Shakespeare

Shakespeare presents Antony as a victim of himself through his overconfidence, which eventually leads to his isolation from the rest of his soldier, hindering his ability to be a strong leader, and therefore causes the audience to resent him. Antony’s overconfidence is seen when he insists, “[he’ll] fight at sea” in spite of the fact his loyal Roman soldiers, explain that his “ships are not well manned”. Antony’s adamance is emphasised when Antony continues to insist he will fight “by seas, by sea”. Shakespeare’s use of repetition reinforces Antony’s careless assumption that he will win a battle at sea against Caesar and highlights his stubborn nature and his determination, which ultimately clouds his ability to make rational decisions and therefore prohibits him from being a strong leader; allowing him to be seen as a victim of himself. Antony’s isolation from the rest of his soldiers becomes even more evident when he continues to ignore their advice in favour of his own opinions; seen when he refuses to accept the fact that Caesar ships are “yare” and his “heavy” therefore showing how Antony allows his pride and overconfidence to get in the way of him “refusing [to fight Caesar] at sea”. The frustration of the Roman soldiers becomes visible when they begin to criticise Antony behind his back showing their lack of respect for him due to his inability to be a strong leader. This seen when the soldiers exclaim that their “leader is [being] led” which ironically suggests they believe Antony is no longer capable of leading them due to his overconfidence which causes Antony to make irrational decisions. You could go so far as to suggest that they also believe that other people such as Cleopatra are influencing Antony. Shakespeare’s presentation of Antony is done in order to allow the audience to feel resentment towards Antony, allowing Shakespeare to justify Antony’s downfall and in doing so allows the audience to commend and appreciate Caesar and his glory.

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