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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. Whom does Caesar send to win Cleopatra from Antony?

2. At whose house does Act 2, Scene 2 unfold?

3. What does Enobarbus say is the cause of the "odd tricks" shot out of Antony's mind?

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

5. Of what is Antony told concerning his wife in the play's second scene?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the sight of Thyreus kissing Cleopatra's hand provoke in Mark Antony?

2. What characterizes the manner with which Cleopatra reacts to Antony's decisions?

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

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

5. What causes Antony to flee the battle of Actium?

6. For what reason does Cleopatra fly into a rage in the fifth scene of the second act?

7. How does Menas propose to make Pompey the ruler of the world?

8. For what reason does Antony insist upon assailing Caesar by sea at Actium, despite the protestations of his loyal men?

9. Why does Enobarbus tell Menas that that which has caused amity between Caesar and Antony will likewise "prove the immediate author of their variance"?

10. Why does Octavius Caesar lament the absence of Mark Antony?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although the external conflict with Caesar is what ostensibly brings Mark Antony to his fate, it is only as a result of Antony's failure to overcome the internal conflict between his desire for Cleopatra and his right reason that the conflict comes about. In a thoughtful essay, analyze the causes, events, and consequences of this internal conflict as it develops throughout the story. In what does the conflict consist? What actions are characteristic of the conflict? How does the conflict move the story's events? What commentaries are given on the conflict, and what insights are provided by characters other than Cleopatra and Antony? How is the conflict resolved? What affects the resolution of the conflict?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the play, Caesar uses many incidents and faults of others to his own advantage. Although not the philosophy promoted in the 18th century, this is nonetheless an evaluation of people and objects based on their utility, and thus a form of utilitarianism. Compose an analytical essay that evaluates Caesar's methods of evaluating others. In what ways does Caesar put to use other people, objects, incidents, situations, or human faults? Upon what basis does he reward or punish individuals? What is the moral significance of such a method of evaluation? What is problematic about using others as a means to one's own end?

Essay Topic 3

One of the most complicated characters in the play, despite the brevity of his appearance, is the Clown who delivers the deadly asps to Cleopatra in the final scene. Though his phrasing is somewhat veiled and ambiguous, a multitude of arguments can be made for any number of interpretations of his character's significance. In a very carefully constructed essay, analyze the Clown's words to Cleopatra and make an argument for some definite interpretation of his meaning. What are the referents for the people and conditions to which the Clown alludes? What is the significance of his commentaries insofar as they relate to the actions and characters of the play? Why have a clown deliver such a message?

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