to divide two groups of characters. This is most evident in the characters who, in particular, embody and embody their respective civilizations: Cleopatra and Octavius. It is through Octavius's disparaging comments towards Cleopatra and her lifestyle that Shakespeare reveals the importance of Antony's duality: it is not simply difference, but contempt that creates such a striking antithesis. The external tension between the two.