Literary Characters
OF THE BABY NAME MARK
Mark Antony is one of the title characters from William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Antony and Cleopatra, first printed in 1623. Mark Antony is one of the triumvirate which rules the Roman Empire after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Antony is a handsome man, a good citizen, a loyal friend. He is also, however, of a somewhat lazy bent, indolent, and with more than a passing eye for women. Antony has lately been spending all his time in Egypt, having an affair with its queen, Cleopatra, and becoming more and more debauched. Antony is aware of his failings, however, and when news comes from Rome that his wife has died and that Pompey is planning to overthrow the triumvirate, he responds to the call of duty. Although Cleopatra begs him to stay with her among the sensuous pleasures of Alexandria, Antony returns to reason, to duty, to Rome. He is prevailed upon to marry another of the triumvirate’s sister, Octavia, which he does without much enthusiasm. When a truce between Pompey and the triumvirate is broken by Octavian and Lepidus, Antony is furious and returns to Egypt. There, he has himself and Cleopatra crowned as rulers of Egypt, and prepares to go to war against Octavian. When Cleopatra withdraws her sea support, Antony loses to Octavian and vows to kill Cleopatra for her treachery. She, hearing this, sends word to Antony that she has killed herself, then confidently locks herself away to await his return. Antony, for his part, is so overcome by grief that he attempts to kill himself and is finally successful, dying in her arms. When Cleopatra bids the asps to have at her, it is with the full expectation of meeting Antony again on the other side. Well, it was Mr. Shakespeare himself who said that the course of true love never did run smooth! (Bur this is a bit beyond merely “not smooth”!).
Mark Anthony is one of the title characters from William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Antony and Cleopatra, first printed in 1623. Mark Antony is one of the triumvirate which rules the Roman Empire after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Antony is a handsome man, a good citizen, a loyal friend. He is also, however, of a somewhat lazy bent, indolent, and with more than a passing eye for women. Antony has lately been spending all his time in Egypt, having an affair with its queen, Cleopatra, and becoming more and more debauched. Antony is aware of his failings, however, and when news comes from Rome that his wife has died and that Pompey is planning to overthrow the triumvirate, he responds to the call of duty. Although Cleopatra begs him to stay with her among the sensuous pleasures of Alexandria, Antony returns to reason, to duty, to Rome. He is prevailed upon to marry another of the triumvirate’s sister, Octavia, which he does without much enthusiasm. When a truce between Pompey and the triumvirate is broken by Octavian and Lepidus, Antony is furious and returns to Egypt. There, he has himself and Cleopatra crowned as rulers of Egypt, and prepares to go to war against Octavian. When Cleopatra withdraws her sea support, Antony loses to Octavian and vows to kill Cleopatra for her treachery. She, hearing this, sends word to Antony that she has killed herself, then confidently locks herself away to await his return. Antony, for his part, is so overcome by grief that he attempts to kill himself and is finally successful, dying in her arms. When Cleopatra bids the asps to have at her, it is with the full expectation of meeting Antony again on the other side. Well, it was Mr. Shakespeare himself who said that the course of true love never did run smooth! (Bur this is a bit beyond merely “not smooth”!).
Mark Darcy is a character in the Bridget Jones series, created by British author Helen Fielding initially as a newspaper column in the 1990s. He is a barrister (the veddy British term for lawyer) who is one of the men in Bridget’s life. In the screen adaptations, he is played by Colin Firth, famous for playing another “Mr. Darcy”. A rather stuffy example of a certain upper class male, he shares more than his name with his literary counterpart, being quite handsome, well-moneyed and, it must be said, rather supercilious. As the series (not the movie) ended, Bridget is a new mother (but not by Mr. Darcy) and considering Mr. Darcy’s proposal to adopt the child. So, in addition to his other qualities, he is philanthropic as well!
