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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. What does Antony send after his most recent deserter in Act 4, Scene 5?

2. What is Caesar's will regarding Antony in Act 4, Scene 6?

3. Of whom does Cleopatra report dreaming in Act 5, Scene 2?

4. How many times will Antony reward Scarus for his "spritely comfort"?

5. What may be held in the location to which the speaker and company go in Act 4, scene 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Caesar insist upon being still with his land forces on the second day of Battle at Alexandria?

2. How does Cleopatra envision her shaming in Rome if she is taken there as a captive?

3. What happens to Enobarbus after his speech in Act 4, Scene 9?

4. What characterizes Enobarbus' speech which he calls upon the moon to witness?

5. What does the sudden music expose within the soldiers of Antony before the battle at Alexandria?

6. What effect on Antony's disposition does the desertion by Enobarbus have?

7. How does Cleopatra comport herself towards Antony in Act 4, Scene 4?

8. What purpose does Act 4, Scene 3 serve, with its interlude of unnamed, minor characters?

9. In what way is Antony's disposition towards the battle at Alexandria changed on the second day?

10. What is meant by Charmian's statement that "The soul and body rive not more in parting / Than greatness going off"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Keeping in mind that a tragedy is a story of human action which, by the means of free will and fate, results in exceptional calamity and the death or disintegration of the life of an extraordinary man, analyze the relationship between the story of Antony and Cleopatra with the archetypal indications of tragedy in a well-thought-out essay. What indicates the story to be a tragedy? What is the significance of all the central elements of the story insofar as they relate to tragedy? In what does the play's tragedy specifically consist?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the play, there is a regularly occurring but never explicitly mentioned theme of tyrannical rule. Tyranny, in the modern conception, is defined as the rule of any authoritative figure or body for the sake of his or their own good, without consideration of those who are ruled. In a thoughtful essay, analyze the presence of this theme in all of the powerful rulers throughout the play. How do they rule for their own good? In what way does this rule affect those who are ruled, be it positive or negative? In what scenes or actions do the various rulers evince tyrannical tendencies?

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