The Elizabethan Era
Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra during the early 1600s, at the end of the Elizabethan Era. This happened to be right before the Puritans came to power. Queen Elizabeth I ushered in a new era of wealth, prosperity, and knowledge during this time, taking the first steps in England’s rise to power as a global empire. Part of her contributions included her patronage of the arts and funding projects to enrich the culture of England.
Major World Players
During this time, the dominant power was Spain under the rule of King Philip II, who brought prosperity to his country through aggressive colonial expansion. Italy and France were also dominant powers due to their increasing unity among their domestic kingdoms. England itself was a comparatively smaller kingdom on an island with a handful of other kingdoms. It was rising in power due to its own colonization, which put it at odds with Spain, Portugal, and France as they all competed for territory in the New World. There are five different things that contribute to a nation’s power: culture, religion, wealth, military, scientific advancement, and diplomatic influence. These qualities are fluid and the dominant nation in each “category” can fluctuate. Spain had the wealth, military, and religious power, but after a catastrophic failure against the English navy, the Spanish Armada was nearly obliterated. This saw England become the largest naval power in the region, which is extremely important as colonization was overseas and England is on an island. This not only ensured their survival but also allowed them to outclass their fellow colonizers.
At this time, the rulers of Western Europe were in a close colonial race to see who would pull ahead as the dominant power in Europe. Now that Elizabeth secured the isles as the dominant naval power, England pulled ahead and claimed the titles of most powerful military and economy in Europe. She also provided extensive funding for the arts, such as theater, which helped develop a distinct English culture, providing an identity for her people. She defied the city fathers who had banned theater in London and aided in the development of permanent theaters and theater companies on the other side of the River Thames, just outside city limits. She single-handedly grabbed power from Spain and started to develop England's culture. This resulted in a shift in power from Spain to England.
Gender Roles in England
There was already an immense amount of pressure from the Puritans and London city fathers against theater, so it is not surprising that the plays allowed did not feature female actors. Queen Elizabeth funded the arts as much as she could but was evidently unable to ensure equality on stage. Instead of women, men would crossdress as the female parts. This led to the development of negative stereotypes as the men acting would confine women to boxes, stopping the character development at a certain point and not exploring deeper. While Shakespeare chipped away at this mold by providing larger roles for female characters and developing them more, it did little to help the issue. All of his female characters were based on the foundation of sex or the lack of it. Cleopatra is written like a succubus, stealing the hearts of many men and polluting Marc Antony’s mind with lust. While this adds an extra dimension to the female characters, it did so in a bad way. Cleopatra was a brilliant and cunning woman, not even being attractive by societal beauty standards. The cultural impact of gender roles on stage is evident within the play, by analyzing Octavia or Cleopatra. They boil down to stereotypes founded on sex, rather than exploring the people who were the emperor’s sister and the final pharaoh of Egpyt.
The Rise of an Empire
At this time, Shakespeare was writing his play. The western powers jockeyed for power in a race to construct the greatest empire. It is not surprising that he published this play during this time, the story of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. A competition between Marc Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian, metaphors for Spain, France, and England respectively. From the great naval battle between Octavian and Marc Antony to the frailest but most intelligent of the triumvirate becoming emperor, this story is the story of the English and their rise to global power.