Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare)

In my quest to read all of Shakespeare's plays, I have reached the half-way point with Antony and Cleopatra. I've now read 19 of the generally acknowledged 38 plays. 

I'm not sure what I make of this play. It's technically a history play, I guess, though it has elements of tragedy. In some ways it's even a love story, so some might argue that it's a comedy of sorts. But I found the love story unsatisfactory.

Maybe a major aspect of my problem with the play is I have a hard time with the title characters - neither of whom I find likable, and nether of whom seems to rise to the level of tragic hero. Yes, tragic heroes have flaws, but they have a nobility that makes them attractive in some way. We care about them despite their flaws. I found neither Antony or Cleopatra attractive. Antony is chronically unfaithful, to his wives, to Cleopatra, to his fellow triumvirs, to Rome. He even makes a mess of his suicide. And Cleopatra is so petulant, so manipulative. She seems to love Antony, but given her past, it's hard to believe it. And her death is motivated more by her pride than love of him.

But it is Shakespeare, it is a play I've been meaning to read, and it even gave me a lovely quotation to share in a note to my wife: "Age cannot wither her nor custom stale her infinite variety."

I'm now at midpoint in my quest to read all the plays. And I've now read 4 plays this year, well on my way to my goal of 12 for the year..

Next up: Much Ado About Nothing.  

Here's the tally so far:

Antony and Cleopatra

The Life and Death of King John

Twelfth Night

The Tragedy of Richard II

As You Like It

Richard III
The Taming of the Shrew
Romeo and Juliet
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Merchant of Venice
Henry IV Part I
Henry V
Julius Caesar
Hamlet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
The Winter’s Tale

The Tempest.  

Pax et bonum