title: Batangas

text: Throughout the battle, recognized Filipino guerrilla fighters played an important key role in the advancement of the combined American and Philippine Commonwealth troops, providing key roads and intelligence on the location of Japanese defenses and movements. The 11th Airborne and attached Filipino guerrillas had 390 casualties, of which 90 were killed. The Japanese, however, lost 1,490 men. By the end of April 1945, Batangas was liberated and fully secured under Allied control, thus ending all hostilities.


title: Batangas

text: The movements of the military general headquarters and military camps of the Philippine Commonwealth Army happened from January 3, 1942, to June 30, 1946, and included the province of Batangas. During the engagements of the Anti-Japanese Imperial Military Operations in Manila, southern Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan from 1942 to 1945, (including the provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Mindoro, and Palawan), units of the Philippine Constabulary, with the local guerrilla resistance joined with the U.S. liberation military forces against the Imperial Japanese armed forces.


title: Batangas

text: Under the Southern Luzon Campaign, local Filipino soldiers of the 4th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, and 46th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary joined the battle for the liberation of Batangas.


title: Batangas

text: After Douglas MacArthur made his famous landing in the Island of Leyte, he came next to the town of Nasugbu to mark the liberation of Luzon. This historic landing is remembered by the people of Batangas every last day of January, a holiday for the Nasugbugueños.


title: Batangas

text: After the United States of America relinquished control of the Philippines, statesmen from Batangas featured prominently in the government. These include the legislators Felipe Agoncillo, Galicano Apacible (who later became the Secretary of Agriculture), Ramon Diokno, Apolinario R. Apacible, Expedito Leviste, Gregorio Katigbak, Teodoro Kalaw, Claro M. Recto, and José Laurel, Jr.


title: Batangas

text: It is also notable that when President Manuel L. Quezon left the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese government in the Philippines chose the Batangueño José Laurel, Sr. as the "de jure" President of the Puppet Republic.


title: Batangas

text: Batangueños were not spared the social and economic turmoil that began during the second term of President Ferdinand Marcos, including his 1971 suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, his 1972 declaration of martial law, and his continued hold on power from the lifting of martial law in 1981 until his ouster under the People Power Revolution of 1986.


title: Batangas

text: Prominent Batangueño Senator Jose W. Diokno was one of the first people Marcos imprisoned without charges, because according to then-Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, the regime found it necessary to "emasculate the voices of the opposition."


title: Batangas

text: In 1981, Marcos used his Presidential “power of eminent domain” to convert 167 hectares of agricultural lands in San Rafael, Calaca, for industrial use, paving the way for the construction of the Semirara Calaca power plant regardless of its health and environmental impact.


title: Batangas

text: Among the later victims of the regime were student leaders Ismael Umali, Noel Clarete, and Aurelio Magpantay from Western Philippine Colleges in Batangas City, who disappeared after a protest rally in March 1984, and whose mangled bodies were later discovered abandoned in nearby Cavite province.


title: Batangas

text: After the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos and the creation of the Fifth Philippine Republic, numerous Batanguenos took up prominent positions in government - most prominently Salvador Laurel, who became Vice President of the Philippines under the first Aquino administration, and Renato Corona, who became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas is a combination of plains and mountains, including one of the world's smallest volcanoes, Mt. Taal, with an elevation of , located in the middle of the Taal Lake. Other important peaks are Mount Macolod with an elevation of , Mt. Banoy with , Mt. Talamitam with , Mt. Pico de Loro with , Mt. Batulao with , Mt. Manabo with , and Mt. Daguldol with .


title: Batangas

text: Batangas has several islands, including Tingloy, Verde Island ("Isla Verde"), and Fortune Island of Nasugbu.


title: Batangas

text: According to Guinness World Records, the "largest island in a lake on an island" is situated in Batangas (particularly at Vulcan Point in Crater Lake, which rests in the middle of Taal Island in Lake Taal, on the island of Luzon).


title: Batangas

text: Batangas falls under two climates: the tropical savanna climate ("As"/"Aw") and the bordering tropical monsoon climate ("Am"), under the Köppen climate classification. Most of the province belongs to the tropical savanna climate, with well-defined dry and wet seasons. Parts of Batangas lying to the east have unpronounced dry and wet seasons, influenced by the monsoon. Batangas City, the provincial capital, belongs to the tropical savanna climate, but is strongly influenced by the bordering monsoon climate, characterized by short dry seasons and longer wet seasons. Typhoons are a periodic occurrence especially during the southwest monsoon ("habagat").


title: Batangas

text: Tagalogs are the predominant people in Batangas, being the native settlers in the province, distantly followed by Bicolanos, Visayans, Kapampangans, Pangasinans and Ilocanos.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas also has one of the highest literacy rates in the country at 96.5%, with males having a slightly higher literacy rate at 97.1% than females with 95.9%. Combined average literacy rate is 96%.


title: Batangas

text: The dialect of Tagalog spoken in the province closely resembles the Old Tagalog spoken before the arrival of the Spanish. Hence, the Summer Institute of Linguistics called this province the heartland of the Tagalog language. A strong presence of the Tagalog culture is visible up to the present day. Many educated Batangueños speak a version of Tagalog from the Spanish colonial era but with English terms, as in modern Filipino or standard Tagalog, because of mass media and modern versions of the Tagalog Bible.


title: Batangas

text: Linguistically, Batangueños are also known for their unique affectation of often placing the particles "eh" or "ga" (equivalent to the particle "ba" in Filipino), usually as a marker of stress on the sentence, at the end of their spoken sentences or speech; for example: "Ay, oo nga, eh!" ("Aye, yes, indeed!"). Some even prolong the particle 'eh' into 'ala eh', though this has no meaning in itself.


title: Batangas

text: English is widely understood in the province. Spanish is also understood to some extent, especially by older-generation people in the towns of Nasugbu, Taal, and Lemery, which still have Spanish-speaking minorities. Bicolano, Kapampangan, Ilocano, and Visayan are also spoken by a minority due to the influx of migrants from the Bicol Region, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Central Philippines.


title: Batangas

text: The majority of Batangas' population are religiously affiliated with Roman Catholicism, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Iglesia ni Cristo, and evangelicalism. Other major religions include Islam, Buddhism, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide, Protestantism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


title: Batangas

text: The province of Batangas was billed as the second richest province in the Philippines by the Commission on Audit by year 2020. It has been the second richest province in the country for two consecutive years. In 2020, its provincial government posted a record high of ₱25.2 billion worth of assets, the largest in Calabarzon and the whole Luzon.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas is known for its butterfly knives, locally known as "balisong", with its manufacture also becoming an industry in the province.


title: Batangas

text: Pineapples are also common in Batangas. Aside from the fruit, the leaves are also useful such that an industry has been created from it. In the municipality of Taal, pineapple leaves are processed to form a kind of cloth known as "jusi" (pronounced 'hu-si), from which the "Barong Tagalog", the national costume of the Philippines is made.


title: Batangas

text: Livestock as an industry is also thriving in Batangas. Cattle from Batangas are widely sought throughout the country. The term "bakang Batangas" (literally "Batangas cow") is associated with the country's best species of cattle. Cattle raising is widely practiced in Batangas such that every Saturday is an auction day in the municipalities of San Juan, Bauan and Padre Garcia.


title: Batangas

text: Fishing plays a very important part of the economy of the province. Although the tuna industry in the country is centered in General Santos, Batangas is also known for the smaller species of the said fish. The locals even have their own names for it. Some of them are bigeye tuna ("tambakol"), yellowfin tuna ("berberabe"), "tambakulis", Pacific bluefin tuna ("tulingan"), bullet tuna ("bonito") and another species also called "bonito" but actually Gymnosarda unicolor. There is also an important industry for the wahoo ("tanigi").


title: Batangas

text: Aside from the South China Sea, Taal Lake also provides a source of freshwater fishes to the country. The lake is home to "Sardinella tawilis" or simply "tawilis", a species of freshwater sardine that is endemic to the lake. Taal Lake also provides farmed "Chanos chanos" or "bangus". There is also a good volume of "Oreochromis niloticus niloticus" and "Oreochromis aureus", both locally called "tilapia". It is ecologically important to note that neither "bangus" nor "tilapia" are native to the lake. Thus they are considered an invasive species to the lake.


title: Batangas

text: Sugar is also a major industry. After Hacienda Luisita, the country's former largest sugar producer, was broken-up for land reform, the municipality of Nasugbu has been the home of the current largest sugar producing company, the Central Azucarera de Don Pedro. Rice cakes and sweets are also a strong industry.


title: Batangas

text: Some towns (those adjacent to Laguna) have a prosperous bamboo based industry, where several houses and furniture are made of bamboo. Natives say that food cooked in bamboo has an added scent and flavor. "Labong", or bamboo shoots, is cooked with coconut milk or with other ingredients to make a Batangas delicacy.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas houses 5 industrial parks registered under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), which are concentrated along the route of STAR Tollway and Jose P. Laurel Highway. The largest of those industrial parks are LIMA Technology Center, a commercial and industrial zone oriented to tech companies at Lipa and Malvar, and the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP), with over at Santo Tomas and Tanauan, and Light Industry and Science Park IV (LISP IV), a live-work community with 170-hectare industrial area located at the heart of Malvar, Batangas.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas City and the nearby municipalities of San Pascual, Bauan, and Mabini also have large-scale industrial activity connected with their seaside location, including power generation, oil and gas processing and transhipment, and ship repairs.


title: Batangas

text: With the provinces in the island of Panay, Ilocos Sur and Pampanga, Batangas was one of the earliest provinces established by the Spaniards who settled in the country. It was headed by Martin de Goiti and since then has become one of the most important regions of the Philippines. Batangas first came to be known as "Bonbon". It was named after Taal Lake, which was also originally called Bonbon. Some of the earliest settlements in Batangas were established in the vicinity of Taal Lake. In 1534, Batangas became the first practically organized province in Luzon. Balayan was the capital of the province for 135 years from 1597 to 1732. In 1732, it was moved to Taal, then the flourishing and most progressive town in the province, it wasn't until 1754 that the capital was destroyed by the Great Taal Eruption of 1754. It was in 1889 that the capital was moved to the present, Batangas City.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas has been called by some Philippine historians as the "Cradle of Noble Heroes", citing the notable number of people from it who were declared Philippine national heroes and those who became leaders of the country. Among them are Teodoro M. Kalaw, Apolinario Mabini, Jose Laurel, and Felipe Agoncillo.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas has a total of of national roads, mostly paved. The Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway, officially numbered E2), Maharlika Highway (N1 and AH26) and Jose P. Laurel Highway (N4) forms the highway backbone of the province, and a network of secondary and tertiary national roads links most of the municipalities. The provincial government maintains a network of provincial roads to supplement the national roads and connect municipalities and barangays not connected directly to the main highway network.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas Laguna Tayabas Bus Company Incorporated (BLTBCo.) is one of the oldest bus transport companies in the Philippines has routes within Southern Tagalog region. The company has historical roots in Batangas and has been founded in 1918. At present, the routes have been incorporated with Del Monte Land Transport Bus Company (DLTBCo).


title: Batangas

text: The Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas (CTBEX) is a proposed expressway from the municipality of Silang, Cavite up to the town of Nasugbu. CTBEX is to connect with the Cavite–Laguna Expressway (CALAEX). Once opened, this will provide motorists a faster route to the resort towns of Nasugbu, Lian and Calatagan in the western part of the province.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas Port in Batangas City is the principal port for ferry access to Mindoro, Tablas, Romblon, and other islands. Montenegro Lines is the largest of a number of passenger shipping companies operating out of Batangas. Condensate tankers offload at Batangas in sizeable quantity. Batangas Port is expanded in 2008 to house facilities for container ships.


title: Batangas

text: Being an entry point to the rest of the archipelago, Batangas has roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ferry connections with Mindoro and Visayas. The western portion of the Nautical Highway starts at Batangas, and connects with Calapan, Oriental Mindoro. Batangas Port serves as another principal port, along with the Manila International Port for inter-island and international cargo shipping, as well as interisland passenger shipping.


title: Batangas

text: Electric power in Batangas is mostly distributed by electric cooperatives, namely the Batangas I Electric Cooperative (BATELEC-I) and Batangas II Electric Cooperative (BATELEC-II). The former serves the western part of Batangas, like Nasugbu, Calatagan, Balayan, Lemery, and Taal, while the latter serves the eastern part, like Lipa, Tanauan, Talisay, San Jose, and Rosario. The municipalities of Bauan and Ibaan, and LIMA Technology Center are served by local utility companies. Santo Tomas, the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Tanauan, San Pascual and Batangas City, however, are served by the Metro Manila-based electric company, Meralco. Some large industrial customers are supplied by the 69,000 volt grid, operated by National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), BATELEC-II, and Meralco.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas houses three power plants that provide the bulk of power used in Luzon. Power plants include the 600-megawatt (MW) Calaca Coal Fired Power Plant in Calaca, the 500 MW, 1000 MW, and 414 MW San Lorenzo-Santa Rita-San Gabriel Combined Cycle Power Plant, and the 1251 MW Ilijan Power Plant, both in Batangas City. The Calaca Power Plant is originally built with nameplate capacity of 600 MW, is being expanded to generate 1300 MW, with an addition of 2x350 MW (700 MW) capacity in a second power plant, constructed under an agreement between Semirara Mining and Meralco.


title: Batangas

text: Most power plants in Batangas, however, use fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, and are the subjects of environmental grievances because of their effects on ecosystems. One power plant to be built at Mabacong, Batangas City, is facing opposition from environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa, owing to its effect on residents and the aquatic ecosystem on Verde Island Passage.


title: Batangas

text: Maria Kalaw Katigbak, a Filipino historian, was quoted to call the Batangueños the "Hybrid-Tagalogs". One particular custom in the Batangas culture is the so-called "Matanda sa Dugo" (lit. "older by blood") practice wherein one expresses respect not because of age but because of consanguinity. During the early times, the custom of having very large families were very common. Thus, a particular person's uncle could be of the same age, or even younger than himself. Because of the custom, the older person would still address the younger one with an honorary title such as "tiyo"/"tio" or simply "kuya" if they can no longer establish the actual relationship or add the honorific "ho" / "po" in their sentences when addressing the younger instead of the other way around. This often draws confusion from the other provinces who are not accustomed to such practices. This practice exists until today.


title: Batangas

text: Batangueños are very "regionalistic". When one learns that another in the room is also from Batangas, the two would be together until the end of the event. In workplace settings, a Batangueno may also express preference for another Batangueno as long as the workplace regulations allow. Thus, the running joke on the "Batangas Mafia".


title: Batangas

text: They also tend to live in a large extended family. It has been observed that a piece of land remains undivided until the family connection becomes too difficult to establish actual blood relations. Marriages between relatives of the fifth generation is still restrained in the Batangan culture even if Philippine laws allow it.


title: Batangas

text: Batangueños have been known for their religious practices, where devotees of the Catholic religion perform rituals such as dances (subli) and chants (luwa/lua) to express their faith. One of these is the ritual called "Pasión"/"Pasyon" based on the passion of Jesus Christ in which religious chants are recited during the Lenten season. In May, the people of Bauan and Alitagtag celebrate the feast day of the "Mahal na Poon ng Santa Cruz" (lit. Lord of the Holy Cross), a ritual dance called the Subli is made to honor the Poon. In the town of Taal, they celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Caysasay and San Martin de Tours a two-day celebration where a procession begins from the shrine of the Virgin going towards the Pansipit River from which the fluvial procession and another procession towards the Basilica are made in honor of the Virgin Mary. Fiestas in other towns usually start in the month of May and last up to the first day of June, usually the plaza near the church becomes the center of activities.


title: Batangas

text: Scholars also identified that the ancient Batangueños, like the rest of the Tagalog tribe, worship the Supreme Creator, known as Bathala. Lesser gods like Mayari, the goddess of the moon and her honorary brother Apolake, god of the sun, were also present. Dambana practices are also present in the province.


title: Batangas

text: For literature, Padre Vicente Garcia came to be known when he wrote an essay to defend José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere.


title: Batangas

text: In 2004, the province of Batangas gave Domingo Landicho (familiarly called Inggo by Batangueños) who was born in the province the "Dangal ng Batangas" (Pride of Batangas) Award for being the "Peoples' Poet".


title: Batangas

text: Musicologists identified Batangas as the origin of the "kumintang", an ancient war song, which later evolved to become the signature of Filipino love songs the "kundiman". From the ancient kumintang, another vocal music emerged, identified as the "awit". The "huluna", a psalm-like lullaby, is also famous in some towns, especially Bauan.


title: Batangas

text: During the Lenten Season, the Christian passion-narrative, called "Pasyon" by the natives, is expected in every corners of the province. In fact according to scholars, the very first printed version of the pasyon was authored by a layman from Rosario named Gaspar Aquino de Belen. Although de Belen's version was printed in 1702, it is still debated whether there were earlier versions.


title: Batangas

text: Debates may also be done while singing. Batangueños are known for the "duplo" (a sung debate where each line of the verse must be octosyllabic) and the "karagatan" (a sung debate where each line of the verse must be dodecasyllabic.) The latter, whose literal meaning is "ocean", got its name from the opening lines. Always, the karagatan is opened by saying some verses that alludes the depth of the sea and comparing it to the difficulty of joining the debate. And as mentioned above, the debate must be sung.


title: Batangas

text: Batangas is also the origin of the "Balitao". Aside from being a form of vocal music, the Balitao is also a form of dance music. The Balitao, together with the "Subli" is the most famous form of dance native to Batangas.


title: Batangas

text: As shown in its ancient churches, Batangas is home to some of the best preserved colonial architectures in the country, especially evident in the municipality of Taal.


title: Batangas

text: Though not as popular as the carving industry of Laguna, Batangas is still known for the sculptures engraved in furniture. Sometimes, altar tables coming from Batangas were called the "friars' choice".


title: Batangas

text: According to Milagros Covarubias-Jamir, another Filipino scholar, the furniture that came from Batangas during the colonial times was comparable to equivalent quality furniture from China. The build of the furniture was so exquisite, nails of glues were never used. Still, the Batangueños knew how to maximize the use of hardwoods. As a result, furniture made about a hundred years ago are still found in many old churches and houses even today.


title: Batangas

text: The "malabayabas", or Philippine Teak, is endemic to Batangas. The province is also home to the "kabag" ("Haplonycteris fischeri"), one of the world's smallest fruit bats. In the municipality of Nasugbu, wild deer still inhabit the remote areas of barangay Looc, Papaya, Bulihan, and Dayap.


title: Batangas

text: In the second half of 2006, scientists from the United States discovered that the Sulu-Sulawesi Triangle has its centre at the Isla Verde Passage, a part of the province. According to the study made by the American Marine Biologist Dr. Kent Carpenter, Batangas' seas host more than half of the world's species of coral. It is also home to dolphins and once in a while, the passage of the world's biggest fish: the whale shark or the "butanding", as the locals call it may be observed. The municipality of San Juan has a resident marine turtle or "pawikan". Pawikans like the Olive Ridley sea turtle, leather back sea turtle, and green sea turtle can be seen in Nasugbu up to the present.


title: Yuji Okumoto

text: Okumoto, a third generation Japanese American ("Sansei"), was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He began karate at age 13, studying under various sensei. By the time of "The Karate Kid Part II", the 27-year-old Okumoto held a brown belt in Karate, and had learned basic skills in other martial arts, including Kung Fu and Judo. His Judo Instructor was Hayward Nishioka, his Chitō-ryū Karate Sensei was Yukinori Kugimiya, his Kajukenbo Instructor was Sensei Ron Takaragawa, and his Yau Kung Moon Sifu was Kevin Quock.


title: Yuji Okumoto

text: His performance in the play "Indians" led to being signed by an agent, and eventually a role on "The Young and the Restless". His first roles were in "The Check is in the Mail", "Real Genius", and "Better Off Dead". Perhaps his most well-known role is as Daniel's rival, Chozen Toguchi in the 1986 film, "The Karate Kid Part II". In 2005, he was Yukio Nakajo in Lane Nishikawa's film "Only the Brave" about the Japanese American segregated fighting unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II. This film also included two other "Karate Kid" stars, Tamlyn Tomita and Pat Morita. Other credits include his role as Shu Kai Kim, a character based on Chol Soo Lee, in the 1989 film "True Believer", Pete Kapahala in the 1999 Disney Channel original movie "Johnny Tsunami", Kaigun-Daii in "Pearl Harbor", and Bruce Takedo in the television series, "Bones". He is a producer for the 2020 independent film "The Paper Tigers", in which he has a small role as well.


title: Yuji Okumoto

text: In 2021, Okumoto reprised his "Karate Kid II" role as Chozen Toguchi, who, beginning with Season 3 of "Cobra Kai", is now a friend and ally of Daniel.


title: Yuji Okumoto

text: Okumoto lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife Angela and their three daughters. They own and run a Hawaiian-themed restaurant, Kona Kitchen/Yuji’s Bar & Lounge.


title: Bill Hwang

text: Sung Kook Hwang (Korean: 황성국), better known as Bill Hwang, is an American investor and trader. "The Wall Street Journal" reported that Hwang lost US$20billion over 10 days in late March 2021, imposing large losses on his bankers Nomura and Credit Suisse. On April 27, 2022, he was indicted on federal charges of fraud and racketeering in the same matter.


title: Bill Hwang

text: Hwang earned an economics degree from UCLA, and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.


title: Bill Hwang

text: Hwang began his career at Hyundai Securities in New York, after which he worked at the now defunct Peregrine Investments Holdings. At Peregrine, he met Julian Robertson as one of his clients. Hwang went to work for Robertson's Tiger Management. Robertson closed his hedge fund in 2000 but handed Hwang about $25 million to launch his own fund, Tiger Asia Management, which grew to over $5 billion at its peak. Robertson’s former protégés are known as the Tiger Cubs, and Hwang was considered one of the most successful among them. Tiger Asia suffered heavy losses in the Great Recession.


title: Bill Hwang

text: In 2012, Tiger Asia Management and Hwang paid a $44 million settlement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to insider trading.


title: Bill Hwang

text: He is the co-founder of the Grace and Mercy Foundation, a charitable organization. In 2018, the foundation had more than US$500 million in assets. Hwang's offices are located in Manhattan.


title: Bill Hwang

text: In 2012, Hwang closed Tiger Asia Management, and opened a family office, Archegos Capital Management, which managed US$10 billion of family money. As a family office, they were less regulated than as a hedge fund.


title: Bill Hwang

text: In March 2021, the losses at Archegos Capital Management triggered the default and liquidation of positions approaching $30 billion in value, leading to substantial losses to Nomura and Credit Suisse, as well as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley The firm had large positions in ViacomCBS, Baidu, Vipshop, Farfetch, and others.


title: Bill Hwang

text: Credit Suisse exited its prime brokerage business as a result of losing $5.5 billion. Archegos had a 20% share of Texas Capital Bancshares Inc., and their share increased 93% but plunged after Archegos' collapse.


title: Bill Hwang

text: On April 27, 2022, Hwang and his former top lieutenant, Patrick Halligan, were arrested and charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud as part of scheme to harm investors. In a 59-page indictment, Manhattan federal prosecutors alleged that Hwang and Halligan schemed to manipulate stock prices. Lawyers for Hwang and Halligan stated that they were innocent of the charges in the indictment. Hwang was released on a $100 million bond, which was secured by two properties and $5 million in cash. Halligan was released on a $1 million bond.


title: Bill Hwang

text: Hwang is a Christian. His father was a pastor. Hwang and his wife reside in Tenafly, New Jersey. He has a daughter, Joanne, who attended Fordham University in New York City.


title: Discus throw

text: The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue "Discobolus". Although not part of the current pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least 708 BC, and it is part of the modern decathlon.


title: Discus throw

text: The sport of throwing the discus traces back to it being an event in the original Olympic Games of Ancient Greece. The discus as a sport was resurrected in Magdeburg, Germany, by gymnastics teacher Christian Georg Kohlrausch and his students in the 1870s. Organized men's competition was resumed in the late 19th century, and has been a part of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first modern competition, the 1896 Summer Olympics. Images of discus throwers figured prominently in advertising for early modern Games, such as fundraising stamps for the 1896 Games, and the main posters for the 1920 and 1948 Summer Olympics. Today the sport of discus is a routine part of modern track-and-field meets at all levels, and retains a particularly iconic place in the Olympic Games.


title: Discus throw

text: The first modern athlete to throw the discus while rotating the whole body was František Janda-Suk from Bohemia (the present Czech Republic). Janda-Suk invented this technique when studying the position of the famous statue of "Discobolus". After only one year of developing the technique, he earned a silver medal in the 1900 Olympics.


title: Discus throw

text: Women's competition began in the first decades of the 20th century. Following competition at national and regional levels, it was added to the Olympic program for the 1928 games.


title: Discus throw

text: The event consists of throwing a disc, with the weight or size depending on the competitor. Men and women throw different sized discs, with varying sizes and weights depending on age. The weight of the discus is either governed by the World Athletics for international or USA Track & Field for the United States.


title: Discus throw

text: In the United States, Henry Canine advocated for a lighter-weight discus in high school competition. His suggestion was adopted by the National High School Athletic Association in 1938.


title: Discus throw

text: The typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. The rim must be smooth, with no roughness or finger holds. A discus with more weight in the rim produces greater angular momentum for any given spin rate, and thus more stability, although it is more difficult to throw. However, a higher rim weight, if thrown correctly, can lead to a longer throw. In some competitions, a solid rubber discus is used (see in the United States).


title: Discus throw

text: To make a throw, the competitor starts in a circle of diameter, which is recessed in a concrete pad by . The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of the throw. They then spin anticlockwise (for right-handers) times while staying within the circle to build momentum before releasing the discus. The discus must land within a 34.92º circular sector that is centered on the throwing circle. The rules of competition for discus are virtually identical to those of shot put, except that the circle is larger, a stop board is not used and there are no form rules concerning how the discus is to be thrown.


title: Discus throw

text: The basic motion is a fore-handed sidearm movement. The discus is spun off the index finger or the middle finger of the throwing hand. In flight the disc spins clockwise when viewed from above for a right-handed thrower, and anticlockwise for a left-handed thrower. As well as achieving maximum momentum in the discus on throwing, the discus' distance is also determined by the trajectory the thrower imparts, as well as the aerodynamic behavior of the discus. Generally, throws into a moderate headwind achieve the maximum distance. Also, a faster-spinning discus imparts greater gyroscopic stability. The technique of discus throwing is quite difficult to master and needs much experience to perfect; thus most top throwers are 30 years old or more.


title: Discus throw

text: The discus technique can be broken down into phases. The purpose is to transfer from the back to the front of the throwing circle while turning through one and a half circles. The speed of delivery is high, and speed is built up during the throw (slow to fast). Correct technique involves the buildup of torque so that maximum force can be applied to the discus on delivery.


title: Discus throw

text: Initially, the thrower takes up their position in the throwing circle, distributing their body weight evenly over both feet, which are roughly shoulder width apart. They crouch in order to adopt a more efficient posture to start from whilst also isometrically preloading their muscles; this will allow them to start faster and achieve a more powerful throw. They then begin the wind-up, which sets the tone for the entire throw; the rhythm of the wind-up and throw is very important.


title: Discus throw

text: Focusing on rhythm can bring about the consistency to get in the right positions that many throwers lack. Executing a sound discus throw with solid technique requires perfect balance. This is due to the throw being a linear movement combined with a one and a half rotation and an implement at the end of one arm. Thus, a good discus thrower needs to maintain balance within the circle.


title: Discus throw

text: For a right handed thrower, the next stage is to move the weight over the left foot. From this position the right foot is raised, and the athlete 'runs' across the circle. There are various techniques for this stage where the leg swings out to a small or great extent, some athletes turn on their left heel (e.g. Ilke Wylluda) but turning on the ball of the foot is far more common.


title: Discus throw

text: The aim is to land in the 'power position', the right foot should be in the center and the heel should not touch the ground at any point. The left foot should land very quickly after the right. Weight should be mostly over the back foot with as much torque as possible in the body—so the right arm is high and far back. This is very hard to achieve.


title: Discus throw

text: The critical stage is the delivery of the discus, from this 'power position' the hips drive through hard, and will be facing the direction of the throw on delivery. Athletes employ various techniques to control the end-point and recover from the throw, such as fixing feet (to pretty much stop dead), or an active reverse spinning onto the left foot (e.g. Virgilijus Alekna).


title: Discus throw

text: Sports scientist Richard Ganslen researched the "Aerodynamics of the Discus", reporting the discus will stall at an angle of 29°.


title: Discus throw

text: The discus throw has been the subject of a number of well-known ancient Greek statues and Roman copies such as the "Discobolus" and "Discophoros". The discus throw also appears repeatedly in ancient Greek mythology, featured as a means of manslaughter in the cases of Hyacinth, Crocus, Phocus, and Acrisius, and as a named event in the funeral games of Patroclus.


title: Discus throw

text: Discus throwers have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Discus commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. On the obverse of the coin a modern athlete is seen in the foreground in a half-turned position, while in the background an ancient discus thrower has been captured in a lively bending motion, with the discus high above his head, creating a vivid representation of the sport.


title: Discus throw

text: At the 2019 Diamond League Meeting in Doha, Qatar, Daniel Ståhl became the first man to produce six throws beyond 69.50 in a single competition.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Stevonne Latrall Smith Sr. (born May 12, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers, also playing for the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football for the Utah Utes, and was drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, emerged as one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers of the 21st century, leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2005. He played for the Panthers for thirteen seasons before signing with the Ravens in March 2014, and is the Panthers' all-time leader in total touchdowns (67), receptions (836) and receiving yards (12,197). In 2011, he became the 35th player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards. At the time of his retirement, he ranked seventh in NFL career all-purpose yards (19,180), seventh in NFL career receiving yards (14,731), twelfth in career receptions (1,031), and 25th in receiving touchdowns (81). Smith generated more than 1,000 all-purpose yards in eleven different seasons and at least 1,900 all-purpose yards in four of his first five seasons.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith attended University High School in Los Angeles, and was a letterman in football and track & field. In football, he played running back and defensive back, and was an All-Metro League selection as well as an All-California Interscholastic Federation selection. Smith graduated from University High School in 1997.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In track & field, he set a handful of school records, was named as an All-City selection as a high-hurdler, and also excelled in the triple jump and 300m hurdles. He had personal-bests of 14.95 seconds in the 110m hurdles and 38.73 seconds in the 300m hurdles.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: After graduating from high school, Smith attended Santa Monica College. While playing for the Santa Monica Corsairs football team, Smith quickly defined himself as a talented football player, and earned a starting position. During this time, Smith was teammates with future NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson, surprising fans of the small college team with their unexpected talents.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: While impressing spectators with his performance on the football field, Santa Monica's head coach, Robert Taylor, encouraged Smith to not play for riches or fame, but to play so that he might earn a scholarship to a Division-I school, where he could receive a better education. He also advised Smith and Johnson to not do touchdown celebrations and as Smith said, "they put the cuffs on us." Smith took Taylor's advice to heart, and excelled in his academics, not missing a single day of classes while attending Santa Monica.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: After completing two years at Santa Monica College, Smith transferred to the University of Utah, where he established himself as a standout wideout for the Utah Utes football team in the Mountain West Conference where he was a teammate of future NFL running back Mike Anderson. While at the University of Utah, Smith set a record for yards per catch with a 20.6 average, and was chosen to play for the conference's all-star team twice. In his first season on the team, he ranked 4th in the NCAA in both punt return yards (495) and yard per return (17.1). However, he missed their bowl game in his final season due to injury. After the Blue–Gray All-Star game on December 25, 2000, Smith began to receive attention from various NFL scouts. He was named offensive MVP of the January 13, 2001, East–West Shrine Game. Smith finished his time at Utah with 78 receptions for 1,608 yards and 12 touchdowns, with another 1,365 return yards and 4 touchdowns on special teams.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith spent a majority of his rookie season as a kick and punt returner, leading all rookies in net yardage with 1,994 yards, and landing in fourth place among all NFL players behind Priest Holmes, Marshall Faulk, and Derrick Mason. In his first play as a professional, Smith returned the opening kickoff of the first game of the season for a touchdown. Smith also had 10 catches for 154 yards, and rushed 4 times for 43 yards.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: During the 2002 NFL season, Smith earned a starting position as a wide receiver and continued as the team's kick returner and punt returner. Smith finished the 2002 season with 54 receptions for 872 yards and 3 touchdowns.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: During the 2003 season, Smith played a critical role for the Panthers offense and helped lead them to their first NFC title in franchise history. He finished the regular season with 88 receptions for 1,110 yards and 7 touchdowns. He eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards mark for the first time in his career in 2003. During the NFC divisional playoffs, Smith caught a 69-yard pass and ran it for a touchdown in the 2nd overtime period to defeat the St. Louis Rams 29–23. He finished that game with 6 catches, 163 yards, and the one TD. In Super Bowl XXXVIII, he caught 4 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown, and returned a kickoff for 30 yards in the Panthers' 32–29 loss to the New England Patriots.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith suffered a severe break in his leg during the 2004 NFL season opener against the Green Bay Packers, and was out for the remainder of the year. Before the injury, he managed to record 6 catches for 60 yards, and even attempted a pass which fell incomplete.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In the 2005 NFL season, Smith recovered from his injury to have the best season of his career. He earned the "Triple Crown" of receiving, leading the NFL in receptions (103), receiving yards (1,563), and receiving touchdowns (12) and became only the third player, Jerry Rice (1990) and Sterling Sharpe (1992), to accomplish this feat in the Super Bowl era. Smith also returned 27 punts for 286 yards. His 10.6 yards/punt return was the second-highest of his career, after his 10.7 yards/punt return in his rookie season.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith dominated the first two rounds of the 2005–06 NFL playoffs. In a Wild Card Round victory over the New York Giants, Smith caught 10 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 12 yards and another score. The Panthers then defeated the Chicago Bears in the divisional round, aided by Smith's franchise record 12 receptions for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns. Smith and the Panthers then faced the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship. Although he scored on a 59-yard punt return, Smith was held to 33 receiving yards on 5 catches, and the Panthers lost by a score of 34–14.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith, along with teammates Jake Delhomme, Julius Peppers, and Mike Wahle were invited to the 2006 Pro Bowl after the season. Smith also shared the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award with New England Patriots' linebacker Tedy Bruschi.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: After suffering a hamstring injury and developing an ingrown toenail in training camp before the 2006 season, Smith returned to the field after missing two weeks of action. Smith was double covered frequently but still managed to battle through that and injuries to finish the year with 83 catches for 1,186 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was also invited to the 2007 Pro Bowl, his second Pro Bowl in a row and third overall. His contract ran up after the season. On March 1, he signed an extension.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: By May 4, he signed a new extension worth $45 million for six years. Smith started 15 games for the Panthers during their 2007 season, and led Carolina with 87 catches, 1,002 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns despite playing with four different starting quarterbacks due to injury to starting quarterback Jake Delhomme.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith made headlines during the 2008 training camp when he was involved in an altercation with teammate Ken Lucas on August 1, 2008. Smith broke Lucas's nose during the fight and was later sent home for the remainder of the day after reportedly apologizing. Smith was given a two-game suspension by the team. Smith then suffered a severe concussion during the 2008 preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts, where Smith was hit in the head when catching a pass. He continued to play that game, but did not travel with the team to their next game against the Philadelphia Eagles. After returning from suspension and scoring his first touchdown of the 2008 season, Smith presented the ball to Lucas on the sideline. Despite his 2-game suspension, Smith was voted to play in the 2009 Pro Bowl after he managed to catch 78 passes for 1,421 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns, leading the NFL in receiving yards per game.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: During Week 16 of the 2009 NFL Season, Smith broke his left forearm on a touchdown catch in a game against the New York Giants causing him to sit out the final game of the year. Smith finished the year with 982 yards on 65 receptions and 7 touchdowns, just 18 yards shy of a fifth consecutive 1,000 yard receiving season. On January 1, 2010, Smith was placed on injured reserve following the injury, and on June 19, 2010, Smith broke his arm again while playing flag football.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: 2010 was Smith's worst season as a starter since 2002. Although he led the team in both receptions and receiving yards, he only managed 46 catches for 554 yards. In addition, he only caught two touchdown passes, 1 fewer than rookie David Gettis. Smith's low numbers were due to the total lack of team offense behind rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen. The Panthers finished last in most offensive categories and with a 2–14 record, which was the worst in the 2010 season, securing the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Smith's dissatisfaction led to widespread rumors amongst the Panthers fan base that the star receiver wanted to be traded from the team for the 2011 season.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith opened up the 2011 season strong, gaining 178 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 catches, including a 77-yard reception for a touchdown. Smith followed his week 1 performance with another 150-yard receiving game, but had a fumble during the game as well. On November 27, 2011, Smith surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark. During Week 14, he became the 35th player in NFL history to reach the 10,000-yard receiving mark after a 125-yard performance against the Atlanta Falcons. Smith reached a total of 1,394 yards on 79 catches, and was one catch away from reaching the 700 rec mark. Smith was selected to his fifth Pro Bowl.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Prior to the season, he signed a three-year extension worth $18 million. Smith played in all 16 games in 2012, recording 73 receptions for 1,174 yards and four touchdowns.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In 2013, Smith continued to play well, despite hauling in only 64 receptions, his lowest since 2010. On December 22, 2013, Smith received a PCL sprain against the New Orleans Saints. The Panthers came out on top of the Saints 17-13. Smith received his 800th reception in the 2013 season.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Prior to signing with the Ravens, Smith stated that if he happens to meet his former team, the Panthers, again, to "put your goggles on cause there's going to be blood and guts everywhere." On March 14, 2014, Smith signed a three-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, worth $11.5 million with a $3.5 million bonus. In the Ravens' season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, Smith caught 7 passes for 118 yards and an 80-yard touchdown, but the Ravens lost the game 23–16. In Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, Smith caught 5 passes for 101 yards, including a 32-yard reception that set up the game-winning field goal, as the Ravens won 23–21.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In Week 4, Smith faced his old team. On the Ravens' second possession of the game, quarterback Joe Flacco threw a pass which was tipped by Owen Daniels and landed in the arms of Smith, who took the ball to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown. Later in the game, Flacco fumbled a snap. He picked up the ball and threw a pass to a covered Smith, who caught it in the back of the endzone, despite being held by cornerback Melvin White. Smith finished the game with 7 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens defeated the Panthers 38–10.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In Week 6, Smith caught a 56-yard touchdown pass in a game in which Flacco threw a career-high five touchdown passes and set the record for the fastest time to throw them (16:03). Smith finished the game with five catches for 110 yards and that 56-yard score. In Week 15, Smith caught his 900th career reception against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the Ravens won 20–12. In Week 17, Smith reached the single-season 1,000-yard mark for the eighth time in his career. In that game, the Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 20–10 and clinched a playoff berth.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith finished the 2014 regular season with 79 receptions, 1,065 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also fumbled twice and lost one. In the wild card round of the playoffs, Smith caught five passes for 101 yards as the Ravens defeated the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time ever in the playoffs. In the divisional round of the playoffs, Smith caught three passes for 44 yards and a touchdown, as the Ravens lost and had their season ended by the eventual Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: During the Ravens' third preseason game, against the Redskins, Smith was ejected along with cornerback Chris Culliver. Smith's son went to Twitter, saying, "1st time I've ever gotten to watch a game with my dad. Thanks @NFL". The Ravens' Twitter account tweeted that Smith was ejected for a skirmish, and his son responded to it by saying, "Actually got ejected for ballin too hard". Smith was named starting punt returner after Week 1; at 36, he was and is among the oldest punt returners in league history. In the Ravens' first win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4, he was forced to leave the game in third quarter due to a lower back injury he suffered after a hit from linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Two days later, it was announced that Smith broke four of his ribs in the Week 4 game.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In a Week 8 game against the San Diego Chargers, Smith tore his achilles tendon, and it was announced he would be out for the rest of the 2015 season. He ended the season having played seven games, racking up 46 catches for 670 yards and three touchdowns.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith had another solid year with the Ravens, he caught 70 passes for 799 yards and 5 touchdowns. In Week 4, he had his only 100+ yard game of the season against Oakland, where he had eight receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. In the game, Smith finally passed Andre Johnson to become the NFL's active leader in receiving yards. Smith also reached the 1,000 reception mark, the 14th player to reach this milestone. On January 2, 2017, Smith officially announced his retirement from the NFL. He retired with 1,031 receptions (then 12th all-time) for 14,731 yards (7th) and 81 touchdowns (tied for 17th with Art Powell).


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In May 2008, Smith announced that he purchased a near-50% interest in the Velocity Sports Performance franchise in Charlotte and an equal ownership percentage in any future Charlotte area Velocity centers. In 2014, he applied to the NFL for a jersey nameplate change from 'Smith' to 'Smith Sr.' upon the announcement of his son's impending birth.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith is an Evangelical Christian. In 2007, Smith went on an evangelism trip to Togo and Nigeria to talk to soccer players about Jesus.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Before every away game, Smith Sr. and his family donated shoes to the homeless. He would also wash their feet beforehand. His goal is to hand out half a million pairs of shoes. To provide this service Smith works with Samaritan's Feet. He says, "This is an opportunity for me to give back, to serve...to kind of, really for me, open up the next chapter of my life." Smith planned to take the initiative global after retiring from football.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: Smith and his wife, Angie, have four children: Peyton, Baylee, Boston, and Steve Jr.; Smith changed the name on the back of his jersey to Smith Sr. when Steve Jr., nicknamed "Deuce", was born.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: On June 14, 2017, it was reported by "The Charlotte Observer" that he secretly paid the full college tuition of Twitter personality and author Elexus Jionde. He said of paying for her $40,000 a year education at Ohio State: "It's not about taking and how much can you get for yourself. It's about your life and (taking advantage of) all the resources and applying them and then paying it forward to someone else."


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: In 2019, Smith played for the "Home" roster during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The roster was made up of celebrities with Carolina roots.


title: Steve Smith Sr.

text: On July 9, 2019, the Panthers announced that Smith would be inducted into the team's Hall of Honor along with Jake Delhomme, Jordan Gross, and Wesley Walls.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Antony and Cleopatra (First Folio title: The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around 1607; its first appearance in print was in the Folio of 1623.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The plot is based on Thomas North's 1579 English translation of Plutarch "Lives" (in Ancient Greek) and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatra's suicide during the War of Actium. The main antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumvirs of the Second Triumvirate and the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The tragedy is mainly set in the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Egypt and is characterized by swift shifts in geographical location and linguistic register as it alternates between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and a more pragmatic, austere Rome.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Many consider Shakespeare's Cleopatra, whom Enobarbus describes as having "infinite variety", as one of the most complex and fully developed female characters in the playwright's body of work. She is frequently vain and histrionic enough to provoke an audience almost to scorn; at the same time, Shakespeare invests her and Antony with tragic grandeur. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses. It is difficult to classify "Antony and Cleopatra" as belonging to a single genre. It can be described as a history play (though it does not completely adhere to historical accounts), as a tragedy (though not completely in Aristotelian terms), as a comedy, as a romance, and according to some critics, such as McCarter, a problem play. All that can be said with certainty is that it is a Roman play, and perhaps even a sequel to another of Shakespeare's tragedies, "Julius Caesar".


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Mark Antony—one of the triumvirs of the Roman Republic, along with Octavius and Lepidus—has neglected his soldierly duties after being beguiled by Egypt's Queen, Cleopatra. He ignores Rome's domestic problems, including the fact that his third wife Fulvia rebelled against Octavius and then died.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Octavius calls Antony back to Rome from Alexandria to help him fight against Sextus Pompey, Menecrates, and Menas, three notorious pirates of the Mediterranean. At Alexandria, Cleopatra begs Antony not to go, and though he repeatedly affirms his deep passionate love for her, he eventually leaves.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The triumvirs meet in Rome, where Antony and Octavius put to rest, for now, their disagreements. Octavius' general, Agrippa, suggests that Antony should marry Octavius's sister, Octavia, in order to cement the friendly bond between the two men. Antony accepts. Antony's lieutenant Enobarbus, though, knows that Octavia can never satisfy him after Cleopatra. In a famous passage, he describes Cleopatra's charms: "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety: other women cloy / The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: In Egypt, Cleopatra learns of Antony's marriage to Octavia and takes furious revenge upon the messenger who brings her the news. She grows content only when her courtiers assure her that Octavia is homely: short, low-browed, round-faced and with bad hair.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Before battle, the triumvirs parley with Sextus Pompey, and offer him a truce. He can retain Sicily and Sardinia, but he must help them "rid the sea of pirates" and send them tributes. After some hesitation, Sextus agrees. They engage in a drunken celebration on Sextus' galley, though the austere Octavius leaves early and sober from the party. Menas suggests to Sextus that he kill the three triumvirs and make himself ruler of the Roman Republic, but he refuses, finding it dishonourable. After Antony departs Rome for Athens, Octavius and Lepidus break their truce with Sextus and war against him. This is unapproved by Antony, and he is furious.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Antony returns to Hellenistic Alexandria and crowns Cleopatra and himself as rulers of Egypt and the eastern third of the Roman Republic (which was Antony's share as one of the triumvirs). He accuses Octavius of not giving him his fair share of Sextus' lands, and is angry that Lepidus, whom Octavius has imprisoned, is out of the triumvirate. Octavius agrees to the former demand, but otherwise is very displeased with what Antony has done.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Antony prepares to battle Octavius. Enobarbus urges Antony to fight on land, where he has the advantage, instead of by sea, where the navy of Octavius is lighter, more mobile and better manned. Antony refuses, since Octavius has dared him to fight at sea. Cleopatra pledges her fleet to aid Antony. However, during the Battle of Actium off the western coast of Greece, Cleopatra flees with her sixty ships, and Antony follows her, leaving his forces to ruin. Ashamed of what he has done for the love of Cleopatra, Antony reproaches her for making him a coward, but also sets this true and deep love above all else, saying "Give me a kiss; even this repays me."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Octavius sends a messenger to ask Cleopatra to give up Antony and come over to his side. She hesitates, and flirts with the messenger, when Antony walks in and angrily denounces her behavior. He sends the messenger to be whipped. Eventually, he forgives Cleopatra and pledges to fight another battle for her, this time on land.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: On the eve of the battle, Antony's soldiers hear strange portents, which they interpret as the god Hercules abandoning his protection of Antony. Furthermore, Enobarbus, Antony's long-serving lieutenant, deserts him and goes over to Octavius' side. Rather than confiscating Enobarbus' goods, which Enobarbus did not take with him when he fled, Antony orders them to be sent to Enobarbus. Enobarbus is so overwhelmed by Antony's generosity, and so ashamed of his own disloyalty, that he dies from a broken heart.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Antony loses the battle as his troops desert en masse and he denounces Cleopatra: "This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me." He resolves to kill her for the imagined treachery. Cleopatra decides that the only way to win back Antony's love is to send him word that she killed herself, dying with his name on her lips. She locks herself in her monument, and awaits Antony's return.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Her plan backfires: rather than rushing back in remorse to see the "dead" Cleopatra, Antony decides that his own life is no longer worth living. He begs one of his aides, Eros, to run him through with a sword, but Eros cannot bear to do it and kills himself. Antony admires Eros' courage and attempts to do the same, but only succeeds in wounding himself. In great pain, he learns that Cleopatra is indeed alive. He is hoisted up to her in her monument and dies in her arms.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Since Egypt has been defeated, the captive Cleopatra is placed under a guard of Roman soldiers. She tries to take her own life with a dagger, but Proculeius disarms her. Octavius arrives, assuring her she will be treated with honour and dignity. But Dolabella secretly warns her that Octavius intends to parade her at his Roman triumph. Cleopatra bitterly envisions the endless humiliations awaiting her for the rest of her life as a Roman conquest.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Cleopatra kills herself using the venomous bite of an asp, imagining how she will meet Antony again in the afterlife. Her serving maids Iras and Charmian also die, Iras from heartbreak and Charmian from one of the two asps in Cleopatra's basket. Octavius discovers the dead bodies and experiences conflicting emotions. Antony and Cleopatra's deaths leave him free to become the first Roman Emperor, but he also feels some sympathy for them. He orders a public military funeral.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The principal source for the story is an English translation of a French translation of Plutarch's "Life of Mark Antony", from the "Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Compared Together". This translation, by Sir Thomas North, was first published in 1579. Many phrases in Shakespeare's play are taken directly from North, including Enobarbus' famous description of Cleopatra and her barge:<poem>


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: However, Shakespeare also adds scenes, including many portraying Cleopatra's domestic life, and the role of Enobarbus is greatly developed. Historical facts are also changed: in Plutarch, Antony's final defeat was many weeks after the Battle of Actium, and Octavia lived with Antony for several years and bore him two children: Antonia Major, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Nero and maternal grandmother of the Empress Valeria Messalina, and Antonia Minor, the sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, mother of the Emperor Claudius, and paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Many scholars believe Shakespeare's play was written in 1606–07, although some researchers have argued for an earlier dating, around 1603–04. "Antony and Cleopatra" was entered in the Stationers' Register (an early form of copyright for printed works) in May 1608, but it does not seem to have been actually printed until the publication of the First Folio in 1623. The Folio is therefore the only authoritative text today. Some scholars speculate that it derives from Shakespeare's own draft, or "foul papers", since it contains minor errors in speech labels and stage directions that are thought to be characteristic of the author in the process of composition.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Modern editions divide the play into a conventional five-act structure but, as in most of his earlier plays, Shakespeare did not create these act divisions. His play is articulated in forty separate "scenes", more than he used for any other play. Even the word "scenes" may be inappropriate as a description, as the scene changes are often very fluid, almost montage-like. The large number of scenes is necessary because the action frequently switches between Alexandria, Italy, Messina in Sicily, Syria, Athens, and other parts of Egypt and the Roman Republic. The play contains thirty-four speaking characters, fairly typical for a Shakespeare play on such an epic scale.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Many critics have noted the strong influence of Virgil's first-century Roman epic poem, the "Aeneid", on Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra". Such influence should be expected, given the prevalence of allusions to Virgil in the Renaissance culture in which Shakespeare was educated. The historical Antony and Cleopatra were the prototypes and antitypes for Virgil's Dido and Aeneas: Dido, ruler of the north African city of Carthage, tempts Aeneas, the legendary exemplar of Roman "pietas", to forego his task of founding Rome after the fall of Troy. The fictional Aeneas dutifully resists Dido's temptation and abandons her to forge on to Italy, placing political destiny before romantic love, in stark contrast to Antony, who puts passionate love of his own Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, before duty to Rome. Given the well-established traditional connections between the fictional Dido and Aeneas and the historical Antony and Cleopatra, it is no surprise that Shakespeare includes numerous allusions to Virgil's epic in his historical tragedy. As Janet Adelman observes, "almost all the central elements in "Antony and Cleopatra" are to be found in the "Aeneid": the opposing values of Rome and a foreign passion; the political necessity of a passionless Roman marriage; the concept of an afterlife in which the passionate lovers meet." However, as Heather James argues, Shakespeare's allusions to Virgil's Dido and Aeneas are far from slavish imitations. James emphasizes the various ways in which Shakespeare's play subverts the ideology of the Virgilian tradition; one such instance of this subversion is Cleopatra's dream of Antony in Act 5 ("I dreamt there was an Emperor Antony" [5.2.75]). James argues that in her extended description of this dream, Cleopatra "reconstructs the heroic masculinity of an Antony whose identity has been fragmented and scattered by Roman opinion." This politically charged dream vision is just one example of the way that Shakespeare's story destabilises and potentially critiques the Roman ideology inherited from Virgil's epic and embodied in the mythic Roman ancestor Aeneas.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Cleopatra, being the complex figure that she is, has faced a variety of interpretations of character throughout history. Perhaps the most famous dichotomy is that of the manipulative seductress versus the skilled leader. Examining the critical history of the character of Cleopatra reveals that intellectuals of the 19th century and the early 20th century viewed her as merely an object of sexuality that could be understood and diminished rather than an imposing force with great poise and capacity for leadership.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: This phenomenon is illustrated by the famous poet T. S. Eliot's take on Cleopatra. He saw her as "no wielder of power", but rather that her "devouring sexuality...diminishes her power". His language and writings use images of darkness, desire, beauty, sensuality, and carnality to portray not a strong, powerful woman, but a temptress. Throughout his writing on Antony and Cleopatra, Eliot refers to Cleopatra as material rather than person. He frequently calls her "thing". Eliot conveys the view of early critical history on the character of Cleopatra.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Other scholars also discuss early critics' views of Cleopatra in relation to a serpent signifying "original sin". The symbol of the serpent "functions, at the symbolic level, as a means of her submission, the phallic appropriation of the queen's body (and the land it embodies) by Octavius and the empire". The serpent, because it represents temptation, sin, and feminine weakness, is used by 19th and early 20th century critics to undermine Cleopatra's political authority and to emphasise the image of Cleopatra as manipulative seductress.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The postmodern view of Cleopatra is complex. Doris Adler suggests that, in a postmodern philosophical sense, we cannot begin to grasp the character of Cleopatra because, "In a sense it is a distortion to consider Cleopatra at any moment apart from the entire cultural milieu that creates and consumes Antony and Cleopatra on stage. However the isolation and microscopic examination of a single aspect apart from its host environment is an effort to improve the understanding of the broader context. In similar fashion, the isolation and examination of the stage image of Cleopatra becomes an attempt to improve the understanding of the theatrical power of her infinite variety and the cultural treatment of that power." So, as a microcosm, Cleopatra can be understood within a postmodern context, as long as one understands that the purpose for the examination of this microcosm is to further one's own interpretation of the work as a whole. Author L.T. Fitz believes that it is not possible to derive a clear, postmodern view of Cleopatra due to the sexism that all critics bring with them when they review her intricate character. She states specifically, "Almost all critical approaches to this play have been coloured by the sexist assumptions the critics have brought with them to their reading." One seemingly anti-sexist viewpoint comes from Donald C. Freeman's articulations of the meaning and significance of the deaths of both Antony and Cleopatra at the end of the play. Freeman states, "We understand Antony as a grand failure because the container of his Romanness "dislimns": it can no longer outline and define him even to himself. Conversely, we understand Cleopatra at her death as the transcendent queen of "immortal longings" because the container of her mortality can no longer restrain her: unlike Antony, she never melts, but sublimates from her very earthly flesh to ethereal fire and air."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: These constant shifts in the perception of Cleopatra are well-represented in a review of Estelle Parsons' adaptation of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" at the Interart Theatre in New York City. Arthur Holmberg surmises, "What had at first seemed like a desperate attempt to be chic in a trendy New York manner was, in fact, an ingenious way to characterise the differences between Antony's Rome and Cleopatra's Egypt. Most productions rely on rather predictable contrasts in costuming to imply the rigid discipline of the former and the languid self-indulgence of the latter. By exploiting ethnic differences in speech, gesture, and movement, Parsons rendered the clash between two opposing cultures not only contemporary but also poignant. In this setting, the white Egyptians represented a graceful and ancient aristocracy—well groomed, elegantly poised, and doomed. The Romans, upstarts from the West, lacked finesse and polish. But by sheer brute strength they would hold dominion over principalities and kingdoms." This assessment of the changing way in which Cleopatra is represented in modern adaptations of Shakespeare's play is yet another example of how the modern and postmodern view of Cleopatra is constantly evolving.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Cleopatra is a difficult character to pin down because there are multiple aspects of her personality of which we occasionally get a glimpse. However, the most dominant parts of her character seem to oscillate between a powerful ruler, a seductress, and a heroine of sorts. Power is one of Cleopatra's most dominant character traits and she uses it as a means of control. This thirst for control manifested itself through Cleopatra's initial seduction of Antony in which she was dressed as Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and made quite a calculated entrance in order to capture his attention. This sexualised act extends itself into Cleopatra's role as a seductress because it was her courage and unapologetic manner that leaves people remembering her as a "grasping, licentious harlot". However, despite her "insatiable sexual passion" she was still using these relationships as part of a grander political scheme, once again revealing how dominant Cleopatra's desire was for power. Due to Cleopatra's close relationship with power, she seems to take on the role of a heroine because there is something in her passion and intelligence that intrigues others. She was an autonomous and confident ruler, sending a powerful message about the independence and strength of women. Cleopatra had quite a wide influence, and still continues to inspire, making her a heroine to many.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Theatrical portrayals of Cleopatra in Shakespeare and beyond have a complicated history. In the Pelican edition of "Antony and Cleopatra", Professor Albert R. Braunmuller discusses how, in the play she is insulted


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: by Philo by being called a "gypsy" which is a derivative of the word "Egyptian" but also but also evokes imagery of "Romany people, dark-haired, dark-skinned" which would be in line with a much more racialized version of Cleopatra. The other notable insult used towards Cleopatra in the play is when Philo calls her "tawny". Braunmuller notes that "tawny" is "hard to define historically" but that it "seems to have meant some brownish color, and Shakespeare elsewhere uses it to describe suntanned or sunburnt skin, which Elizabethan Canons of beauty regarded as undesirable."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Braunmuller contextualizes all of this by reminding modern audiences that viewers and writers during Shakespeare's time would have had more complicated perspectives on race, ethnicity and related subjects and that their viewpoints were "extremely hard to define" There were also precursors to Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" that portrayed Cleopatra as having "Macedonian-Greek descent.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Pascale Aebischer's analysis of race in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" further discussing the historically and culturally ambiguous nature of Cleopatra's race. The paper enters into and gives context to the existing academic conversation surrounding the racial identity of Shakespeare's Cleopatra. Aebischer reviews the historical portrayals leading up to and including Shakespeare's portrayal of Cleopatra and uses them to analyze the opposing analyses of Cleopatra as either black or white and also to look at how race even functioned during the time period that plays like this were being written. She concludes that portrayals of Cleopatra have been historically complicated and varied widely. Although, factually, she was of European ethnic origin, her racial identity on stage becomes intertwined with the cultural and social identity she is portraying in a way that makes determining her precise racial identity difficult. Aebischer points to scholars like 'Linda Charnes [who] cannily observe, "descriptions of Cleopatra in [Shakespeare's] play are never more than descriptions of the effect she has on the onlooker"'. Aebischer eventually concludes that "we must accept that Shakespeare's Cleopatra is neither black nor white, but that should not stop us from appreciating the political significance of casting choices, nor should it fool us into thinking that, for a character like Cleopatra, any casting choice will ever be 'colourblind.'" Within the context of theatrical portrayals of Cleopatra, Aebischer asserts that "racial attributes are not properties that are embodied, but theatrical properties to be deployed and discarded at will."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The relationship between Egypt and Rome in "Antony and Cleopatra" is central to understanding the plot, as the dichotomy allows the reader to gain more insight into the characters, their relationships, and the ongoing events that occur throughout the play. Shakespeare emphasises the differences between the two nations with his use of language and literary devices, which also highlight the different characterizations of the two countries by their own inhabitants and visitors. Literary critics have also spent many years developing arguments concerning the "masculinity" of Rome and the Romans and the "femininity" of Egypt and the Egyptians. In traditional criticism of "Antony and Cleopatra", "Rome has been characterised as a male world, presided over by the austere Caesar, and Egypt as a female domain, embodied by a Cleopatra who is seen to be as abundant, leaky, and changeable as the Nile". In such a reading, male and female, Rome and Egypt, reason and emotion, and austerity and leisure are treated as mutually exclusive binaries that all interrelate with one another. The straightforwardness of the binary between male Rome and female Egypt has been challenged in later 20th-century criticism of the play: "In the wake of feminist, poststructuralist, and cultural-materialist critiques of gender essentialism, most modern Shakespeare scholars are inclined to be far more skeptical about claims that Shakespeare possessed a unique insight into a timeless 'femininity'." As a result, critics have been much more likely in recent years to describe Cleopatra as a character that confuses or deconstructs gender than as a character that embodies the feminine.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: In "Antony and Cleopatra", Shakespeare uses several literary techniques to convey a deeper meaning about the differences between Rome and Egypt. One example of this is his schema of the container as suggested by critic Donald Freeman in his article, "The rack dislimns." In his article, Freeman suggests that the container is representative of the body and the overall theme of the play that "knowing is seeing." In literary terms a schema refers to a plan throughout the work, which means that Shakespeare had a set path for unveiling the meaning of the "container" to the audience within the play. An example of the body in reference to the container can be seen in the following passage:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The lack of tolerance exerted by the hard-edged Roman military code allots to a general's dalliance is metaphorised as a container, a measuring cup that cannot hold the liquid of Antony's grand passion. Later we also see Antony's heart-container swells again because it "o'erflows the measure." For Antony, the container of the Rome-world is confining and a "measure", while the container of the Egypt-world is liberating, an ample domain where he can explore. The contrast between the two is expressed in two of the play's famous speeches:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: For Rome to "melt is for it to lose its defining shape, the boundary that contains its civic and military codes. This schema is important in understanding Antony's grand failure because the Roman container can no longer outline or define him—even to himself. Conversely we come to understand Cleopatra in that the container of her mortality can no longer restrain her. Unlike Antony whose container melts, she gains a sublimity being released into the air.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: In her article "Roman World, Egyptian Earth", critic Mary Thomas Crane introduces another symbol throughout the play: The four elements. In general, characters associated with Egypt perceive their world composed of the Aristotelian elements, which are earth, wind, fire and water. For Aristotle these physical elements were the centre of the universe and appropriately Cleopatra heralds her coming death when she proclaims, "I am fire and air; my other elements/I give to baser life", (5.2.289–290). Romans, on the other hand, seem to have left behind that system, replacing it with a subjectivity separated from and overlooking the natural world and imagining itself as able to control it. These differing systems of thought and perception result in very different versions of nation and empire. Shakespeare's relatively positive representation of Egypt has sometimes been read as nostalgia for an heroic past. Because the Aristotelian elements were a declining theory in Shakespeare's time, it can also be read as nostalgia for a waning theory of the material world, the pre-seventeenth-century cosmos of elements and humours that rendered subject and world deeply interconnected and saturated with meaning. Thus this reflects the difference between the Egyptians who are interconnected with the elemental earth and the Romans in their dominating the hard-surfaced, impervious world.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Critics also suggest that the political attitudes of the main characters are an allegory for the political atmosphere of Shakespeare's time. According to Paul Lawrence Rose in his article "The Politics of "Antony and Cleopatra"", the views expressed in the play of "national solidarity, social order and strong rule" were familiar after the absolute monarchies of Henry VII and Henry VIII and the political disaster involving Mary Queen of Scots. Essentially the political themes throughout the play are reflective of the different models of rule during Shakespeare's time. The political attitudes of Antony, Caesar, and Cleopatra are all basic archetypes for the conflicting sixteenth-century views of kingship. Caesar is representative of the ideal king, who brings about the Pax Romana similar to the political peace established under the Tudors. His cold demeanour is representative of what the sixteenth century thought to be a side-effect of political genius Conversely, Antony's focus is on valour and chivalry, and Antony views the political power of victory as a by-product of both. Cleopatra's power has been described as "naked, hereditary, and despotic", and it is argued that she is reminiscent of Mary Tudor's reign—implying it is not coincidence that she brings about the "doom of Egypt." This is in part due to an emotional comparison in their rule. Cleopatra, who was emotionally invested in Antony, brought about the downfall of Egypt in her commitment to love, whereas Mary Tudor's emotional attachment to Catholicism fates her rule. The political implications within the play reflect on Shakespeare's England in its message that Impact is not a match for Reason.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Critics have often used the opposition between Rome and Egypt in "Antony and Cleopatra" to set forth defining characteristics of the various characters. While some characters are distinctly Egyptian, others are distinctly Roman, some are torn between the two, and still others attempt to remain neutral. Critic James Hirsh has stated that, "as a result, the play dramatises not two but four main figurative locales: Rome as it is perceived from a Roman point of view; Rome as it is perceived from an Egyptian point of view; Egypt as it is perceived form a Roman point of view; and Egypt as it is perceived from an Egyptian point of view."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: According to Hirsh, Rome largely defines itself by its opposition to Egypt. Where Rome is viewed as structured, moral, mature, and essentially masculine, Egypt is the polar opposite; chaotic, immoral, immature, and feminine. In fact, even the distinction between masculine and feminine is a purely Roman idea which the Egyptians largely ignore. The Romans view the "world" as nothing more than something for them to conquer and control. They believe they are "impervious to environmental influence" and that they are not to be influenced and controlled by the world but vice versa.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The Egyptians view the Romans as boring, oppressive, strict and lacking in passion and creativity, preferring strict rules and regulations.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The Egyptian World view reflects what Mary Floyd-Wilson has called geo-humoralism, or the belief that climate and other environmental factors shapes racial character. The Egyptians view themselves as deeply entwined with the natural "earth". Egypt is not a location for them to rule over, but an inextricable part of them. Cleopatra envisions herself as the embodiment of Egypt because she has been nurtured and moulded by the environment fed by "the dung, / the beggar's nurse and Caesar's" (5.2.7–8). They view life as more fluid and less structured allowing for creativity and passionate pursuits.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The Romans view the Egyptians essentially as improper. Their passion for life is continuously viewed as irresponsible, indulgent, over-sexualised and disorderly. The Romans view Egypt as a distraction that can send even the best men off course. This is demonstrated in the following passage describing Antony.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Ultimately the dichotomy between Rome and Egypt is used to distinguish two sets of conflicting values between two different locales. Yet, it goes beyond this division to show the conflicting sets of values not only between two cultures but within cultures, even within individuals. As John Gillies has argued "the 'orientalism' of Cleopatra's court—with its luxury, decadence, splendour, sensuality, appetite, effeminacy and eunuchs—seems a systematic inversion of the legendary Roman values of temperance, manliness, courage". While some characters fall completely into the category of Roman or Egyptian (Octavius as Roman, Cleopatra Egyptian) others, such as Antony, cannot chose between the two conflicting locales and cultures. Instead he oscillates between the two. In the beginning of the play Cleopatra calls attention to this saying


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: This shows Antony's willingness to embrace the pleasures of Egyptian life, yet his tendency to still be drawn back into Roman thoughts and ideas.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Orientalism plays a very specific, and yet, nuanced role in the story of Antony and Cleopatra. A more specific term comes to mind, from Richmond Barbour, that of proto-orientalism, that is orientalism before the age of imperialism. This puts Antony and Cleopatra in an interesting period of time, one that existed before the West knew much about what would eventually be called the Orient, but still a time where it was known that there were lands beyond Europe. This allowed Shakespeare to use widespread assumptions about the "exotic" east with little academic recourse. It could be said that Antony and Cleopatra and their relationship represent the first meeting of the two cultures in a literary sense, and that this relationship would lay the foundation for the idea of Western superiority vs. Eastern inferiority. The case could also be made that at least in a literary sense, the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra was some people's first exposure to an inter-racial relationship, and in a major way. This plays into the idea that Cleopatra has been made out to be an "other", with terms used to describe her like "gypsy". And it is this otherization that is at the heart of the piece itself, the idea that Antony, a man of Western origin and upbringing has coupled himself with the Eastern women, the stereotypical "other".


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Feminist criticism of "Antony and Cleopatra" has provided a more in-depth reading of the play, has challenged previous norms for criticism, and has opened a larger discussion of the characterization of Egypt and Rome. However, as Gayle Greene so aptly recognises, it must be addressed that "feminist criticism [of Shakespeare] is nearly as concerned with the biases of Shakespeare's interpretors —critics, directors, editors—as with Shakespeare himself."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Feminist scholars, in respect to "Antony and Cleopatra", often examine Shakespeare's use of language when describing Rome and Egypt. Through his language, such scholars argue, he tends to characterise Rome as "masculine" and Egypt as "feminine." According to Gayle Greene, "the 'feminine' world of love and personal relationships is secondary to the 'masculine' world of war and politics, [and] has kept us from realizing that Cleopatra is the play's protagonist, and so skewed our perceptions of character, theme, and structure." The highlighting of these starkly contrasting qualities of the two backdrops of "Antony and Cleopatra", in both Shakespeare's language and the words of critics, brings attention to the characterization of the title characters, since their respective countries are meant to represent and emphasise their attributes.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The feminine categorization of Egypt, and subsequently Cleopatra, was negatively portrayed throughout early criticism. The story of "Antony and Cleopatra" was often summarised as either "the fall of a great general, betrayed in his dotage by a treacherous strumpet, or else it can be viewed as a celebration of transcendental love." In both reduced summaries, Egypt and Cleopatra are presented as either the destruction of Antony's masculinity and greatness or as agents in a love story. Once the Women's Liberation Movement grew between the 1960s and 1980s, however, critics began to take a closer look at both Shakespeare's characterization of Egypt and Cleopatra and the work and opinions of other critics on the same matter.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Jonathan Gil Harris claims that the Egypt vs. Rome dichotomy many critics often adopt does not only represent a "gender polarity" but also a "gender hierarchy". Critical approaches to "Antony and Cleopatra" from the beginning of the 20th century mostly adopt a reading that places Rome as higher in the hierarchy than Egypt. Early critics like Georg Brandes presented Egypt as a lesser nation because of its lack of rigidity and structure and presented Cleopatra, negatively, as "the woman of women, quintessentiated Eve." Egypt and Cleopatra are both represented by Brandes as uncontrollable because of their connection with the Nile River and Cleopatra's "infinite variety" (2.2.236).


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: In more recent years, critics have taken a closer look at previous readings of "Antony and Cleopatra" and have found several aspects overlooked. Egypt was previously characterised as the nation of the feminine attributes of lust and desire while Rome was more controlled. However, Harris points out that Caesar and Antony both possess an uncontrollable desire for Egypt and Cleopatra: Caesar's is political while Antony's is personal. Harris further implies that Romans have an uncontrollable lust and desire for "what they do not or cannot have." For example, Antony only desires his wife Fulvia after she is dead:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: L. T. Fitz outwardly claims that early criticism of "Antony and Cleopatra" is "colored by the sexist assumptions the critics have brought with them to their reading." Fitz argues that previous criticisms place a heavy emphasis on Cleopatra's "wicked and manipulative" ways, which are further emphasised by her association with Egypt and her contrast to the "chaste and submissive" Roman Octavia. Finally, Fitz emphasises the tendency of early critics to assert that Antony is the sole protagonist of the play. This claim is apparent in Brandes‘ argument: "when [Antony] perishes, a prey to the voluptuousness of the East, it seems as though Roman greatness and the Roman Republic expires with him." Yet Fitz points out that Antony dies in Act IV while Cleopatra (and therefore Egypt) is present throughout Act V until she commits suicide at the end and "would seem to fulfill at least the formal requirements of the tragic hero."


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: These criticisms are only a few examples of how the critical views of Egypt's "femininity" and Rome's "masculinity" have changed over time and how the development of feminist theory has helped in widening the discussion.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Relativity and ambiguity are prominent ideas in the play, and the audience is challenged to come to conclusions about the ambivalent nature of many of the characters. The relationship between Antony and Cleopatra can easily be read as one of love or lust; their passion can be construed as being wholly destructive but also showing elements of transcendence. Cleopatra might be said to kill herself out of love for Antony, or because she has lost political power. Octavius can be seen as either a noble and good ruler, only wanting what is right for Rome, or as a cruel and ruthless politician.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: A major theme running through the play is opposition. Throughout the play, oppositions between Rome and Egypt, love and lust, and masculinity and femininity are emphasised, subverted, and commented on. One of Shakespeare's most famous speeches, drawn almost verbatim from North's translation of Plutarch's "Lives", Enobarbus' description of Cleopatra on her barge, is full of opposites resolved into a single meaning, corresponding with these wider oppositions that characterise the rest of the play:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: The play is accurately structured with paradox and ambivalence in order to convey the antitheses that make Shakespeare's work remarkable.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Ambivalence in this play is the contrasting response of one's own character. It may be perceived as opposition between word and deed but not to be confused with "duality." For example, after Antony abandons his army during the sea battle to follow Cleopatra, he expresses his remorse and pain in his famous speech:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: However, he then strangely says to Cleopatra: "All that is won and lost. Give me a kiss. Even this repays me"(3.12.69–70). Antony's speech conveys pain and anger, but he acts in opposition to his emotions and words, all for the love of Cleopatra. Literary critic Joyce Carol Oates explains: "Antony's agony is curiously muted for someone who has achieved and lost so much." This irony gap between word and deed of the characters results in a theme of ambivalence. Moreover, due to the flow of constant changing emotions throughout the play: "the characters do not know each other, nor can we know them, any more clearly than we know ourselves". However, it is believed by critics that opposition is what makes good fiction. Another example of ambivalence in "Antony and Cleopatra" is in the opening act of the play when Cleopatra asks Anthony: "Tell me how much you love." Tzachi Zamir points out: "The persistence of doubt is in perpetual tension with the opposing need for certainty" and he refers to the persistence of doubt that derives from the contradiction of word and deed in the characters.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Betrayal is a recurring theme throughout the play. At one time or another, almost every character betrays their country, ethics, or a companion. However, certain characters waver between betrayal and loyalty. This struggle is most apparent among the actions of Cleopatra, Enobarbus, and most importantly Antony. Antony mends ties with his Roman roots and alliance with Caesar by entering into a marriage with Octavia, however he returns to Cleopatra. Diana Kleiner points out "Anthony's perceived betrayal of Rome was greeted with public calls for war with Egypt". Although he vows to remain loyal in his marriage, his impulses and unfaithfulness with his Roman roots is what ultimately leads to war. It is twice Cleopatra abandons Antony during battle and whether out of fear or political motives, she deceived Antony. When Thidias, Caesar's messenger, tells Cleopatra Caesar will show her mercy if she will relinquish Antony, she is quick to respond:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Shakespeare critic Sara Deats says Cleopatra's betrayal fell "on the successful fencing with Octavius that leaves her to be "noble to [herself]". However, she quickly reconciles with Antony, reaffirming her loyalty towards him and never truly submitting to Caesar.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Enobarbus, Antony's most devoted friend, betrays Antony when he deserts him in favour for Caesar. He exclaims, "I fight against thee! / No: I will go seek some ditch wherein to die" (IV. 6. 38–39). Although he abandoned Antony, critic Kent Cartwright claims Enobarbus' death "uncovers his greater love" for him considering it was caused by the guilt of what he had done to his friend thus adding to the confusion of the characters' loyalty and betrayal that previous critics have also discovered. Even though loyalty is central to secure alliances, Shakespeare is making a point with the theme of betrayal by exposing how people in power cannot be trusted, no matter how honest their word may seem. The characters' loyalty and validity of promises are constantly called into question. The perpetual swaying between alliances strengthens the ambiguity and uncertainty amid the characters' loyalty and disloyalty.


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: As a play concerning the relationship between two empires, the presence of a power dynamic is apparent and becomes a recurring theme. Antony and Cleopatra battle over this dynamic as heads of state, yet the theme of power also resonates in their romantic relationship. The Roman ideal of power lies in a political nature taking a base in economical control. As an imperialist power, Rome takes its power in the ability to change the world. As a Roman man, Antony is expected to fulfill certain qualities pertaining to his Roman masculine power, especially in the war arena and in his duty as a soldier:


title: Antony and Cleopatra

text: Cleopatra's character is slightly unpindown-able, as her character identity retains a certain aspect of mystery. She embodies the mystical, exotic, and dangerous nature of Egypt as the "serpent of old Nile". Critic Lisa Starks says that "Cleopatra [comes] to signify the double-image of the "temptress/goddess". She is continually described in an unearthly nature which extends to her description as the goddess Venus.