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Cleopatra, Egypts Queen, is arguably Shakespeares most resilient and enchanting female protagonist. She is personified as the embodiment of her country, the soul of Egypt, and defies the reductive Jacobean most monster-like perspective of women. The Renaissance stereotype of the subordinate and inferior female is in total juxtaposition to the possessive and shrewd characteristics that Cleopatra possesses, as she is in fact a wonderful piece of work.
Cleopatra manipulates her associates and subordinates through her alluring sexuality and infinite variety, transforming Antony into a strumpets fool and a metaphorical doting mallard. Antony is irrevocably devoted to and captivated by her, exposed through entrapment imagery, tied to thy rudder. In turn, he neglects his Roman duties. Antony, like many of Cleopatras inferiors, is ultimately a victim of Cleopatras insatiable lust and magnetic personality, since her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love. The superlative of finest also exposes that, through her divine beauty, that beggared all description and breathless enticement, she exercises complete domination over her subordinates. Consequently, Cleopatra is most emphatically not a morsel for a monarch but an enchanting queen.
Firstly, through the choric commentary of Philo in the opening scene, Cleopatras ability to emasculate Antony is captured through the mythological imagery of Mars. Antony embodies Mars as he fought valiantly in battle; however, he has transformed his military past into lustful enthrallment, as a result of his dotage for Egypts Queen. Philo despairs of Antony neglecting his Roman duties, and reveals his captive existence under Cleopatras command. His goodly eyes that glowd like plated Mars, now bend, now turn, upon the tawny front of his captains heart. Accordingly, this paradoxical simile is evocative of Antonys fatal flaw and is prophetic of his demise due to the life of decadence that has now become fundamental to his existence. The universal imagery of Antonys association with Mars foreshadows his submission to Cleopatra, as she is a physical representation of Venus, and reincarnation of sweet Isis, the fancy outwork of nature. Philo and Demetrius choric function and classical allusions draw attention to Antonys oscillation from this Herculean Roman to a disparaging warrior, who has been deprived of all military qualities to metaphorically become the bellows and the fan/ To cool a gipsys lust.
Furthermore, Antonys humiliation is portrayed through stage directions, as Cleopatra enters alongside [eunuchs fanning her], indicating his effeminized status. Cleopatra admits through a bawdy, phallic innuendo that she has no interest in anything a eunuch can do, and that it is a good thing being Castrated so they can concentrate better on her needs. Therefore, the depiction of this Eastern Star as a morsel for a monarch is utterly unjust, as her excessive power challenged the patriarchal society. Furthermore, Cleopatras sovereignty is exemplified in Alexandria, a predominantly feminine sphere, where she can establish her omnipotence. Elizabeth I, the virgin queen of England, herself employed phallocentric imagery to express power and supremacy. In the famous Tilbury Speech, Elizabeth confessed that although she had the body but of a weak and feeble woman she had the heart and stomach of a King and a King of England too. Comparable to Cleopatra, the two domineering female leaders use the imagery of a masculine transfiguration to symbolize supremacy.
Consequently, Shakespeares antithetical structure allows the audience to interpret the heavily contrasted empires of Rome and Egypt. Cleopatras incredible emotional vicissitudes and at times barbaric style, I will give thy bloody teeth, allow Cleopatra to embody the stereotypical attributes of a wanton Egyptian. Furthermore, the employment of the plosive bloody indicates her loquacious speech, which Shakespeare created to represent her antithetical nature. Her satirical scorning of Antony challenges his military ability through the paradoxical use of the superlative of the greatest soldier in the world, who she claims has Art turnd the greatest liar. Cleopatras hyperbolic language and imperative questioning where is he? force Antony to speak in short, succinct, stichomythic sentences Most sweet queen evocative of his failure to express any form of political conviction. Furthermore, he depicts himself as thy soldier servant using sibilance to draw attention to Cleopatras political and emotional domination, as she actively tries to usurp Antonys control.
In even more ways, Cleopatra can be compared to Elizabeth I, who manipulated the prospect of royal alliance and internal leverage to her convenience. Elizabeth remained constantly alert to the frequently changing European instability, and furthermore capitalized on opportunities that arrived, such as Queen Mary Stuarts papal opposition to the Anglican Church. Elizabeth I transformed Catholic England into a more reformed, Protestant country. Yet Cleopatras shrewdness supported a very different values system, at least for Shakespeare: the Egyptian culture of decadence, self pleasure and unfettered passion is viewed as a threat by Caesar and his disciplined army of political strategists. Cleopatras passionate rage challenges Caesars militant ability, and ironically she alludes to his effeminacies, undermining his authority in a satirical tone by describing the scarce bearded Caesar. This metaphorical language is also characteristic of her scathing stratagem to play one scene/ Of excellent dissembling. Cleopatra uses the imperative language do this, and this , employing repetition as a means of primarily conveying negative connotations surrounding the inferior and subsidiary leader.
Cleopatra is unquestionably not a morsel for a monarch. Contrastingly, she possesses the power to overtop them all, influence her fellow rulers, and subsequently control the audience through her unrelenting tenacity and emphatic character. Her subversive nature contrasts to the docile and obedient women constituted in the Homily of the State of Matrimony, the Elizabethan central statement on the duties of Husbands and Wives, in which women are erroneously ridiculed as the weakest vessel , for the woman is a weak creature, not endued with like strength and mind of a man. Moreover, Cleopatra is a metaphorical thunderbolt, whose lack of temperance and moderation simply conveys her deceptive and cunning political personality. Ultimately, Cleopatra is precocious actress who uses her emotions as a metaphorical weapon as a means of gaining control.
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