Source: "Mark Antony and the Tournament of Life," in Shakespearean Tragedy: Genne, Tradition, and Change in Antony and Cleopatra, Associated University Presses, Inc., 1984, pp. 83-129.

[In this excerpt from his chapter-length analysis of Mark Antony, Barroll argues that Antony refuses to be ruled by other characters' ideas of honor. A many does not, Barroll suggests, think in terms of politics or strategy as Caesar does, nor does he feel ashamed that he has spent so much time luxuriating in Egypt Instead, Barroll asserts, Mark Antony has a chivalric sense of honor that celebrates bravery and courage rather than military theory; linked to and perhaps more important than this chivalry is a strong reliance on Cleopatra's belief in their "mutual" love Thus when Antony loses a battle he becomes depressed, but when he heard that Cleopatra has apparently killed herself, he becomes suicidal.]

Mark Antony is one of...