For Tuesday: Antony and Cleopatra, Acts 1-2

As always, answer TWO of the following: 

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'? Is there a reason a woman like Cleopatra might 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: From Acts 1-2, does this seem like a love story? 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, what makes Egypt 'sound' differently than Rome or Romans? How does he create this illusion (Act 1.2 is a good example). 

Q5: 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. 

Paper #3: Teaching Tragedy

English 3213

Paper #3: Teaching Tragedy

PROMPT: Your Paper #3, as promised, is a bit different than the first two. For this assignment I want you to design an assignment, a classroom activity, or a set of 8-10 discussion questions for ONE of the plays from class. However, the audience for these assignments should be either a High School Classroom, OR a Book Club/Library Discussion Group. In other words, not a college classroom with English majors who are already pretty sophisticated and interested in the material. Imagine that you’re trying to help them read, appreciate, and understand Shakespeare via your assignment. So don’t make it too sophisticated, but DO make it challenging and thought-provoking.

IDEAS: Here are some things you might focus on in your assignment/activity/questions:

• Helping people read/understand Shakespeare’s language
• Applying Poole’s ideas about tragedy to a specific play
• Focusing on issues of character and class/rank
• Exploring the role of Fate vs. Free Will
• Problem scenes and how to stage them
• Finding and feeling catharsis
• Men vs. women—their roles and characters
• Comedy vs. Tragedy
• Ideas about adaptation (how Shakespeare did it, or how you could)
• Reading modern politics through his characters/plots
• Glossing/defining specific words or phrases that are not commonly known or have changed over time

REQUIREMENTS: Your assignment should have two components: (a) an assignment sheet, that documents the assignment, activity, or discussion questions for someone to engage with. Imagine that this is what you would give to the class or group (1-2 pages). And (b) a short reflection explaining how you approached it and what you hope to achieve through it—how people might respond, etc (also 1-2 pages).

If you do the assignment, remember it doesn’t have to be completely analytical—it can also be creative in nature. This especially goes for the activity: it can be something creative and hands-on, but still thoughtful and engaging. And if you do the discussion questions, make sure they’re specific and thoughtful: no one-sentence questions like “do you think Hamlet is insane?” And try to make the questions instigate wider discussion and even debates. Don’t ask something that you already know the answer to: feel free to ask questions that you, yourself, are still pondering (that’s what I do!).

DUE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25^th by 5pm [no class that day!]