Let's make it all for One, and all for Love!

Bryan Adams anybody? K, sorry that was cheesy.

The great thing about this play was its simplicity, as a whole or unit. It indeed used the unities that Dryden dissuaded writers to indulge in. He recognized this hypocritical stance himself in the preface even. Nevertheless, as a reader I found that it worked. I was able to enjoy the dramatic aspect from the interactions between characters, without all the distractions of identifying time, place, and action.

Dryden conveyed the love between Antony and Cleopatra in a very dramatic way, perhaps in accordance to Shakespeare. After all, " All for Love " was written after the Shakespearian account of this historical play. This was very advantageous as Dryden could clean up any of his predecessors mistakes. It is interesting that by following Shakespeare, Dryden puts into action, a piece of argument that he makes in " The Essay ". The argument about how the contemporaries were merely imitating the ancient Greek poets, and because this is the case, they were merely reinventing something already done. Dryden does just that, he merely imitates a play done by Shakespeare.

In terms of the story, and the writing within, it was interesting to note the amount of times either Antony, or Cleopatra used the words 'death' or 'ruins'. Both words were key symbols that foreshadowed their untimely deaths. The portrayal of Antony and Cleopatra, is one of much debate, and It is interesting to see how perplexing the nature of love can be. I enjoyed how static characters such as Alexas and Ventidious found Antony and Cleopatra so foolish, and irrational in thought and action. The character of Octavia was one of amusement as well. She was such a strong character, as her unwillingness to be subordinated by Antony unveiled some of his flaws. She was able to portray herself as the innocent victim, augmented by the pride she had still, for being the wife of an adulterer (Antony). There is a real divide between duty and love; in the end duty is seen as being more practical than love. Antony and Cleopatra are seen as the two characters amiss, and love becomes their ultimate demise.

Ciao