How the notion of tragic is presented in Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra?

Taking into consideration a good corpus of plays from Antiquity to the blossoming period of Renaissance drama in France and England, several constant features can be perceived which define the notion of tragic. A tragedy characteristically demonstrates a character, whose personality is outstanding by his rank as well as their inner abilities, falling into misfortune as a result of ill fate, or because of a blunder and an innate weakness that they are not really responsible for. Several tragic elements can be traced in Antony and Cleopatra. Firstly, we discover characters with high rank because they're outstanding figures in terms of the nobility of spirit and their astounding victories on battlefields. Secondly, we also see a tragic situation because from the start of the play there is no hope of a contented ending. Lastly, whether or not it is hard to determine a transcendence in action, the play shows a failure of human freedom, a determinism within the character's fate which will be considered because of the essence of tragic. Moreover, Antony and Cleopatra’s forbidden love is at the core of the essence of tragic, as it leads the characters to their inevitable doom, supplying the chain of dramatic events to facilitate their death.As aforementioned, the heroes of Antony and Cleopatra possess high rank, noble status and skill, as such they're above the common people. This can be a general characteristic in tragedies. Tragic heroes are extraordinary specimens of mankind. They will be remarkable for his or her intelligence (as is Oedipus, the main character of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles), their cruelty (like Medea, within the eponymous tragedy by Lucius Annaeus), or their benevolent minds, (like Timon in Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare in collaboration with Thomas Middleton). Quite often, the tragic hero is from royal blood. Antony, in Shakespeare's play similarly as in Roman history, maybe a leader of incredible power, intelligence and courage but he is flawed for the sake of the tragic notion. His fervent love for Cleopatra blinds him and strips him of his honour and duties, as the war commander and a husband to his Roman wife, Octavia. The question of his honour is linked with his passion for Cleopatra and his changing morals, which the Emperor of Rome later reprimands Antony for:..................................................When thou onceWas beaten from Modena, where thou slew'stHirtius and Pansa, consuls, at thy heelDid famine follow, whom thou fought'st against(Though daintily brought up) patiently moreThan savages could suffer.(...)                                                        (Act 1 Scene 1)Similarly, Cleopatra is the Queen of Egypt; the Empress in the Highest. She is of royal blood and is the male counterpart of Antony. She is the sole ruler of her nation: strong, valiant and cunning. According to Aristotle’s virtues, both Antony and Cleopatra represent the attributes of rightful leaders, which intensifies the course direction of the plot and subsequently illustrates how intricately and masterfully tragedy genre was employed by Shakespeare in portraying their lamented story of the rise and fall from absolute power: She shall be buried by her Antony. No grave upon the earth will clip in it. A pair so famous.(...)
(Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 429-431)Caesar concludes that a ‘pair so famous’, due to their dramatic and unyielding love for each other, should not be and could not be physically separated. As such, the notion of tragic predominantly lies with the concept of their fall from power, for they both, in the end, forsook their respective duties and status in the name of ‘earthly’ love, which evokes the feelings of great pity and sadness, for they are not only rulers but also human beings fallen at the mercy at one’s of life’s greatest joys.