Dramatic tragedy classically explores the downfall and death of a high-status protagonist. Shakespeare constructs the conditions for a tragedy in Antony and Cleopatra through the conflicts of the protagonists. For example, Antony is pulled in different directions by two competing loyalties: his political duties and his love for Cleopatra. In the first act, Antoine, “the triple pillar of the world,” has “become the bellows and the fan / To calm the lust of a gypsy.” Philo's metaphor presents Antony as "the bellows" and "the fan". On the one hand, Antony seems to "cool" Cleopatra's desire, freeing himself from her. On the other hand, this can be seen as a paradoxical image: where we expect Antony's metaphorical "bellows" to cool Cleopatra's lust, we know that the "bellows" actually make a fiercer fire. On a deeper level, Philo's tragic image suggests that Cleopatra's desire is like a fire, which needs to be "cooled"; Shakespeare subtly foreshadows that it is this “fire” which will engulf the couple, triggering their tragic downfall. Frank Kermode has argued that Shakespeare's use of "little language", in this case, "becoming" and its derivatives, has the effect of "giving underlying meaning to dramatic narratives". It is in the detail and in the metaphorical texture of the language that we see Shakespeare reveal the conditions of this tragedy. Furthermore, what is particularly tragic about Philo's opening speech is that although he is Antony's servant, he complains about the man Antony has become. Rather, Philo should be loyal and humble to Antony, but it is his rejection of Antony that prepares the audience for his tragic dissolution at the end of the play. The competing loyalties of Antony and Cleopatra are irreconcilable. In the first act, the "noble" Anto... middle of paper ...... she shares this affair with Antony, they can never truly be together; their association with these gods are contradictory principles. Furthermore, Shakespeare accentuates the tragedy of the romance of the two protagonists; While Venus and Mars are caught in an “invisible net,” Shakespeare suggests that Antony and Cleopatra await the same fate. Shakespeare sets up conflicts within the characters of Antony and Cleopatra which lead to incompatibles: Rome and Egypt, fluidity and rigidity etc. It is the struggle between the two protagonists to make these incompatibilities compatible that leads to their inevitable tragic downfalls. Extracted from Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org(nd). Extract from Art and Pop Culture: www.artandpopularculture.comKermode, F. Shakespeare's Language.Shakespeare, W. Antony and Cleopatra.Shakespeare, W. Julius Caesar.