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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 presence does Enorbarbus say must puzzle Antony?
2. According to Canidius, where did Caesar fight Pompey?
3. When does Caesar say he will attack after receiving Antony's challenge?
4. In Act 3, Scene 5, who delivers news to Enobarbus?
5. Which of the following does Antony NOT command his men to do after his defeat at Actium?
Short Essay Questions
1. What is the result of Antony's fleeing from Actium?
2. What does the sight of Thyreus kissing Cleopatra's hand provoke in Mark Antony?
3. What causes Antony to experience a dramatic change at the play's beginning?
4. For what reason does Ventidius claim he leaves some soldiering undone?
5. How does Caesar instruct Thyreus to win Cleopatra from Antony?
6. What good does Caesar say that Octavia's letters had done, regarding Antony?
7. What characterizes the reports that the messenger gives to Cleopatra of Octavia?
8. For what reason does Cleopatra fly into a rage in the fifth scene of the second act?
9. How do his companions react to Antony's speeches in Act 4, Scene 2?
10. Why does Enobarbus tell Menas that that which has caused amity between Caesar and Antony will likewise "prove the immediate author of their variance"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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?
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
In a variety of scenes and a variety of manners, the play constantly exposes the inherent dangers of political success and failure. Analyze this exposition as it occurs throughout the play in a well-organized essay. In what scenes is political danger a dominant theme? How are the dangers of politics portrayed? Which characters provide insight on the dangers of the political machinations of the play and how are they exposed? What is the significance of the inherent dangers of politics to the tragic nature of the play?
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This section contains 826 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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