For my individually assigned play, I am reading Antony and Cleopatra. As I've been reading it, a phrase that Octavius Caesar says kept reminding me of a class I took last semester-- World Civilizations to 1500 (ARTHC 201). If you ever get the chance to take it, I highly recommend taking it from Tonya Bassett. She was amazing! Plus, it takes care of a G.E. requirement for graduation, so it's just the best. Anyways, Octavius says this, referring to Mark Antony:
"He fishes, drinks, and wastes/ The lamps of night in revel; is not more man-like/ Than Cleopatra; nor the queen of Ptolemy/ More womanly than he;" (I.iv.)
This occurs during some great contention between the triumvirs (leaders) and Octavius doesn't think Antony is pulling his weight anymore with regard to his responsibility ruling over the Roman Empire.
In the quote, Octavius is calling him less than a man. I found this to be particularly interesting because during our Roman Art section of the class, it was important in society to be depicted as perfect, whole, or as rounded as possible. This is shown in their artwork as people tried to idealize the human body and forms of architecture, and perfect expressions. For me, it just further cemented the idea of how Octavius is completely insulting Antony.
No comments:
Post a Comment