Opposites attract in Antony and Cleopatra Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare is a play centered on a pair of historical lovers from two distinct cultures, Mark Antony from Rome and Queen Cleopatra from Egypt. The Roman and Egyptian cultures have very different social norms and ideas that are almost completely opposite in nature. These conflicting opinions are instrumental in how Cleopatra and Antony act. These two characters are so great in their respective societies that they serve as role models to look up to, even if Antony may not be the perfect vision of what a Roman should be. It is also important to consider not only what these two characters think of their cultures, but also what cultural outsiders think. Through it all, it will be shown how these primarily opposing cultures can work together and bring together two of the most important lovers in all of Shakespeare, if not all of recorded Western history. Cleopatra and Antony cannot be seen as ordinary human beings. beings. They are never described in the same way Shakespeare would describe the others in this play. “Each is truly all but all in himself and herself, and knows it, and neither fears that he is truly nothing in himself, or nothing without the other” (Bloom, Modern Critical Interpretations 1). These two are magnificent, powerful characters, in great roles, both in this play and in the story. Antony, as one of the triumvirs, is much more than a single Roman soldier. It is one of the three that hold the entire known world in a powerful and authoritative grip. Antony, recognizes the strength and greatness of his and Cleopatra's personality when he sends a message...... middle of paper ......rs, 1988. 109-35.Barton, Anne. “'The Nature Piece 'Gainst Fancy': The Catastrophe Divided into Antony and Cleopatra.” Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. 35-55.Bloom, Harold, ed. Introduction. Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.---. Shakespeare: The invention of the human. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.Kittredge, George Lyman. Introduction. Antony and Cleopatra. By William Shakespeare. Waltham, MA: Blaisdell Publishing Company, 1966. Markels, Julian. The Pillar of the World: Antony and Cleopatra in the Development of Shakespeare. Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1968. Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. Giovanni Wilders. London: Routledge, 1995.