The elements of tragedy include a tragic hero, pathos, and suffering.
The tragic hero in the play is Mark Antony. A tragic hero has a flaw, known as a tragic flaw, that leads to his destruction. Antony’s tragic flaw is his obsession with Cleopatra. Antony was supposed to be a hero of Rome, and one of the triumvirate. Instead of being a leader, he abandons his people (and his wife) to be with Cleopatra in Egypt.
Enobarbus explains the pull that Cleopatra has on Antony. When Macaenas says that Antony has to leave Cleopatra to marry Octavius Caesar’s sister Octavia, Enobarbus says he never will.
MECAENAS
Now Antony must leave her utterly.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
Never; he will not:
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety: other women cloy
The appetites they feed: but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies … (Act 2, Scene 2)
Antony’s first wife leads to his destruction when she acts against Caesar. Enobarbus knows that Antony will self-destruct because he will not be able to be faithful to Octavia. In pairing Antony with his sister, Caesar seals his fate. He knows that Antony will betray Octavia, and therefore him. He will then have an excuse to destroy Antony.
Does Antony love Cleopatra? He certainly does. However, his love is closer to obsession. To him, Cleopatra is like a drug. He follows her into oblivion, losing everything that he ever had. Antony feels that he can defeat Octavius, but it is a fool’s errand. Octavius has advantages of manpower and brainpower, and there is no way Antony can ever win against him.
A tragedy always uses pathos to pull at the heartstrings of the audience. There are many sad and moving speeches in this play. In fact, it has more speeches than most Shakespeare plays.
Antony and Cleopatra are at constant battle, in an almost childlike variety of arguments. You can tell how boisterous and volatile their love affair is.
Fie, wrangling queen!
Whom every thing becomes, to chide, to laugh,
To weep; whose every passion fully strives
To make itself, in thee, fair and admired!
No messenger, but thine; and all alone
To-night we'll wander through the streets and note
The qualities of people. Come, my queen;
Last night you did desire it: speak not to us. (Act 1, Scene 1)
Other significant examples of pathos include Enobarbus’s description of Cleopatra’s yacht, Antony’s death, and Cleopatra’s interview with Caesar. Finally, there is Cleopatra’s speech as she is dying. This leads us to the final element, suffering.
Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have
Immortal longings in me: now no more
The juice of Egypt's grape shall moist this lip:
Yare, yare, good Iras; quick. Methinks I hear
Antony call; I see him rouse himself
To praise my noble act; I hear him mock
The luck of Caesar … (Act 5, Scene 2)
Cleopatra is forced to kill herself, and describes how she is going to meet Antony, who already killed himself. Her reference to Caesar’s luck shows that the only way she can defeat him was by killing herself. She refuses to live and allow him to march her through Rome in triumph.
Cleopatra’s tale is really the saddest. She has an affair with Antony to secure her position on the throne. This is still the case even if she loves him. She has to keep Rome happy. Then she finds herself caught in the war between Octavius and Antony. She tries to negotiate with him to save her son, and her children with Antony. She is unsuccessful. Caesarean is killed by Antony, and her children with Antony go to Octavius.
This play is a love story and a tragedy. It is not just a tragedy because both of the named principal characters die. It is a tragedy because they are in an impossible, no-win situation. Antony and Cleopatra are in love, and each is the other's weakness. Antony, a once-great man, meets his doom in a spectacular way. He believes that he is capable of so much more than he can actually handle.
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