Antony and Cleopatra Part 1

Introduction to Antony and Cleopatra as a new kind of tragedy: one which doesn't seek the freedom of complete loss or amor fati.  Contrasted with Macbeth, written simultaneously.  Macbeth is about the maximum of loneliness in a tragic figure; Antony and Cleopatra is about what having a friend till the end offers by way of a relationship to time and loss.  Lady Macbeth compared to Lear.  Antony and Cleopatra compared to A Midsummer Night's Dream.