A&C: AO3 (Social)

'Antony and Cleopatra' Is a theatrical expression of the ambitions of James I

• Both Caesar and James I became absolute rulers.

• James expressed his strong belief in the supreme power of the king in The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598) and insisted on the divine right of kings in his opening address to Parliament.

• The final triumph of Caesar is a theatrical expression of the ambitions of James as it united the Roman Empire under a single leader, just as James fulfilled his ambitions to join England, Scotland and Ireland into Great Britain.

  • [Antony] (1.3.47) 'Equality of two domestic powers/Breed scrupulous faction'

  • This could reflect James; thoughts on unification or be interpreted as a reference to relations with Spain, which had deteriorated after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605

religion in the Jacobean era

England in the Jacobean era was mainly divided into two main religions; Catholic and Protestant. King James was a Protestant which upset many Catholics at the time. This led to conflict and violence between people and was the cause of many deaths in the Jacobean era.

With James adhering to the Protestant faith strongly, the Jacobean era became a time of renewed religious fervour in England. Puritanism flourished in this new time, and many Puritans had hopes for James to purify the Church of England by extinguishing all its Catholic roots.

• Religion was extremely serious during this time, all of Europe was divided in the clash between the Protestant and Catholic branches of Christianity.

  • At the time England was a Protestant nation and anti-Catholic measures were fiercely enforced across England.

  • Some Catholics even plotted to kill him as the intended victim of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. This event didn't encourage him to become more lenient of Catholics.

• Religious conflict in Jacobean England was nearly omnipresent. People feared Catholics, even reporting their neighbours for non-protestant behaviour and lived in near paranoia

• This meant Puritanism reached new level of popularity and was often defined by the insistence that the Anglican Church needed to be purified of Catholic influences.

• In this culture of suspicion, fervour, paranoia, and a willingness to eliminate opposition by any means necessary Catholics weren't the only threat, the devil was also an adversary.

witchcraft in the Jacobean era

• European cultures have had some quite defined ideas about witchcraft, many were cemented during the reign of James I (1603-1625).

• There was an absolute fascination with witches and black magic in the Jacobean era. It was in this time that the accusations of demonic possession and magic in English society led to dozens of trials, arrests, and even executions.

 

• James I came into power already a staunch believer in witchcraft and its demonic influence. He wrote a book on it called 'Daemonologie'. He and Parliament passed new laws to persecute and punish witches, who were seen as agents of the Devil and fomenters of chaos in English society.

• This battle against witches marginalised many women, however it also provided new routes of power for others, particularly those ascribed with beneficial powers in rural villages

Elizabeth I’s success as a ruler

•  a long and politically stable reign (demonstrating the effectiveness of female rule). It's possible that her success as a ruler inspired other women to demand more freedom, particularly within their marriages - from 1595-1620 there was a sharp increase in the number of disputes and separations between aristocratic wives and their husbands.

• However, the rise in women's dissatisfaction with the constraints of marriage also gave rose to the trope of the 'shrew' (an aggressively assertive woman who speaks her mind) which then reinvigorated the idea that husband's need to discipline their wives, renewing patriarchal norms.

staging + music

• Records of 1669 'formerly acted at the Blackfriars'

  • A hall used for indoor performances, smaller and more intimate than the outdoor playhouses and used indoor lighting for audience and stage alike.

  • Most likely the play was also performed in the Globe playhouse, in daylight on the simple thrust stage. The lack of scenery was a help rather than a hindrance in keeping the focus on the players and the language, allowing the fast-paced, fluid action necessary to the success of the play

• Music (indolent (lazy) for Cleo's leisured scenes, and martial for more Roman excursions), flowing robes and cloaks (to suggest a classical style of costume) and a few props were all that were required.

• The balcony above the rear of the stage supplied Cleo's monument for the women to haul up the dying Antony

• The area underneath the stage concealed the musicians playing the mysterious music of the 'hautboyes' (an early version of the melancholy oboe) to mark the departure of Hercules from Antony.

• Shakespeare wrote his plays with the strengths and talents of his fellow players in mind and he was clearly fortunate in having a gifted boy in the company to whom he could entrust the role of Cleopatra, a heroine who survives the hero by a whole act