ENGL 4313 / 5583: Shakespeare: Tragedies

John M. Mercer, Professor of English

Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Study Guide 8: Antony and Cleopatra

 

Genre

  1. According to the table of contents of the First Folio (reproduced on page 101 of The Riverside Shakespeare), what are the three main genres of Shakespeare’s plays?  Under which of the three genres is Antony and Cleopatra listed?
  2. Although Antony and Cleopatra is based on historical events, why is it not listed as a history play in the table of contents of the First Folio?  In Renaissance England, what was the definition of a “history play”?
  3. Scholars also classify Antony and Cleopatra as a Roman play. Extra-credit research:  Although Titus Andronicus is set in ancient Rome, why is it usually not considered to be one of Shakespeare’s Roman plays?  
  4. Besides Antony and Cleopatra, which other two Shakespearean tragedies are classified as Roman plays?   Which of the two have we studied in this class?

 

Source and Composition

  1. What is the title of Shakespeare’s main source for Antony and Cleopatra?  Who is the original author of this source?  Whose translation of this source did Shakespeare use?  What other play that we have studied uses the same source?
  2. In writing Enobarbus’s description of Cleopatra on her barge (1405; 2.2.191 ff.), what exact words and phrases does Shakespeare borrow from his source (1391)?
  3. When was Antony and Cleopatra written and first produced?

 

Settings

  1. What are the two primary settings of Antony and Cleopatra?  Where are they located? Extra credit: Find a map of the Roman world that shows the location of these two settings and, if possible, of other settings (such as Actium, Greece) used in the play.
  2. According to our textbook’s introduction to the play (1392), what pairs of opposing or antithetical values and qualities do these two settings represent?  What specific lines of the play reveal the opposing values and qualities of these two settings?
  3. What are the advantages and deficiencies of the attitudes toward life symbolized by each of these settings?  Does the play as a whole show one setting to be superior to the other?   In other words, does Shakespeare take sides between the two?  Support your answers.

 

Timeline of Historical Events

·        Events at beginning of play (40 BCE)

·        Battle of Actium (31 BCE)

·        Battles of Alexandria

o       By land

o       By sea

  • Deaths of Antony and Cleopatra (30 BCE)
  1. How is Shakespeare’s treatment of time in Antony and Cleopatra similar to that in other plays we have studied?
  2. Extra-credit research or prior knowledge: What is the Pax Romana, which your textbook’s introduction calls “the Augustan peace” (1392)?  Where does the Pax Romana fit historically in relationship to the events of the play?  Where in the play does Octavius Caesar prophesy the Pax Romana?

 

Parallelism of Antony and Cleopatra to Mythological Characters

You may wish to do extra-credit research to answer some of these questions more fully.

  1. Antony compares himself and Cleopatra to Aeneas and Dido (1427; 4.14.53), characters in Virgil’s Aeneid, the epic of Rome’s founding.
    1. Who are Aeneas and Dido in Virgil’s Aeneid?
    2. How are Antony and Cleopatra like Aeneas and Dido? 
  2. The play compares Antony and Cleopatra to Hercules and Venus in classical mythology; it also likens Antony to Mars.
    1. What lines of the play refer to Hercules, Mars, and Venus?
    2. Who are Hercules, Mars, and Venus in Roman mythology? 
    3. How is Antony like Hercules and Mars? How is Cleopatra like Venus? 
  3. The play compares Antony and Cleopatra to Osiris (pronounced “o-SY-rus”) and Isis (pronounced “EYE-sus”) in Egyptian mythology. 
    1. What lines of the play relate to Osiris and Isis and to the myth of the spontaneous generation of creatures (such as the serpent and the crocodile) from the flooding of the Nile (see, for example, pages 1410 and 1414)? 
    2. Who are Osiris and Isis in Egyptian mythology? 
    3. How are Antony and Cleopatra like Osiris and Isis? 
    4. In the play, which character is called the serpent of the Nile?  Which character is called the crocodile?  Why?  (See page 1393 in introduction to play.)

 

Great Romans

You may wish to do extra-credit research about any of the following historical figures.

  1. What does the play reveal about the actions of Julius Caesar?
  2. What role does Pompey the Great play in Roman history? 
  3. In Antony and Cleopatra, what is the role of Pompey the Great’s son Sextus Pompeius (pronounced “pom-PEE-us” or “pom-PAY-us”)? 
  4. In Julius Caesar, under what circumstances do Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar, and Lepidus become triumvirs of Rome?
  5. How do two of the three triumvirs lose power during the course of Antony and Cleopatra?

 

Antony’s Wives

  1. To whom is Antony married at the beginning of the play?  According to the play, what does she do during Antony’s absence from Rome?  How is she a foil to Cleopatra? 
  2. Whom does Antony marry in the course of the play?  Why does he marry her?  Is this marriage successful in accomplishing its intended purpose?  What lines describe her character traits?  How is she a foil to Cleopatra?

 

Antony as Tragic Hero

  1. What are the main character traits of Antony in Julius Caesar?  How is Antony in Julius Caesar quite different from Antony in Antony and Cleopatra?  What specific passages in Julius Caesar prepare us for the Antony of Antony and Cleopatra?
  2. According to our textbook’s introduction to the play, what does Plutrach identify as the cause of Antony’s fall?
  3. What do you see as Antony’s hamartia?  Support your answer.
  4. Does Antony experience “recognition”?  If so, what insight does he gain, and what specific lines reveal it?
  5. How does each of the following factors affect your estimation of the “tragic stature” or greatness of Antony at the end of the play?
    1. Antony’s reaction to Enobarbus’s defection to Caesar
    2. Antony’s inability to find anyone who will kill him
    3. Antony’s last scene with Cleopatra (1428 b2)
    4. Cleopatra’s (1429, 1431) and Caesar’s (1429, 1434) statements about Antony after his death
  6. Antony has been called one of Shakespeare’s most appealing tragic heroes.  Do you agreement with this assessment?  Why or why not? 
  7. It has been said that audiences and readers identify with Antony and Cleopatra more than with other tragic heroes in Shakespeare.  Do you?  If so, why?

 

Cleopatra

  1. What lines in the play refer to Cleopatra’s previous relationship with Julius Caesar?  What was their relationship?  What does she have to gain from her relationships with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony?
  2. What is a courtesan?  What character traits does Cleopatra display in acts 1-4 that are similar to those of a courtesan?  In what specific scenes does she especially reveal these traits?  What character in a previously studied tragedy is identified as a courtesan?   
  3. In the last act of the play, how does Cleopatra grow as a character, no longer displaying the traits of a courtesan?  In particular, how does her love for and vision of reunion with Antony at the end of her life (1433) increase her tragic stature?
  4. How does Cleopatra’s link with the goddess Isis in Egyptian mythology increase her tragic stature?

 

Famous Lines

For each of the following well-known quotations from the play, (a) identify the speaker and listener, (b) explain the situation, and (c) explain the meaning of the lines.  When the lines below are at the beginning of a longer speech, the entire speech may be equally well known and important.  

  1. “My salad days, / When I was green in judgment . . .”  (1402; 1.5.73-74)
  2. Enobarbus’s speeches in praise of  Cleopatra (1405; 2.2), including the following lines:
    1. “The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne, / Burnt on the water.”  (2.2.191-92)
    2. “For her own person, / It beggar’d all description. . . .” (2.2.197-98)
    3. “Age cannot wither her, not custom stale / Her infinite variety.”  (2.2.234-35)
  3. “I am dying, Egypt, dying.”  (1428; 4.15.41)
  4. “He words me, girls, he words me, that I should not / Be noble to myself.” (1432; 5.2.191-92)
  5. “Finish, good lady[;] the bright day is done, / And we are for the dark.”  (1432; 5.2.193-94)
  6. “I wish you all joy of the worm.” (1433; 5.2.260)
  7. “Give me my robe, put on my crown, I have / Immortal longings in me. . . .” (1433; 5.2.280-81)

 

Act 1

  1. According to Antony’s friend Philo, how has Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra changed his behavior?  What is Philo’s opinion of this change?
  2. What prophecy does the soothsayer make to Charmian?  How is this prophecy fulfilled at the end of the play?
  3. What does Cleopatra mean when she uses the phrase “[a] Roman thought” (1397; 1.2.83)? 
  4. What personal news does a messenger bring to Antony?  How does Antony respond to this news? 
  5. What political and military news does Antony receive by letter?  How does Antony respond to this news?
  6. What character traits does Cleopatra exhibit?  Is she a sympathetic character at this point in the play? 
  7. According to Octavius Caesar’s account, what are Antony’s activities in Egypt?  What is Caesar’s opinion of Antony’s activities?
  8. Whom does Antony call “my serpent of old Nile” (1401; 1.5.25)?
  9. What lines in acts 1 and 2 allude to Cleopatra’s previous relationship with Julius Caesar?

 

Act 2

  1. What accusations does Octavius Caesar make against Antony, his wife Fulvia, and his brother?  How does Antony respond to these accusations?
  2. What purpose is Antony’s marriage to Caesar’s half-sister Octavia supposed to serve?  How does Antony’s decision to marry Octavia turn out to be a mistake?
  3. What sensuous description does Antony’s friend Enobarbus give of Cleopatra in her barge on the Nile (1405; 2.2.191 ff.)?  What is Enobarbus’s attitude toward Cleopatra?
  4. What unwelcome news does a messenger bring to Cleopatra?  How does Cleopatra react to this news?  How does she treat the messenger?  Is Cleopatra a sympathetic character in this scene?
  5. Why do the triumvirs—Caesar, Antony, and Lepidus—meet Pompey on his galley?
  6. What does Pompey’s friend Menas tell Pompey he should do while the triumvirs are aboard his galley?  When Pompey refuses to adopt this plan, what decision does Menas make?  Why?
  7. Why does Lepidus have to be carried off Pompey’s galley?  What does this suggest about his character?

 

Act 3

  1. What questions does Cleopatra ask the messenger about Octavia?  What answers does he give?  What does this scene reveal about Cleopatra’s character?
  2. How does Lepidus lose his place as a triumvir (3.5)?
  3. What information from Alexandria infuriates Caesar (3.6.1 ff.)? 
  4. What disturbing news does Caesar give to his sister Octavia (3.6)?
  5. What decision does Antony make about how to fight Caesar (3.7)?  According to Enobarbus, why is this a mistake?
  6. What happens in the Battle of Actium between Antony and Caesar (3.10)?  How does Antony judge his own actions in this battle (3.11)?  In what sense is the Battle of Actium the turning point of the play?
  7. What decision does Caesar make about how to deal with Antony and Cleopatra (3.12)?
  8. Who is Thidias?  Why does Antony order that Thidias be whipped (3.13)?  What previous scene involving Cleopatra does this scene parallel?
  9. What does Antony mean when he says to Cleopatra, “Alack, our terrene moon / Is now eclips’d, and it portends alone / The fall of Antony!” (1420; 3.13.153-55)? 
  10. What does Antony decide the entire royal court will do on the night before the Battle of Alexandria (3.13)?  What does this decision reveal about Antony’s character?
  11. What decision does Enobarbus make (3.13)? Why?

 

Act 4

  1. Stage directions indicate that, the night before the Battle of Alexandria, Antony’s soldiers hear “[m]usic of the [oboes] . . . under the stage” (4.3.12).  According to the Second Soldier, what does this music symbolize?
  2. How does Antony respond to the news that Enobarbus has left him and gone over to Caesar’s side?  What does this response show about Antony’s character? 
  3. How does Enorbarus react when he learns about Antony’s response to his leaving?  How does this knowledge change Enorbarus’s assessment of Antony’s character?
  4. Which side wins the first Battle of Alexandria, fought on land?
  5. Which side wins the second Battle of Alexandria, fought at sea (4.12)?  Who or what does Antony believe is the cause of this outcome?  What vengeance does Antony threaten?
  6. In what passages do Antony and Cleopatra envision that Caesar will lead them in triumph through the streets of Rome (including but not limited to 1426, 4.12.32-39; 1427, 4.14.72-76)? 
  7. In what previously studied tragedy is a conquered ruler led in triumph through the streets of Rome?  Who is the ruler?
  8. Where does Cleopatra go when she knows Antony is furious at her?  At Cleopatra’s command, what lie does her servant tell Antony?  What is the unintended consequence of this lie?
  9. In the play, who is Eros?  How is his name significant to the meaning of the play?  Under what circumstances does Eros die?  What does his death reveal about Antony’s character?
  10. What does Cleopatra mean when she says, after Antony’s death, “Let’s do’t after the high Roman fashion, / And make death proud to take us” (1429; 4.14.87-88).  What is the “high Roman fashion”?  What does she intend to do?

 

Act 5

  1. What does Caesar not want to happen to Cleopatra?  What does Caesar want to do with Cleopatra?  (Both questions are answered in 5.1.61-68 and accompanying footnotes.)
  2. Who tells Cleopatra what Caesar intends to do with her (1431; 5.2.109-10)?
  3. What fraudulent information does Cleopatra give Caesar?  How does Caesar respond to her attempted fraud?  Why is he so tolerant of her behavior?
  4. What does Cleopatra tell Iras will happen if they go to Rome (1433; 5.2.207-21)? 
  5. Does the “Clown” who enters with a basket (1433; 5.2.241) speak in prose or poetry?  If in poetry, in what verse form does he speak?  How is his language appropriate to his character?
  6. How does Cleopatra kill herself?  Symbolically, how is this an appropriate way for Cleopatra to die?
  7. According to Cleopatra’s final speech (1433; 5.2.280-92), what kind of afterlife does she foresee?  What is the significance of her addressing Antony as “Husband”?
  8. How and when do Iras and Charmian die?  How is the timing of Charmian’s death a fulfillment of prophecy?
  9. Who has the final speech of the play?  Why?  What is the content of the speech?  What other tragedy that we have studied has a somewhat similar final speech?