Love's Labour's Lost: Cultural/Historical Influences

A Comparison of Two Tragedies

Jill Ruhnke, year of graduation: Only GOD knows!

In this paper I will be comparing The Tragedie of Antonie translated by Mary Sidney
Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Before we
get into the comparison of the two stories, I would like to introduce everyone to Mary Sidney
Herbert. Mary Sidney was born on October 27, 1561 in Ticknall Place, Bewdley,
Worcestershire in England. She comes from a very literary family. Her brothers were none
other then Sir Phillip Sidney and Sir Robert Sidney, famous authors in their own right. Mary
married Henry Herbert, the Second Earl of Pembroke at the ripe old age of fifteen and produced
four children: William, Katherine, Anne and Philip. Mary was well schooled and fluent in
French Italian and Latin, an education similar to that of Queen Elizabeth's herself. Due to
several tragedies that occurred in a short period of time, Mary locked herself in her country
estates in Wiltshire for two years, two years of intense writing. Mary's manuscripts inspired
many of the great poets of the 17th century, most importantly George Herbert and John Donne.
Mary Herbert was a very influential literary patron and a celebrated writer during her life.

Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke translated her own version of the story of Antony
and Cleopatra knows as The Tragedie of Antonie. This version of the story is written in old
English so the spelling is quite different and takes some getting used to. Where Shakespeare has
42 characters in his play, Mary Herbert has 13 characters. The tragedy begins after the hasty
retreat of Cleopatra and Antonie in the sea battle against Octauius Caesar. A brief summary
before that appears before the actual play began, labeled The Argument, told us what has already
taken place. The beginning Shakespeare's play starts with Mark Antony living the high life as
ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire and having an intense affair with Cleopatra, the Queen of
Egypt. While in Rome Antony's first wife, Fulvia wages a small war. First against Antony's brother and later against Rome. We feel that she does this to gain the attention of her non-faithful husband. But Antony continues on with his affair with Cleopatra and doesn't even consider what his wife is doing. Fulvia eventually dies but not from battle but from illness.

The Countess's version does not even mention Fulvia at all. Mary Herbert has Octauiu
Caesar and Antonius already married and having a family. Octauius take offense to the betrayal
of his sister and wages war against Antonius and Cleopatra. As in Shakespeare's version the
attack does occur at sea and also as in Shakespeare's version Cleopatra, just after the battle
begins realizes just what they have taken on and turns around and run away. Antonius has no
choice but to follow, feeling that everything and everyone that he trusted had failed him. In
Herbert's version there is no second battle. Antonius does not request that Caesar meet him on
the field to do battle man to man as in Shakespeare's version. Antonius has a very long speech
in the beginning of the Herbert version which occurs after the sea battle where he follows
Cleopatra in her retreat. Most of this speech Antonius feels pity for himself he feels betrayed by
Cleopatra and starts to suspect her of switching sides and taking up with Caesar. This also
occurs in the Shakespeare version where Antony calls Cleopatra a "Triple-turned whore". He is
very harsh in the Shakespeare version. This may be due to the fact that it was written by a man
and Mary Herbert did not want to be so harsh on the female character in her version. Antonius
in Herbert's version seemed to be saying that he should be pitied and that the reader should feel
sorry for him, but in the way he said it, it was hard to feel sorry for him.

The one big difference in Mary Herbert's play is that at the end of all the major
character's speeches there is a chorus. Each one has to do with the character's situation that had
spoken. For example, the chorus following Antonius' opening speech starts out discussing the
sea waters keeping a man from his home and his love. It continues on discussing how we were
made by nature and then our bodies fail us and we end up in darkness being swallowed by a
grave and going to heaven with a lot of unresolved problems. It ends with how war is our
downfall and grows worse every day. This is a different way to end each of the character's
speeches. Upon finishing Mary Herbert's version of the play we find that similarities between
the two versions are few and far between. Shakespeare seems to prolong the inevitable which is
the death of Antony and Cleopatra by having more battles between Caesar and Antony and
ultimately having Antony being conquered by Caesar. Mary Herbert has Antonius and
Cleopatra, right from the start, realizing that they were wrong. Antonius let himself be ruled by
his love for a woman and listened to his heart rather then his head. She has Antonius and
Cleopatra not seeing each other before they die. She does not draw out their deaths. They
simply die. Death is the only solution. Cleopatra seems more sorry for her part in the downfall
of Antonius then in Shakespeare's version. She knows that she was the reason for his downfall.

Caesar's speech in this play seems to be the longest and most boastful of his character.
He states the reason that he had to take out Antonius, for the honor of his sister who was
wronged by Antonius. He talks about how he is the greatest and most feared ruler of all time.
But we feel more in this version that if Antonius had not let his love for Cleopatra ruin him that
he, Antonius, would have been the greatest ruler of all time. Caesar seems to know this and is
grateful that Antonius had a weakness. Caesar is very harsh toward Cleopatra in Herbert's
version, calling her children "brats." He names one of the children, Phoebe, but it is hard to tell
in his speech just who the child belongs to. At the time he is talking about Cleopatra but says
"his two children." It makes you think that Antonius had children with Cleopatra. Due to the
boastful speech that Caesar gives us about his honor, it seems almost fitting that his speech is
followed by a "Chorus of Romaine Souldiors." In this chorus the soldiers talk about how they
will not rest until they have brought honor to they country that they love. They will fight to the
death whether it is by land or by sea. They also talk about how they hope that the war ends soon
and that they can go back to their homes and receive the praises of their fathers and family.
Heaven in the chorus following Antonius speech is referred to as a dark unbecoming place, but
in the chorus of the Roman soldier, heaven is referred to as a glorious welcoming place. The
soldiers end their chorus talking about a Queen from a foreign land who soon will die and fears
that the result of her love may put her in a place that she does not want to be in.

Herbert's version ends with the gathering of Cleopatra's children and most loyal servants
discussing how the Queen brought about the downfall of not just a great ruler but that she lost
the kingdom that she inherited from her ancestors and will be unable to pass down to her
children. Cleopatra feels that between the deaths of her and Antonius, that the Gods will point
their fingers t her and say that it is her fault and that she should not be able to stay in heaven with
Antonius. She seems unwilling at first to accept the fact that Antonius is really dead. She tells
him to live for his children. Then suddenly accepts that he is dead and that she must die also.
She feels that she will be unable to live without Antonius' love and not that, as in Shakespeare's
version that she should die because she does not want to become the pawn of Caesar. Cleopatra
seems less selfish in Herbert's version. Her closing speech seems to be a plea to Antonius to
forgive her for all the wrong that she has done to him. This is the part in Herbert's version that
makes me believe that Cleopatra is less selfish. Of course, she was not entirely selfless, she did
lead Antonius to his ruin and lose her country because she needed the love of a man. Herbert's
version makes you wonder what happened to the men in her life before Antonius. Obviously she
did not love them as much as shedid Antonius because she did not kill herself after their deaths.
But she also did not ruin them or lose her country because of them. Just what made Antonius so
special, and why did it have to end the way it did. Was this a point she had to prove to herself?
Did she truly love Antonius as much in Herbert's version as she is making us believe or does she
just feel guilty about the fact that she brought upon the death of a great war hero.

Herbert's version is much shorter then that of Shakespeare's, but the content of the play
itself seems much fuller then his. Quite a bit of Herbert's version may be missed or
misinterpreted due to the language that it was written in and how the reader translates it. This
version does may you reread Shakespeare's version to see if you have missed any important
things that may be crucial to the story. It is harder to feel any sympathy for Antony and
Cleopatra in Shakespeare's version. This may be due to the fact that we get the story of what
occurred before the fall of Antony and the battle with Caesar. We see in the initial story that
Antony was out for himself. He marries Octavia thinking that it will strengthen the bond
between himself and Caesar. This in itself is a very selfish act that hurts not only Octavia but
Cleopatra and seems to be only to gain power for Antony. Should we feel sorry for the main
characters in these two play? They seem to have brought the misfortune that occurred to them
on themselves. Does Herbert's version seem more sympathetic because it was written by a
female and Shakespeare's less because it was written by a male? This is an opinion only the
reader can decide and is probably the biggest debate over the two versions.

 


Works Cited

!. Antony and Cleopatra [1606 or 1607], ed. David Bevington in The Necessary Shakespeare. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005. Second Edition: 748-800.

2. The Collected Works of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. Ed. Margaret P. Hannay, Noel J. Kinnamon, and Michael Brennan. 2vol. Oxford: Clarendon, 1998.

3. Poetry of the English Renaissance 1509-1660.J. William Hebel and Hoyt H. Hudson, Eds. New York: F. S. Crofts & Co., 1941. 143-144.

4. http://users.mhc.edu/facultystaff/nkinnamo/BibliogR.htm .TheWorks of Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke”, Noel J Kinnamon 1998.

5. http://darwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/antonie.html. “The Tragedie of Antonie, Doone into English by the Countess of Pembroke”,Ponsonby 1594.

 


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