Antony and Cleopatra

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   hosni Student
   College - Senior

   One of the reasons is a rebellion agaisnt the Aristotelian unities (unity of time, place and action) During the renaissance, Classicism flourished and drama was mainly shaped after the Greek model. By multiplying scenes hence locations, Shakespeare openly defies the great master of drama and his poetics. Thus, we see in Antony and Cleopatra a rapid transition from Egypt to Rome. Such thing is absolutly dismissed by classicists since it tresspasses the unity of place but Shakespeare did it. Hence, he participated in liberating drama from a classical shackle.

   And it is not the only play where Shakespeare defied tradition. He did the same in Hamlet by deconstructing the very nature of action. It is not a uniform straightforward action as in the Greek tragedies ("every action is an arrow pointing at another action") but its fulfilment is postponed for 5 acts and nothing seems to happen.

   He defied also tradition in As You Like It. In that comedy, the bard attacked the pastoral tradition via Jacques, a melancholic character, and by portraying pastoral life as bitter. 

   You can find the contrary procedure with some modern playwrights. Miller, for instance, respected the unities in All My Sons or A View from The Bridge. But no matter who does it, it is always done to criticize what that tradition stood or stands for.

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   Posted by hosni on Tuesday August 26, 2008 at 12:24 PM
   
   

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