This
paper discusses the
depictions of Antony's and Cleopatra's respective conflicts, and how those depictions portray the value of
romantic love. The
discussion begins with Antony's
conflict, which is a
struggle between reason and emotion, mind and heart. This conflict is a central theme to the play and is even manifest in a geographic and political sense as the struggle between the Western world of Rome and the Eastern world of Egypt. The discussion moves to Cleopatra and shows that she is at the center of the same struggle and is motivated, just as Antony, to choose between political power and love. The paper concludes with an examination of Shakespeare's message about the value of romantic love.