Antony and Cleopatra characters

Antony

Antony is one of the three leaders of the Roman Empire and a proven soldier. We know him from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as a former party guy who made his soldierly fortunes at Philippi, when he bested Brutus and Cassius, Julius Caesar’s murderers. He’s regarded as a noble and formidable soldier in Rome. His presence in Egypt represents a neglect of his own state, and shows his less noble side – the one that revels in debauchery and good times. The comparison of Antony-in-Rome with Antony-in-Egypt isn’t a set up of good versus evil; it’s just two different examples of a way a man can live his life.

Antony is noted for his bravery, which makes his love for Cleopatra all the more interesting. The same way that he gave himself over to his soldierly duties, he submits himself to Cleopatra, and revels in the sensuous pleasures of the Egyptian world. Antony is honest about his plight – and admits that he is held captive by Cleopatra’s powerful spell. Interestingly, he thinks of his situation personally, and not politically. Antony escapes being a pure pleasure monger, though, because his nobility shines through in his Egyptian life. His love for Cleopatra, he admits, is overpowering, and there’s an earnestness in this admission. He acts graciously and nobly in his political affairs, too (when he bothers to pay them any attention). Antony greets Pompey with honesty and love. When Enobarbus turns to the other side, Antony doesn’t blame him for treachery, but instead faults himself for turning Enobarbus to that path. When Antony thinks he’s doomed to fail in battle, he bids his men to leave him, and thanks them gratefully for their service.

Still, there exists another, more volatile side to Antony, which his compatriots see as the cause of his attachment to Cleopatra. His extreme emotional swings can be seen when he resolves to kill Cleopatra, and then loves her again. Yet, he is developed as a character because he’s in touch with these feelings. Shakespeare illustrates this is best shown in Antony's final act. What hurts Antony deeply is the notion that he isn’t living up to his own nobility, either in politics (as he’s lost to Caesar) or in love (as he thinks Cleopatra has killed herself). As Antony dies, he wishes the world to remember him as a man who was his own conqueror. By taking his own life, Antony makes a final resolute act: his death is the final assurance that, no matter the circumstance, he was the master of his own life. He represents the tension between East and West, between Egyptian delights and Roman austerity, and between the personal desires of love and valiance. In this way, he’s a complex character.

Cleopatra

The assortment of perspectives from which we see Cleopatra illustrates the varying understandings of her as a decadent foreign woman and a noble ruler. As Philo and Demetrius take the stage in Act I, scene i, their complaints about Antony’s neglected duties frame the audience’s understanding of Cleopatra, the queen for whom Antony risks his reputation. Within the first ten lines of the play, the men declare Cleopatra a lustful “gipsy,” a description that is repeated throughout the play as though by a chorus (I.i.10). Cleopatra is labeled a “wrangling queen” (I.i.50), a “slave” (I.iv.19), an “Egyptian dish” (II.vi.123), and a “whore” (III.vi.67); she is called “Salt Cleopatra” (II.i.21) and an enchantress who has made Antony “the noble ruin of her magic” (III.x.18).
But to view Cleopatra as such is to reduce her character to the rather narrow perspective of the Romans, who, standing to lose their honor or kingdoms through her agency, are most threatened by her. Certainly this threat has much to do with Cleopatra’s beauty and open sexuality, which, as Enobarbus points out in his famous description of her in Act II, scene ii, is awe-inspiring. But it is also a performance. Indeed, when Cleopatra takes the stage, she does so as an actress, elevating her passion, grief, and outrage to the most dramatic and captivating level. As Enobarbus says, the queen did not walk through the street, but rather

Hop[ped] forty paces . . .
And having lost her breath, she spoke and panted,
That she did make defect perfection,
And breathless, pour breath forth.
           (II.ii.235–238)

Whether whispering sweet words of love to Antony or railing at a supposedly disloyal servant, Cleopatra leaves her onlookers breathless. As Antony notes, she is a woman “[w]hom everything becomes—to chide, to laugh / To weep” (I.i.51–52). It is this ability to be the perfect embodiment of all things—beauty and ugliness, virtue and vice—that Cleopatra stands to lose after her defeat by Caesar. By parading her through the streets of Rome as his trophy, he intends to reduce her character to a single, base element—to immortalize her as a whore. If Antony cannot allow his conception of self to expand to incorporate his defeats, then Cleopatra cannot allow hers to be stripped to the image of a boy actor “squeaking Cleopatra . . . / I’th’ posture of a whore” (V.ii.216–217). Cleopatra often behaves childishly and with relentless self-absorption; nevertheless, her charisma, strength, and indomitable will make her one of Shakespeare’s strongest, most awe-inspiring female characters.

Octavius Caesar

Triumvir. Julius Caesar's nephew and adopted son. Destined to become Augustus, the ruler of the Roman Empire. Referred to both as "Caesar" and "Octavius." He is much younger than Antony. As in Julius Caesar, Octavius is depicted in Antony and Cleopatra as possessing nearly inhuman detachment and self-control. He is a cold, calculating, political animal. He uses Antony when he needs him, and turns on both Antony and Lepidus when he can. But he is not malicious. He is single-minded. His ambition is of a single empire, ruled by a single Emperor, and war will be his tool for achieving a universal peace in the Mediterranean world. He is not nearly as good a field commander as Antony, but his absolute devotion to his ambition proves decisive.

Lepidus

Lepidus is a member of the second Roman triumvirate, along with Octavius Caesar and Antony. He is arguably the weakest of the trio, mostly because he has a conciliatory nature and always tries to make everyone friends. In actuality, he is blind to everyone’s passion and treachery. Lepidus has an earnest innocence, and does not play much of a role in the affairs of the other triumvirs, who have bigger stakes in winning battles than avoiding them.

Lepidus is most notable for his absences – he has a mere two lines in the negotiations with Pompey, and on Pompey's barge he inquires with childlike wonder about the animals of Egypt, rather than getting caught up in the political discourse of the other men. Lepidus disappears during the more serious conversations, and actually gets so drunk that he has to be carried off to bed. Lepidus is something of a laughingstock – even his inferiors Enobarbus and Agrippa make a mockery of him. The men criticize Lepidus’s fawning over Antony and Caesar, and agree that he’s like the beetle caught between two wings. This jibe fittingly describes Lepidus’s fate. Though we do not see him again, we know he is torn between the two men he thinks are his friends and ends up losing his position, and freedom, because of his naïveté.

Lepidus, like Pompey, seems to be a generally good guy who suffers at the hands of the passionate and treacherous men that surround him. However, unlike Pompey (who is restrained by his honor), Lepidus suffers from being naïve and innocent – a little lamb in a pack of political wolves. He earnestly believes the others have the common good in mind, whereas they’re really thinking of their own personal good. Thus, Lepidus’s own personal goodness becomes lethal, when combined with his inability to see the true natures of those around him.

Pompey

Pompey the Younger is (no surprise) the son of Pompey the Elder. He is most notable in the play as a character who is prone to war, but guided by his reason and honor instead of his passion. Pompey the Younger is drawn into battle against the Romans because his father was one of Julius Caesar’s partners in the first triumvirate that ruled Rome. Julius Caesar’s whole "crossing the Rubicon" bit was an act of war and usurpation against Pompey, and the decisive act that meant Julius Caesar intended to rule Rome alone. As a result of Julius Caesar’s action, Pompey the Elder fled to Egypt, where he was murdered. This is where his son, Pompey the Younger, steps in. He seeks to avenge his father’s death against the new triumvirate: Octavius Caesar, Antony, and Lepidus. Pompey ends up being a sort of sacrifice in the play. He's an honorable man who plays by the rules, and is ultimately vulnerable to the treacherous and passionate men that surround him.

Pompey is well loved by the people, and he sees Antony’s absence as a good sign that he has a chance against the other young triumvirs. Still, even once Antony returns to the fight, Pompey faces his fate nobly. One of Pompey’s single most telling acts is his willingness to negotiate with the Roman triumvirs before he goes to war with them. In the negotiation, he would rather compromise than have blood shed, not because he is a coward, but because he is a reasonable man.

Once Pompey settles the terms of compromise with the triumvirs, he graciously invites the other men back to his barge to celebrate their new truce. Unlike Caesar and Antony, when Pompey makes a truce, he means it. He has a real warrior’s honor, in contrast to the triumvirs, who would probably shoot him in the back in a dark alley. On Pompey’s barge, his man Menas offers to kill the drunken triumvirs, but Pompey’s honor again gets the better of him. He says he wishes Menas had simply not told him of the plan, and carried it out. Now that he’s heard about it, his conscience has gotten in the way. Unfortunately, Pompey ends up dead as a result of Caesar's treachery.

Enobarbus 

Antony’s most loyal supporter. Worldly and cynical, Enobarbus is friendly with the subordinates of both Pompey and Caesar, yet stays faithful to his master even after Antony makes grave political and military missteps. He abandons Antony only when the general appears to be completely finished.

Ventidius

A gifted officer of Antony, blessed also with political savvy. When victorious against Rome's formidable enemy, the Parthian Empire, Ventidius is careful not to capitalize too well on his victories, as too much success for an officer can lead to a superior's fear, envy, and suspicion. Although not at all integral to the central story of the play, Ventidius' scene (3.1) speaks volumes about the volatile politics of the Roman military.

Eros

One of Antony's attendants. With Octavius' victory close, Antony asks Eros to kill him (4.14). Eros kills himself instead.

Scarus

Friend to Antony, brave soldier and faithful companion.

Decretas

Friend to Antony. After Antony's suicide, Decretas brings Antony's bloody sword to Caesar.

Demetrius

Friend to Antony. At the beginning of the play, he and Philo speak disapproving of Antony's affair with Cleopatra.

Philo

Friend to Antony. At the beginning of the play, he and Demetrius speak disapprovingly of Antony's affair with Cleopatra.

Canidius

Lieutenant general to Antony. After Antony's shocking desertion of his own men at Actium, Canidius defects to Caesar's camp

Silius

An officer in Ventidius' army

Maecenas

Friend to Caesar.

Agrippa

Friend to Caesar

Dolabella

Friend to Caesar. He guards the captured Cleopatra, and helps her to preserve her honor.

Proculeius

Friend to Caesar. Antony warns Cleopatra to trust none in Caesar's camp but Proculeius, but in the end Dolabella proves her greatest friend.

Thidias

Friend to Caesar. Messenger. When Caesar's messages to Antony enrage him, Antony has the unfortunate Thidias whipped.

Gallus

Friend to Caesar.

Taurus

Lieutenant general to Caesar.

Menas

One of Pompey's men. When Pompey entertains the triumvirate as guests aboard his barge, Menas asks if he should murder the three men and make Pompey the world's master.

Menecrates

Friend to Pompey.

Varrius

Friend to Pompey.

Alexas

Attendant on Cleopatra.

Mardian

Attendant on Cleopatra. A eunuch. He brings Antony the false news that Cleopatra is dead.

Seleucus

Attendant on Cleopatra. Her spineless treasurer, who betrays her when she's down.

Diomedes

Attendant on Cleopatra. He brings Antony the news that the queen is still living.

A Soothsayer

He predicts many things, although some of his predictions are masked. He tells Charmian that she will outlive her mistress, which she does, but only by a few moments. He warns Antony that whenever Antony contests with Octavius, he will lose.

A Clown

Deliverer of the asp that kills Cleopatra.

Charmian

Attendant on Cleopatra. This devoted lady in waiting follows her mistress even unto death. Her memorable last words are taken directly from Plutarch.

Iras

Attendant on Cleopatra. Another lady-in-waiting. Saucy and high-spirited, she also proves loyal enough to join her mistress in suicide.