"His taints and honours waged equal with him" Does this play support or oppose this Reading of Antony?
             Philo, one of Antony's loyal friend and partner in war, has seen Antony going from one respectable soldier to then abandoning his everything about the empire upon meeting Cleopatra. He is not confident into which category Antony fits into. (5.1) Many roles are played by Antony; therefore we see different sides of the argument. Antony can claim greatness for serving the needs of his country and his empire as fighter and as a leader. He can be seen as equal as Caesar, as he commits suicide, seen as a honourable thing to do. Antony's once loyal and heroic background all changes when he comes across Cleopatra. A once great military reader is now in decline due to her charm and bewitching nature. The first sign we see this occurring is when Philo says the temple pillar of the world transformed into the strumpet's fool (1.1). In differences between Roman and Alexandrian ways of life has a big influence on Antony's behaviour and each view of Antony's "taints and honours" very differently. Shakespeare could be seen as using shock tactics to challenge the audiences of the time such as Antony's suicide, which is a grave crime for the Protestant religions of that period. Different audiences will tend to view Antony's behaviour differently.
             Philo complains that Antony has abandoned the military endeavours. Antony was the military hero and disciplined statesman, but seems to have happily abandoned his reason in order to pursue his passion. He himself says, "here I am Antony, yet cannot hold this visible shape" (4.14). He, right after this, declares that, "let in Tiber melt and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall!"(1.1)
             Therefore, at this early stage, on the evidence provided, the audiences have already seen how badly Antony has switched to another side of himsel...