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An Analysis of the Character of OctaviaFrom Antony and Cleopatra Ed. Henry N. Hudson. Boston: Ginn & Co.Octavia has furnishings enough for the heroine of a great tragedy; but she is not fitted to shine in the same sphere with Cleopatra, as her mild, steady, serene light would needs be paralyzed by the meteoric showers of the Egyptian enchantress. The Poet has hardly done justice to her sweet and solid qualities; and indeed, from the nature of the case, the more justice she had received, the more she would have suffered from the perilous brilliancy of her rival. Yet he shows that he fully knew and felt her beauty and elevation of character, by the impression that others take of her. Her behaviour in the play is always dignified, discreet, and womanly; while her "holy, cold, and still conversation," the dreaded chastisements of her sober eye, her patience, modesty, and silent austerity of reproof, as these are reflected from the thoughts of those who have given themselves most cause to wish her other than she is, gain her something better than our admiration. The Poet's good judgment in not bringing her and Cleopatra together is deservedly celebrated. But indeed there needed less of intellectual righteousness than he possessed, to see that such a woman as Octavia shines best in the modesty that keeps her from shining, especially when such an unholy splendour is by. Her best eulogy, considering the known qualities of her husband, is written in the anguish of jealousy which Cleopatra suffers on learning the fact of Antony's marriage; wherein, by the way, all the witching arts of the queenly siren are for the moment quenched in the natural feelings of the woman: O Iras! Charmian! -- 'Tis no matter. -- How to cite this article:_________ Related Articles  An Analysis of Octavius An Analysis of the Character of Mark Antony An Introduction to Shakespeare's Cleopatra Shakespeare's Interest in the Subject of Antony and Cleopatra Sources for Antony and Cleopatra Famous Quotations from Antony and Cleopatra Antony and Cleopatra: Plot Summary Shakespeare's Reputation in Elizabethan England Shakespeare's Impact on Other Writers Why Study Shakespeare?
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