Essay Database

Nature, described as mysterious and secretive, is a recurrent theme throughout Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra, the ill-fated queen of Egypt, is both mysterious and secretive, and her emotional power is above and beyond nature’s great strength. Whether described in a positive or in a negative manner, both nature and Cleopatra are described as being “great natural forces.” Throughout the first act, the two are compared and contrasted by various characters in the …

…obliviously stating that Cleopatra “is Egypt”, he reaffirms Cleopatra’s great natural strength. In Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, nature, the elements surrounding it and its mystery are continuously compared to Cleopatra. In several instances in the book, we see Cleopatra’s strength over God’s natural powers. Throughout the first act as well as in the latter acts of the novel, references are made to both nature and to Cleopatra’s powers over it.