1. What qualities do you think are most dominant in the characters of (1) Antony; (2) Cleopatra; and (3) Octavius Caesar? Which character do you admire the most? Why? Which character do you dislike the most? Why? 2. Do you think that any of the characters in this play could […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsWilliam Shakespeare Biography
Many books have assembled facts, reasonable suppositions, traditions, and speculations concerning the life and career of William Shakespeare. Taken as a whole, these materials give a rather comprehensive picture of England’s foremost dramatic poet. Tradition and sober supposition are not necessarily false because they lack proved bases for their existence. […]
Read more William Shakespeare BiographyCharacter Analysis Enobarbus
Enobarbus is Antony’s most devoted friend; he is so loyal and so trusted, in fact, that he is able to comment freely, even when he feels critical of Antony. And he has much to be critical of, for he can reason in situations when Antony’s sense of reason deserts him. […]
Read more Character Analysis EnobarbusCharacter Analysis Lepidus
Lepidus became one of the triumvirs partly because he had a large number of soldiers under his command and also because Antony needed him. He served to balance the power of Antony and young Octavius Caesar, because he was a threat to neither Octavius nor Antony. Lepidus is the eldest […]
Read more Character Analysis LepidusCharacter Analysis Octavius Caesar
In Julius Caesar’s will, his grand-nephew, Octavius, was named as his heir and adoptive son. Octavius was related to Caesar through his grandfather, who married a sister of the Roman dictator. As one of the three triumvirs, Octavius is the youngest and the most ambitious of the three. He began […]
Read more Character Analysis Octavius CaesarCharacter Analysis Cleopatra
If an imaginary spectrum were constructed and if Octavius Caesar were placed at one end of the spectrum, Antony would waver, swaying and shifting in the middle, and Cleopatra would be found at the other end of the spectrum. Not only is she queen of Egypt, she is the epitome […]
Read more Character Analysis CleopatraCharacter Analysis Antony
Antony, like Julius Caesar, is descended from an ancient Roman family, though lately the family has fallen into disfavor. Antony seems to have been a rather worthless person in his youth; he liked to drink too much, and he tended to be a spendthrift. He continued to exhibit these qualities […]
Read more Character Analysis AntonySummary and Analysis Act V: Scene 2
Summary Back at her monument in Alexandria, Cleopatra and her attendants plan their immediate future. She does not intend to be taken alive by Caesar, however seemingly kind his intentions. Proculeius enters, and she remembers that Antony told her earlier that this man could be trusted. He asks what she […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1
Summary The final act opens at Caesar’s camp in Alexandria. Dercetas enters with Antony’s bloodied sword. Caesar is startled by the sight, and then Dercetas explains that this is the sword with which Antony killed himself. Caesar is affected by the irony of this moment, for while he fought hard […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 15
Summary The scene opens at Cleopatra’s monument, or tomb. Cleopatra is being comforted by her attendants when Diomedes enters to tell them what has happened to Antony. Shortly thereafter, Antony is carried in on a stretcher by his soldiers and is raised up to the balcony. There, he makes a […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 15