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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whose ship hoists its sail and flies, "like a cow in June"?

2. What is the name of the man who accompanies Caesar in Act 3, Scene 8?

3. Who does Antony say is approaching the ports of Rome in the play's first act?

4. Who is with Caesar in his home in Act 1, Scene 4?

5. What does Antony say he will possibly bathe in the "blood / Shall make it live again" in the second scene of the fourth act?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reason does the Soothsayer tell Antony he must go back to Egypt?

2. How does Cleopatra act in Antony's absence?

3. For what reason does Antony spurn the news that has come from Rome at the play's beginning?

4. In what way does Antony compose himself in Act 4, Scene 2?

5. What characterizes the reports that the messenger gives to Cleopatra of Octavia?

6. How do his companions react to Antony's speeches in Act 4, Scene 2?

7. What does Caesar imply by his directions regarding giving the soldiers a feast the night before the battle at Alexandria?

8. What characterizes Antony's speech after Actium, before Cleopatra arrives, at the palace in Alexandria?

9. What is the significance of the discussion between Enobarbus and Agrippa in the first part of Act 3, Scene 2?

10. What good does Caesar say that Octavia's letters had done, regarding Antony?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The tragic conclusion of Antony and Cleopatra is somewhat mitigated by the portrayal and evident Roman perception of the nobility of suicide. By carefully developing a well-structured essay, analyze the reasons behind the Roman view of suicide and explicate how this effects the conclusion of the play. What is significant about the various characters ending their own lives? How does such action alter the ending of the play? What is the fundamental correlation between death and nobility? Upon what principles is the Roman conception of suicide in the face of being conquered as noble founded? Be sure to explicate through examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

As a constant companion of Mark Antony, Enobarbus often serves as a foil against which Antony's greatness and tragic decline are set. Thus, compose an insightful analytical essay that examines the character of Enobarbus as he helps to expose Antony's character. What sort of man is Enobarbus? What characterizes his actions? How does such a character help to demonstrate Antony's character? What does Enobarbus's tragic end help the audience to see regarding Antony? What is the significance of Enobarbus's soliloquy in Act 4, Scene 9?

Essay Topic 3

Of all Cleopatra's many unique character traits, none is perhaps as efficacious on the action and plot of the story as her vanity. In a well-written essay, analyze the cataclysm that is caused by her vain pursuits. In what instances does she show her vanity? How does it affect characters and their actions? What sparks her vain tendencies? What is the evident moral consequence of indulging one's own vanity, as demonstrated by Cleopatra?

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