Antony and Cleopatra – A Reflection of Renaissance Masculinity

Aleta M Zimmerman 2007

As a onetime outpost of Rome, England was greatly influenced by Roman genealogy-ancestors that were god-like (Mars), superhuman (Hercules), fearless warriors (Pompey) who flourished in a patriarchal society (ancient 4). I would like to discuss how Shakespeare uses these characteristics in his Roman tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, as a means to express sixteenth century England's cultural upheavals, one of which was the transformation of masculinity defined in terms of power to masculinity rooted in humanism.
Traditionally, the monarch of a country is the "head of the nobility"(Giddens 2) and skilled in weaponry so as to fight side by side with his soldiers. Queen Elizabeth shattered this tradition with her femininity and physical inability to fight a war. As Eugene Giddens points out, Elizabeth was viewed as "conflict-shy". Because she did not "enter war lightly", a great anxiety arose within the military and the English nobility. After all, their major source of honors and promotion in the monarch's court--great military feats--was constricted by the lack of war (Giddens 2).
Shakespeare's emphasis on Rome's martial society in Antony and Cleopatra addresses the importance that a martial society held for men in England during Elizabeth's reign. Military prowess defined masculinity by power and honor. Giddens highlights a Francis Bacon quote from "Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates" in which Bacon writes "No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor politic: and certainly to a kingdom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise . . . for in a slothful peace, both courages will effeminate and manners corrupt" (Giddens 13). Note the same sentiment for the relationship between war, leadership, and honor found in this message delivered to Caesar.

Thy biddings have been done, and every hour,
Most noble Caesar, shalt thou have report
How 'tis abroad. Pompey is strong at sea,
And it appears he is beloved of those
That only have feared Caesar. To the ports
The discontents repair, and men's reports
Give him much wronged. (1.4.34-40)

This passage speaks of important activity all of which deals with the power that comes from Caesar's past exploits and the current campaign in which Pompey equals Caesar's achievement of honor. Compare this to the conversation Caesar and Lepidus have about Antony's change in character.

Our great competitor. From Alexandria
This is the news: he fishes, drinks, and wastes
The lamps of night in revel; is not more manlike
Than Cleopatra, nor the queen of Ptolemy
More womanly than he; hardly gave audience, or
Vouchsafed to think he had partners. You shall find there
A man who is the abstract of all faults
That all men follow. (1.4.3)

From Bacon's perspective, as well as Caesar's, Antony's behavior is slothful and is viewed as stripping him of his manly honour. His manners have slid from those of a powerful military leader to those of a drunk. His masculinity is described as equal to Cleopatra's femininity. He deserves this criticism because he chooses to retreat from war in favour of sensual pleasure. Although he is a Roman warrior, he realizes that it is the activity of life, not war, that he yearns to explore.

Encased in the mold of Roman virtus, i.e. courage and leadership, is "a place of confinement, competition, and division" (Carducci 82). Cleopatra's Egypt, like Queen Elizabeth's England, "offers a more humane world (Carducci 82)-a society in which one is allowed to explore self-knowledge and individualism (humanism, 27).

Having established parallel sentiments of masculinity between martial Rome and valiant England, we can explore how Shakespeare's characters reflect the changes in the meaning of masculinity in English society as a result of the Renaissance or, to use a more descriptive term, the Renaissance humanism that evolved between 1500 and 1642.

During this time much attention was directed toward human virtues such as "understanding, benevolence, compassion, and mercy" (humanism 1)--the more feminine of human behaviors. We can sense these virtues in Antony when he learns of Enobarbus' desertion and instructs his soldier, Eros, to "send his treasure after" (4.5.12). The Antony of Egypt displays a compassionate desire to send "gentle adieus and greetings. Say that I wish he never find more cause To change a master" (4.5.14-16). In contrast to Antony but in step with England's martialism, Rome's dispassionate Caeser is cast in quite the opposite light as he mercilessly orders Antony's defectors to be placed at the front lines of the battle:

"Go charge Agrippa Plant those that have revolted in the van, That Antony may seem to spend his fury Upon himself" (4.6.8-11).

In her critical essay, Madelon Sprengnether posits that "Literary history . . . is an aspect of cultural history. Both attest to changing patterns of awareness, to the constant refiguring of our relation to our specific location in time and space, to our own historicity" (Wofford 59). Shakespeare's penchant to present the issues of his day woven into drama illustrates this idea. Reflective of a time in England when masculinity began to absorb sensibility as an acceptable trait (Vaught 306), Shakespeare presents Antony's desire to change the focus of his life in this plea to Caesar, as conveyed by the ambassador.

Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, and
Requires to live in Egypt; which not granted,
He lessens his requests, and to thee sues
To let him breathe between the heavens and earth
A private man in Athens. This for him. (3.12.11-19)

Notice the tone of Antony's request. It is respectful of Caesar and his power, yet hopeful that Antony's desire to live in peace will crack Caesar's stoicism. We realize that it will not move Caesar as Shakespeare shows us the absence of sensibility when Caeser replies, "…For Antony, I have no ears to his request" (3.12.19-20).

Jane Carducci points out that "the Elizabethans saw the Roman male as a Stoic, full of manly prowess and heroic spirit. Valiant, brave, and courageous, the Roman hero, though cold and stoney, could be sparked to much energy"(Carducci 1). Shakespeare gives us the Roman male in Caesar: "Strike not by land; keep whole. Provoke not battle Till we have done at sea. Do not exceed The prescript of this scroll. Our fortune lies Upon this jump" (3.8.3-5), and in Pompey: ". . . I shall do well. The people love me, and the sea is mine; My powers are crescent, and my auguring hope Says it will come to th' full" (2.1.8-11). This Roman male mirrors the English nobility who were quite committed to the pursuit of honor through military glory that served to affirm their masculinity (Giddens 7).

Tragically, Antony is a man struggling between two worlds just as the men of the Renaissance struggled to understand their role in a changing world. Antony's life in Rome is rigid. It is an environment in which he must keep up his guard and constantly defend his Roman honor (Carducci 82). As he tells Octavia, "If I lose mine honor, I lose myself; better I were not yours Than yours so branchless" (3.4.22-24). On the other hand, Antony senses his life in Egypt as "more humane, one of abundance and fertility" (Carducci 82) as we hear him proclaim, "I will to Egypt, And though I make this marriage for my peace, I'th'East my pleasure lies" (2.3.39-41).

Imagine picking Egypt, or the idea of Egypt, up and placing her down in the middle of Rome, or the idea of Rome and making them cohabitate. This is how one could explain the challenge to a sixteenth century Englishman's masculinity as he maneuvered through the social chaos caused by conflicting ideologies and competing values. Rome is a man's world. It is ruled by a Caesar whose power comes from political manipulation and military might. Egypt is a woman's world, ruled by Cleopatra. Her power is more emotional than political (Wofford 50) as evidenced by Antony's admission:

Egypt, thou knew'st too well
My heart was to thy rudder tied by th' strings,
And thou shouldst tow me after. O'er my spirit
Thy full supremacy thou knew'st, and that
Thy beck might from the bidding of the gods
Command me. (3.11.55-60)

Antony struggles with the weakening of his masculinity as he admits to Cleopatra: "How much you were my conqueror, and that My sword, made weak by my affection" (3.11.65-66). This sentiment is analogous to the anxiety that female authority provoked as it became more prevalent in domestic situations during the Renaissance. The concern it generated prompted the publication of "advice manuals and conduct books" in an effort to tutor society about the changing gender roles (Vaught 308). Shakespeare's literary contribution to the exploration of gender roles offered, and still does offer, valuable insight into human behavior. He provides a forum, a "stage and characters", in which we can observe from a distance, yet extract the pieces of humanity we need to discuss and debate and resolve until we are ready for the next morsel of insight he has lain before us.

Works Cited

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Carducci, Jane S. “ Antony as Roman Soldier in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.” Language and Literature 15 (1990): 79-107.

Carducci, Jane S. “Brutus, Cassius, and Caesar in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar; Language and the Roman Male.” Language and Literature 13 (1988): 1-19.

Giddens, Eugene. “Honourable Men: Militancy and Masculinity in Julius Caesar.” Renaissance Forum 5.2 (2001): 34 pars. 6 Oct. 2006. http://www.hull.ac.uk/renforum/v5no2/giddens.htm

Shakespeare, William. “ Antony and Cleopatra” The Necessary Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 752-800.

Vaught, Jennifer. “Masculinity and Affect in Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale: Men of Feeling from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment.” 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era 10 (2004): 305-325.

Wofford, Susanne L. ed. Shakespeare’s Late Tragedies A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1996.

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