Finished: Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare) Triple-turn'd whore! Out of all the lovely passages that Shakespeare poured into the work, I think that simple line by Antony explains the play pretty succinctly, hee hee. Seriously, though, what did Antony think was going to happen when he fell for the Egyptian ruler who had already had a son by Julius Caesar (by this time deceased)? Antony was so smitten with Cleopatra that he let his heart literally rule his head, causing him to basically hand over his third of the conquered Roman world to the other two members of the ruling triumvirate, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus. Rather perturbed with Antony for running off to play in Egypt while they defended their hold on the world, Octavius and Lepidus call Antony back to Rome to help them in the battle that Sextus Pompey has just declared on them. To appease Octavius and further cement their bond, Antony marries Octavius' sister....wait for it...Octavia. When the triumvirate rides off to meet with Sextus Pompey, they actually come to terms and avoid a battle. However, the minute that Antony heads back to Egypt and Cleopatra, Octavius and Lepidus go back on their word and have a war with Sextus Pompey. Furious, Antony doesn't want anything to do with the war...but he does expect the spoils to be divided into the rightful thirds. Octavius agrees to this, but refuses to release Lepidus, who he had imprisoned during the battle. This prompts Octavius and Antony to finally go to war with each other. Antony, whose prowess is fighting on land, stupidly agrees to a sea battle when Octavius tweaks his pride and implies he is afraid of a sea battle. When Cleopatra promises her ships to back him, Antony heads off to his sea battle with more confidence. When Cleopatra commands her ships to turn tail and run as the battle proves too difficult, Antony hits the lowest point of his life for the great, renowned warrior...he turns tail and follows Cleopatra home, leaving his own ships to fend for themselves. Frankly, I don't think Antony ever recovers from this shame, and Shakespeare's way of describing Antony at this point is heart wrenching. (Not that I felt sorry for him.) Antony eventually pulls up his boot straps and vows to fight Octavius again, this time on land...but when it starts to become clear that he's going to lose the battle, he begins to feel that Cleopatra has betrayed him (triple-turn'd whore!) and is casting her from his life when she gets word of this and has her maidens go and tell Antony that she has killed herself. She hopes this will bring Antony around to her where she can say...just kidding...and they will fall into each other's arms. Instead, the despondent Antony, after failing to get his loyal servant to run him through with a sword, runs himself through. When he gets word that Cleopatra isn't really dead, he has himself taken to her where she moans and laments as Antony dies. Knowing that Octavius will take Egypt from her and drag her through the streets of Rome as a triumph of his war (even though he swears he won't), Cleopatra gets her hands on the poisonous asps and kills herself. Dang it, says Octavius, because he HAD fully intended to drag her through the streets. Instead, he orders Antony and Cleopatra buried side by side in magnificent tombs. Then, apparently in real life he DID drag their young children in chains through the streets of Rome and according to some history books, gave them to his sister Octavia to raise. Also, Octavius went on to become the first Emporer of the Roman Empire aka Augustus. As usual, a fascinating piece of work by Wm. Shakespeare. :-) Glad I finally read this one!