Answer TWO of the following as usual, or go to town with ONE if you really have a good idea:
Q1: In many ways, this is a play about acting, and no one acts more extravagantly as Cleopatra. As Enobarbarus (her servant) says about her, "I have seen her die twenty times upon poor moment" (1.2). Why does she spend so much of her time with Antony in 'costume' rather than being more 'real'? Does he, like Othello, not appreciate a Sonnet 130 woman? Conversely, why might a woman like Cleopatra view life as a performance?
Q2: How do the Romans in the play, such as Caesar, regard Antony's behavior? Though he's a great warrior and clearly a great lover (to win Cleopatra's affections), what makes him seem 'unmanly' to them? Do people in Egypt share the same opinion? Does he?
Q3: After seeing the great love that Othello and Desdemona had for each other (at least in Acts 1-2), is the same true for Cleopatra and Antony? Are they madly, passionately in love, or is it more a power play? Is he using her for political advantage? Is she? How does their language in Act 1 betray their emotions?
Q4: How does Shakespeare create the 'setting' of Egypt through his language? In other words, how does he give his audience a sense of Egyptian atmosphere through the way the Egyptians speak and act? In Shakespere's day, they wouldn't have much in the way of sets or props, so the language, alone, would make people believe they were in a different country. What makes Egypt 'sound' differently than Rome or Romans? How does he create this illusion (Act 1.2 is a good example).
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