Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Pillar of the World: "Antony and Cleopatra" in Shakespeare's Development

The Pillar of the World: "Antony and Cleopatra" in Shakespeare's Development

Markels, Julian

Paperback

Literary Criticism

ISBN10: 0814253377
ISBN13: 9780814253373
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Published: Feb 12 2016
Pages: 202
Weight: 0.56
Height: 0.46 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.25
Language: English
In tracing the development of Shakespeare's growing concern with the conflict between public and private values, Mr. Markels finds that the traditional doctrine of order by which the history plays idealize political stability as an end in itself is transcended in Antony and Cleopatra. The problematic relation of the individual ruler to the society he rules, as seen particularly in Julius Caesar and King Lear where the effects of self-dramatization magnify the disparity between the public and the private realm, is resolved in Antony and Cleopatra where the claims of both realms are reconciled and the ideal of stability is transformed from the raison d'ètre of human action into its mere donnée. Mr. Markels points out that the often noted discontinuities in the action of Antony and Cleopatra-and, indeed, even in the syntax of the dialogue itself-far from needing to be resolved and explained away, are intrinsic to the conflict portrayed. Mr. Markels suggests that Cleopatra's decision to join her lover in death indicates her ultimate ability to share Antony's vision. It is on the basis of this treatment of death as apotheosis-as opposed to mere catastrophe or, as in King Lear, final release from the demands of existence-that Antony and Cleopatra can be said to exemplify in a particularly impressive way that transition from a political to an ethical concern that distinguishes Shakespeare's most mature creations. Julian Markels is professor of English at the Ohio State University.

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