Antony and Cleopatra – A. J. Drake's Shakespeare Site

Questions on
Shakespeare’s Tragedies

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. (The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies, 3rd ed. 982-1060.)

ACT 1

*Throughout, “Caesar” is called Octavius or, occasionally, Octavius Caesar or Augustus Caesar to distinguish him from his predecessor Julius Caesar.

1. In Act 1, Scene 1, what view of Antony emerges, based on what Philo and Demetrius say about him and based on his dialogue with Cleopatra? In particular, how does this brief scene capture the duality of Antony as a Roman and as a man imbued with “Eastern” sensibilities? How does the text begin to delineate what a “Roman” is in terms of values and sensibilities and what an “Eastern person” is in those same terms?

2. In Act 1, Scene 2, what is the subject of the Soothsayer’s advice to Charmian and Iras, and what is the point of these characters’ banter surrounding the delivery of the palm-readings? To what extent do the fortune-tellings and the banter relate to or reflect on Cleopatra herself?

3. In Act 1, Scene 2, what news from beyond Egypt does Antony receive, and what effect does it have on him? Why does he reproach himself in this scene, and what are his immediate plans to deal with the problems confronting him? Also in this scene, what do we learn about the manner and ethos of Enobarbus—what general view of women does he apparently maintain, and how does he steer the conversation with Antony?

4. In Act 1, Scene 3, what complexities in Cleopatra’s character emerge, based on her interaction with Antony and her confidantes? To what extent does she understand Roman honor and sensibilities? What view does she take of Antony’s need to get back to Rome on “Roman” business? On the whole, how does Cleopatra in this scene display her talents as a performer and manipulator when it comes to Antony?

5. In Act 1, Scene 4, what picture of Octavius Caesar comes into focus? How does Octavius assess his fellow Triumvir Antony’s strengths and weaknesses? How does Octavius contrast his own self-image with the “Antony” he describes—what does he represent that Antony does not? Still, in what sense is the legendary general’s strong hold on Octavius’s imagination apparent in spite of the latter’s assessment of him?

6. In Act 1, Scene 5, how does Cleopatra describe her relationship with Antony? In what ways does she reveal the depth of her love for him? As of this final scene in Act 1, what seems mainly responsible for the deep bond between Antony and Cleopatra? What qualities does she see in him and approve, that others may not see, or in any case not approve?

7. In Act 1, Scene 5 and reflecting back on previous scenes if necessary, what image has the text thus far given us of this fascinating woman from a world long past? What do others apparently think of her? What does she seem to think of herself? In responding, you may want to consider how the text constructs Cleopatra (a Hellenistic Greek pharaoh): what sense do we get of her in terms of race, her attitude towards gender constraints, and her degree of experience as a ruler and romantic partner?

ACT 2

8. In Act 2, Scene 1, how does Sextus Pompeius (or “Pompey”) weigh his chances of victory against Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus? What is his estimation of these men separately? What is the basis of these opinions on Pompey’s part? Does he seem clear-eyed in his assessments, or overly optimistic? Explain.

9. In Act 2, Scene 2, when Octavius and Antony confront each other, what grievances and assumptions do they bring to the table? Aside from specific issues, what seems to lie at the bottom of these two men’s disagreements? In particular, what is Antony defensive about in some of his responses to Octavius? How does Agrippa help resolve the tension between them, at least for the present?

10. In Act 2, Scene 2, how does Enobarbus image forth Cleopatra as she sailed into Cydnus in 41-40 BCE to meet Antony? What does this description of her fancy barge and divine-seeming pageantry add to what we have heard and seen about her so far? When Enobarbus moves on to counter Maecenas, who insists that Antony will leave her once and for all, how does he try to get at the root of her powerful erotic appeal to Antony and other men? On the whole, how does Enobarbus view the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra?

11. In Act 2, Scene 3, Antony speaks to a soothsayer. What does the Soothsayer tell him, and what effect does the information have on him? How does this affect your understanding, if it does, with regard to Antony’s character and his motives for dividing his time between the Roman theater of operations and Egypt?

12. In Act 2, Scene 5, how does Cleopatra further our understanding of her affinity with Antony and the Roman world of power and honor that he embodies? In what sense does she chafe at the gender-based limitations imposed on her? How does her gesture of dressing Antony in female attire and borrowing his “sword Philippan” (23) relate to the last-mentioned concern, i.e. gender-based limitations? Why, too, does Cleopatra strike the messenger who bears news about Antony’s domestic life back in Rome?

13. In Act 2, Scene 6, what military and political pact does Sextus Pompeius (Pompey, son of Pompey the Great) make with the Triumvirs Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus? What are its terms, and why does he agree to it? What does Menas say about the deal, and what does Enobarbus suggest to Menas about Pompeius’s pact and about Antony’s reasons for agreeing to marry Octavius’s sister, Octavia?

14. In Act 2, Scene 7, on the basis of the Triumvirs’ celebrations when they appear to have reached an understanding, what becomes apparent about the qualities required to hold power in Rome? For example, during the drinking challenge aboard Pompey’s ship, what weaknesses does Lepidus reveal? How well does Octavius respond to demands that he imbibe as heavily as Antony and the others? In what sense does Antony come off much better at the drunken feast than his fellow Triumvirs or Pompey?

15. In Act 2, Scene 7, Menas secretly proposes to Pompey that he should simply murder the Triumvirs while they are incapacitated by drunkenness? What is Menas’s reasoning for thinking so? Why does Pompey reject this underhanded but very possibly canny suggestion? Why does Pompey’s response cost him Menas’s respect and loyalty?

ACT 3

16. In Act 3, Scene 1, what proto-Machiavellian principle does the Roman commander Ventidius explain to Silius when the latter urges him to rout the Parthian enemy that he has already defeated? (Ventidius has already killed Pacorus, son of Orades, for Orades’s treacherous murder of Marcus Crassus back in 53 BCE.) Why would the course of action that Silius recommends most likely prove disastrous to Ventidius?

17. In Act 3, Scene 2, what might Enobarbus and Agrippa’s mockery of Lepidus suggest about the real state of the Second Triumvirate? How, too, does Octavius Caesar show his distrust of Antony when it comes to his sister, Octavia? What do Enobarbus and Agrippa seem to be insinuating about Antony when they refer to his outpouring of grief over the deaths of his friend Julius Caesar and his enemy Marcus Brutus, who assassinated that friend in 44 BCE?

18. In Act 3, Scene 3, Cleopatra continues to gather intelligence about her rival Octavia, while in Scene 4, a distressed Octavia offers to help smooth things over between Antony, her new husband, and her brother Octavius. How does Antony advise Octavia when she offers to help? Why is Caesar outraged over Antony’s latest actions in Egypt? How does he respond to his sister’s arrival on an embassy from Antony? Is his characterization of Antony’s treatment of her accurate or inaccurate? Explain.

19. In Act 3, Scene 5, Octavius removes Lepidus from the Triumvirate and imprisons him, leaving only himself and Antony to rule an Empire in flux. In Scene 6, what is the present state of affairs between Antony and Octavius? Where is Antony, and what is he up to now? How does Octavius win over Octavia to his side of what is now clearly going to turn into an outright war for supremacy between himself and Antony?

20. In Act 3, Scene 7, why does Antony decide to fight Caesar by sea instead of by land, where he seems to have the best chance? What role does Cleopatra expect to play in the coming battle, and why? What inferences do Enobarbus and Canidius draw about their great commander at this point? How does Antony’s decision affect your view of his stature as a Roman?

21. In Act 3, Scenes 8-10, Caesar and Antony refine their respective strategies. What concerns shape Caesar’s decisions? What concerns inform Antony’s? What happens in the course of the battle, and how do Antony’s closest associates respond to this disastrous outcome? What is Enobarbus’s thinking at this point with respect to his loyalty for Antony?

22. In Act 3, Scene 11, how does Antony react to the fiasco that was the sea battle of Actium? How does his self-described status as a world-historical player make the situation especially intolerable to him? What are his feelings towards Cleopatra at this point? Why, in spite of those feelings, is he able to reconcile with her so quickly?

23. In Act 3, Scene 12, how do Antony and Cleopatra handle the immediate aftermath of their humiliating loss at Actium? What terms do they seek from Octavius Caesar? What intentions does the victor manifest with regard to how he will treat Antony and Cleopatra? Why does Octavius think he will be successful in getting Cleopatra to do his bidding?

24. In Act 3, Scene 13, how does Antony try to recover his self-command, his dignity, and snatch victory from what seems to others his certain disaster? Why does he have Octavius’s messenger Thidias whipped? As Enobarbus watches Antony’s attempt at self-recovery unfold, what rapid evolution does his attitude towards him undergo? Do Antony’s words and actions in this scene affect yourown understanding of him? If so, how? If not, why?

25. In Act 3, Scene 13, how does Antony get beyond his anger at Cleopatra’s cut-and-run failure at Actium? What insults does he at first level at her, and by what means does she turn him around to reconciling with her, as he has done before? By the end of the scene, what decision has Enobarbus finally made with respect to his general?

ACT 4

26. In Act 4, Scenes 1-5, what is Antony’s apparent frame of mind as the battle draws near? Does he still believe he can win? Either way, what motivates him to carry on the fight against Octavius Caesar? How does Antony react to the news that Enobarbus has deserted him, and how is this reaction not as surprising as it might be if we were dealing with almost anyone but Antony?

27. In Act 4, Scene 6, Octavius declares that the “time of universal peace” (the Pax Romana, as it came to be called) is near, but in what sense do his speech and conduct in even in this brief scene reveal a less than savory side to the enigmatic young man who will soon usher in the new world order? What resolution does Enobarbus come to, and why?

28. In Act 4, Scenes 7-9, Antony’s fortunes have changed drastically from certain loss to a strong prospect of victory, but Enobarbus dies miserably, filled with self-loathing for his act of desertion. What are Enobarbus’s final self-reflections? How has Antony turned things around so quickly, and how is his treatment of the soldier Scarus characteristic of Antony at his best?

29. In Act 4, Scenes 10-14, when the battle returns to the sea, the Egyptian fleet again fails Antony, going over to Caesar’s side. How does the Queen behave after this final disaster overtakes her? This time, Antony doesn’t immediately reconcile with her, as he has previously. Using what terms, then, does he rail at her? How are things different this time? Still, once Antony thinks Cleopatra is dead, how does he respond?

30. In Act 4, Scene 15, what pattern again reasserts itself in Antony’s reaction to a military failure involving Cleopatra? Why does Antony believe his present wretchedness, botched suicide attempt and all, will not eclipse his reputation—how does he “script” his own death as a Roman even as he is passing away? Are his assumptions reasonable, or self-deluded? Discuss. What resolution does Cleopatra arrive at once Antony is dead?

ACT 5

31. In Act 5, Scene 1, how does Octavius react to the death of Antony? How does he deal with the fallen but still living Cleopatra? While it’s obvious that political expediency is never far from Octavius’s mind, does this scene allow you to interpret his actions and words as due to anything more than cunning and hypocrisy? Is the future “Augustus Caesar” a model Roman in his own way? If so, how?

32. In Act 5, Scene 2, how does Cleopatra set about refashioning herself rhetorically as a hero in the Roman style? How does she refashion Antony as the noblest Roman and, perhaps, as something grander even than that? What effect do Cleopatra’s admiration-filled words about Antony have on Dolabella? How does he manage to help her?

33. In Act 5, Scene 2, after Octavius tries to string her along with lies about his intentions, why is Cleopatra especially upset about the prospect that she will be put on display in Rome and that actors, as she says, will “boy my greatness” on the stage? In addition, how does her intent to rejoin Antony in a stylish death affect the play’s tragic quality? If it amounts to an attempt to salvage something like a “romance play” ending from what looks like a bleak tragedy, to what extent, if at all, does Cleopatra succeed?

34. In Act 5, Scene 2, consider the adaptation Shakespeare has made from Plutarch’s Life of Antony, in which a rustic fellow brings Cleopatra a basket within which are concealed poisonous asps. (The rustic “countryman,” as North’s translation of Plutarch calls him, plays a more significant role in Shakespeare’s play.) Why do you suppose Shakespeare introduces a note of comedy or of the bizarre in rendering this scene’s dialogue? Does this enhance the scene’s tragic overtones, or introduce a note of appropriate complexity? Explain.

35. In Act 5, Scene 2, what tribute does Octavius pay to the now-deceased lovers Antony and Cleopatra? What judgment does the soon-to-be-titled “Augustus Caesar” make of these foes that he admired but relentlessly pursued and crushed? How do you weigh the relative impact that these two very different sets of actors—Antony and Cleopatra as opposed to Octavius/Augustus—have had on world history, and on our collective imagination in the two millennia since their deaths?

Edition. Greenblatt, Stephen et al., editors. The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies + Digital Edition. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93860-9.

Document Timestamp: 9/21/2025 12:00 PM