For Monday/Wednesday: Antony and Cleopatra, Acts 2-3 (see Note)

NOTE: I'm going to push the paper back to next Monday, so we can actually finish the play this week. That way, you'll also have the weekend to write the paper. So here are questions for Acts 2 & 3, and you can turn them in as late as Wednesday. You only have to read Act 2 for Monday (since that's probably all we'll have time to discuss, anyway). We will do an in-class response over Act 3 on Wednesday as well, but I thought it would be easier to give you more time on the questions. 

Answer TWO or ONE, depending on your time, interest, and inclination: 

Q1: How would you stage Act 2, Scene 5, particularly the scenes with Cleopatra and the Messenger? Is this a scene of high comedy, where Cleopatra loses it and acts like a spoiled child? Or is this a deeply tragic scene, where she realizes that the one hold she had over Antony’s affections is lost? Use a line or two to support how you think we’re supposed to read (and stage) this scene.

Q2: When Enobarbus tells the Romans (Maecenas and Agrippa) about Cleopatra, he switches from verse to prose: why does he do this? Also, examine this speech—what does he think about Cleopatra? Does he consider her Antony’s “exotic” whore? Or does he hold her in respect and awe? 

Q3: Though Rome is notoriously racist in its views towards Cleopatra and Egypt, is the same true of Antony? Does he love her in spite of her race, or is he ‘color blind’ when it comes to his affections? How does Act III offer us a definitive portrait of their relationship, especially once the chips are down (after the disastrous naval battle)?

Q4: What role does Enobarbus seem to embody in the play, particularly in Acts 2 and 3? Though he is one of Antony’s most loyal supporters, even he is looking for a way out by the end of Act 3. Is he another Shakespearean Fool? Or is he more like Iago, plotting secretly against Antony?