Antony and Cleopatra; Gorgon or Mars, Whore or Goddess, According to Directly Claimed Evidence or Indirect Assertion

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra is interpreted by Ted Hughes in Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being as tragedy and theophany, its two faulty characters rising above frail humanity to partake of divinity. While evaluating these oxymoronic views of the two protagonists as presented by Shakespeare, I wish to assess which of their strengths and weaknesses are reported of these characters by repute, directly claimed, or indirectly asserted. I thereby hope to understand the plethora of qualities of the two presented as both faulty humans, while also partaking of divinity. This paper treads a path through direct speech and indirections to illustrate a complex and ultimately positive direct reflection of these two tragic immortals.