Man's Earliest Form of Intoxication: Women

Man's Earliest Form of Intoxication: Women

Antony in Act 1 is in a spot where every guy has been, blinded by a foggy mixture of love and lust. Those on the outside looking in can see that Antony has started to lose his grip, his common sense, his identity even. He sees this early on in the play when he learns of the death of his wife Fulvia.

I must from this enchanting queen break off:

Ten thousand harms, more than the ills I know,

My idleness doth hatch (1.2.127-29)

The idea of a man losing a part of himself to a woman has been present in human culture for as far back as mythology can take us. In the epic of Gilgamesh for instance, one of the oldest surviving myths, Enkidu loses his wild, untamed nature after he makes love to the prostitute in the woods. After that he is no longer accepted by the creatures of the forest and must accompany the woman back to Babylon.

In Pop Culture today it is easiest to spot this concept in music, notably rap music. Due to technological ignorance, I've shared the song Got to Go by the artist Mac Dre in the following blog. In a snailshell, Mac Dre spits hot fire about the dangers of allowing women to cause men to "grow comfortable" in a sense. Please be aware, the song is crude, crass, and hardly academic. The specific lyrics I have in mind occur at 1 minute, 53 seconds through 2 minutes. If you decide to skip listening to this song the lyrics go like this:

Baby I got to go

Can't f*** (make love) no more

I gots to get my dough

Hella money in the streets and I want it.

Though the creative outlet is different, the concept that women somehow take something away from men is the same. There seems to be the conviction that a man cannot maintain his course of responsibility he gives into his carnal desires, thus neglecting his duties.

If using this concept as a lens through which to interpret the play, Antony and Cleopatra can be perceived as an eternal lesson to warn against what might happen to any man who chooses to follow a similar path. Marc Antony, who is one of the great heroes of Roman history, meets an end seemingly unworthy of his noble life. The pinnacle of Antony's effemination/loss of identity occurs in Act 3, where news of how he abandoned his troops in the midst of battle to chase after the fleeing Cleopatra reaches his captain Enobarbus.

She once being luffed,

the noble ruin of her magic, Antony,

Claps on his sea wing, and, like a doting mallard,

leaving the fight in height, flies after her.

I never saw an action of such shame;

Experience, manhood, honor, ne'er before

Did violate so itself. (3.10.19-24)

Ultimately, in the only way to conclude the story with any sort of Shakespearean balance, Antony kills himself, thereby retaining whatever honor he had left and freeing himself of the intoxicating Cleopatra. Ironically, Antony killed himself asa way to rejoin Cleopatra, but in so doing he unknowingly leaves her behind.

Within the play Cleopatra/Egypt represent Antony's addiction. There is no such thing as a man without faults, and this always seems most apparent among those who have accomplished great things. Antony's weakness for his plush life in Egypt and the seductive Cleopatra leads him to his demise, but the question of whether he did the right this is still unclear. Logical perception of the events tell us Antony clearly made a fatal mistake by allowing himself to become so captivated with Cleopatra, but Shakespeare leaves the audience with a sense of admiration from Antony's final minutes. His passion for that hing he loved most ultimately hilled him, but it seems Shakespeare poses the question, "Would death be such a high price to pay in exchange for a life with that thing one loves most, no matter that thing's nature?"

A chat. With Bill and I.

College. What is this place? A gathering where hoodrats, jocks, cowboys, creeps, naughty girls, nice girls, and the in-betweens mingle? Are we here to further our education, better ourselves for the purpose of... Damnit. My cat is now sitting in my lap, purring obnoxiously in order to get me to scratch the point of sweet ecstasy located below her jaw. Cats. They think it's all about them.

As of 2:00 February 24th I had gone since September of 2007 without failing a college exam. As of 3:30 February 24th my winning streak was over. Now I pose the question, what would Shakespeare do (WWSD)? Would he admonish me for not taking Dr. Sexson's exam seriously enough by studying at 3:00 in the A.M. prior and assuming an adequate amount of effort had been put forth? Would he tell me to buckle down or would he tell me to loosen up?

If I were to ask Bill the question, "what does it all mean?" I wonder how he would respond. I imagine he would tell me it all has something to do with loooovee. This is true, I italicized and goooglied the word love because I find it amusing. I assume Bill would tell me love is the centerpiece to a life well-lived because he seems to have invented the word and made it the focal point of every one of his plays.

"But what about the individual Bill? Are we not enough as separate beings in order to live fulfilling lives?" I would ask.

"Ahhh, but you are correct young grasshopper. It is the individual, such as myself, that shapes history. But without love, sex, and reproduction, who would be here to look back on history and sigh?"

Our philosophical conversation would progress, then digress, and then ultimately he would concluded with the following statement.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

His final words would echo. "Last scene of all, that ends this strange eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything..." For those who have been exposed to the French language, the word "sans" means 'without'. "Mere oblivion, without teeth, without eyes, without taste, without everything." This image of nothingness is both haunting and chilling. I would voice this thought to Bill.

"Hey, those words are beautiful but now I'm feeling both at peace and disturbed. Please delve deeper into your meaning."

"Don't sweat the small stuff Fletch, thy stage has been set and thy fate sealed."

"Ahhhh."

Random Morsels of Information About Bill

I have no deep thoughts for this first blog. Instead I offer random facts about Shakespeare,

• Shakespeare invented the word "assassination"
• The name Shakespeare derives from "Shaker of Spears" indicating a warrior ancestry
• Shakespeare is said to have immensely enjoyed playing the part of the ghost in "Hamlet"
• Shakespeare's first child was born 6 months after his marriage... playaaa
• Sir William Davanant (1606 - 1668), godson of Shakespeare and poet laureate of England, claimed to be Shakespeare's illegitimate son
• In his will, Shakespeare left his wife his second best bed, creating the question, who inherited his very best bed?
• Shakespeare's cause of death is unknown but John Ward, a clergyman and self-proclaimed cousin of Shakespeare recorded "Shakespear, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting, and itt seems drank too hard, for it seems Shakespear died of a feavour there contracted" He was buried two days after this 'merry meeting'.
• Shakespeare is the originator of countless well known phrases including one fell swoop, vanish into thin air, play fast and loose, be in a pickle, foul play, tower of strength, flesh and blood, be cruel to be kind, and with bated breath.
• Shakespeare spelled his name a number of different ways including Willm Shaksp, William Shakesp, Wm Shaksp, William Shakspere, and Willm Shakspere... But never did he spell it William Shakespeare.