English Study Buddy

A.     By whom and in what circumstances is the passage spoken? (Use not more than 50 words.)

B.      What is the dramatic significance of the subject matter of the passage?

C.     What do you consider to be the interest and importance of the way in which this subject matter is expressed?  (In this section you are expected to comment on such matters as diction, imagery and verse.)

(1) Most sweet voices!

Better it is to die, better to starve,

Than crave the hire which first we do deserve.

Why in this wolvish toge should I stand here

5 To beg of Hob and Dick that do appear

Their needless vouches? Custom calls me to’t.

What custom wills, in all things should we do’t,

The dust on antique time would lie unswept,

And mountainous error be too highly heap’d

10 For truth to o’erpeer. Rather than fool it so,

Let the high offlce and the honour go

To one that would do thus. I am half through;

The one part suffered, the other will I do.

A.     By whom and in what circumstances is the passage spoken? (Use not more than 50 words.)

B.      What is the dramatic significance of the subject matter of the passage?

C.     What do you consider to be the interest and importance of the way in which this subject matter is expressed?  (In this section you are expected to comment on such matters as diction, imagery and verse.)

(1) He that will give good words to thee will flatter

Beneath abhorring. What would you have, you curs,

That like nor peace nor war? The one affrights you,

The other makes you proud. He that trusts to you,

Where he should find you lions, finds you hares;

Where foxes, geese; you are no surer, no

Than is the coal of fire upon the ice

Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is

To make him worthy whose offence subdues him,

And curse that justice did it. Who deserves greatness

Deserves your hate; and your affections are

A sick man’s appetite, who desires most that

Which would increase his evil.

(2) O mother, mother!

What have you done? Behold, the heavens do ope,

The gods look down, and this unnatural scene

They laugh at. O my mother, mother! O!

You have won a happy victory to Rome;

But for your son—believe it, O, believe it !—

Most dangerously you have with him prevail’d

If not most mortal to him. But let it come.

Aufidius, though I cannot make true wars,

I’ll frame convenient peace. Now, good Aufidius,

Were you in my stead, would you have heard

A mother less, or granted less, Aufidius?

A.     By whom and in what circumstances is the passage spoken? (Use not more than 50 words.)

B.      What is the dramatic significance of the subject matter of the passage?

C.     What do you consider to be the interest and importance of the way in which this subject matter is expressed?  (In this section you are expected to comment on such matters as diction, imagery and verse.)

1-Come, leave your tears; a brief farewell. The beast

With many heads butts me away. Nay, mother,

Where is your ancient courage? You were us’d

To say extremities was the trier of spirits;

That common chances common men could bear;

That when the sea was calm all boats alike

Show’d mastership in floating; fortune’s blows,

When most struck home, being gentle wounded craves

A noble cunning. You were us’d to load me

With precepts that would make invincible

The heart that conn’d them.

2-Down, ladies; let us shame him with our knees.

To his surname Coriolanus ‘longs more pride

Than pity to our prayers. Down. An end;

This is the last. So we will home to Rome,

And die among our neighbours. Nay, behold’s!

This boy, that cannot tell what he would have

But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship,

Does reason our petition with more strength

Than thou hast to deny’t. Come, let us go.

This fellow had a Volscian to his mother;

His wife is in Corioli, and his child

Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch.

I am hush’d until our city be afire,

And then I’ll speak a little.

Assignment:  Having watched the BBC, 1969, and Mel Gibson versions of the opening two scenes of Hamlet, what are the main differences and which did you find more effective? 

Which was most true to the original text?  What reasons can you find for the three different treatments of the play by the directors?

You should think about:

• What you see
• What you hear
• How the sounds and music create the mood and atmosphere of the scene
• What actually happens in the scene
• The use of color and setting
• The use of costumes and their effects
• The Hamlet props which are used and their significance
• The characters themselves–what they look like and how they behave
• The various settings for the action, e.g., outside, on stage
• The importance of the scene to what happens later on in the play.

And

• How you imagine the scene should have been performed.

Background:  The students watched the three videos over a number of lessons, and took notes as they watched.  They also read and discussed the key scenes in the text.  Then they spent time comparing the three different versions, and drafted and re-drafted their work.

Answer A., B. or C.:

A.     Examining the death scene closely, up to the point where Caesar enters with his entourage. Discuss the scene in the light of the following:

1.      Cleopatra’s attitude to death here, paying close attention to the language she uses;

2.      Charmian’s contribution to the scene;

3.      The dramatic effectiveness of this scene.

B.      Do you see Antony as: “The triple pillar of the world transformed Into a strumpet’s fool?” Why or why not.

C.     Discuss Shakespeare’s presentation of the themes of betrayal and treachery in Antony and Cleopatra.

Answer either A. or B.:

A.     Look at Act 2, Scene (iii):  Tell how useful or relevant you find this scene to be for your understanding of both Antony’s inner conflicts, and his relationship with Caesar in the play as a whole.

B.      Below you will find three very different interpretations of the significance of Antony and Cleopatra. While giving due attention to the views expressed, discuss your own reaction to the play:

1.      The nobleness of life/Is to do thus,’ declared Antony at the beginning of the play. The deaths of himself and Cleopatra show that they truly lived their lives by that principle.

2.      ‘They both died as they had lived’d, with a sadly misplaced sense of their own importance and integrity.’

3.      ‘Good riddance to both of them! I hope that Fulvia and Octavian get a chance to dance on their grave.”

General Essay-Style Questions

For examinations or class/coursework essays.

Answer these questions using close reference to the text:

1.      Discuss one of the following comments on Antony and Cleopatra:

a. “All the play’s complexities resolve upon a single opposition: ‘Egypt is romantic but wrong, Rome is repulsive but right’.”

b. “Splendid poetry and variety of characters cannot make up for the play’s lack of dramatic coherence. Indeed, they are largely responsible for it.”

2.      “‘Infinite variety’ may be applied not just to Cleopatra, but to the play as a whole.” In what different way does variety contribute to the dramatic interest of Antony and Cleopatra?

3.      “Self-indulgence” or “tragic greatness?” What is your view of the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra?

4.      Discuss the importance of the comments on Antony and Cleopatra made by two or more other characters at the several stages of the action.

5.      “He hath given his empire Up to a whore.”  Do you think that this is an adequate description of the relationship of Antony and Cleopatra? Give reasons and illustrations.

6.      “The tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra is essentially that of a man caught between conflicting claims.” Consider this view of the play, saying how far you agree with it.

Write an essay on the following extracts saying, briefly, what importance it has in the development and structure of the plot, and commenting on such matters as:

·         The revelation of character

·         The use of language

·         Verse and stage action

·         The bringing out of themes.

Relate your answer, as appropriate, to other parts of the play.

5-[Enter DEMETRIUS and PHILO.]

Act I, Scene i

PHILO. Nay, but this dotage of our general’s

O’erflows the measure. Those his goodly eyes,

That o’er the files and musters of the war

Have glow’d like plated Mars, now bend, now turn

The office and devotion of their view

Upon a tawny front. His captain’s heart

Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst

The buckles on his breast, reneges all temper,

And is become the bellows and the fan

10-To cool a gipsy’s lust.

[Flourish. Enter ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, her Ladies, the Train with Eunuchs fanning her.]

Look where they come!

Take but good note, and you shall see in him

The triple pillar of the world transform’d

Into a strumpet’s fool. Behold and see

CLEOPATRA. If it be love indeed, tell me how much.

ANTONY. There’s beggary in the love that can be reckon’d.

CLEOPATRA. I’ll set a bourn how far to be belov’d.

ANTONY. Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.

[Enter a Messenger.]

MESSENGER. News, my good lord, from Rome.

ANTONY. Grates me the sum.

20-CLEOPATRA. Nay, hear them, Antony.

Fulvia perchance is angry; or who knows

If the scarce-bearded Caesar have not sent

His pow’rful mandate to you: ‘Do this or this;

Take in that kingdom and enfranchise that;

25 Perform’t, or else we damn thee’.

ANTONY. How, my love?

CLEOPATRA Perchance? Nay, and most like,

You must not stay here longer; your dismission

Is come from Caesar; therefore hear it, Antony.

Where’s Fulvia’s process? Caesar’s I would say? Both?

Call in the messengers. As I am Egypt’s Queen,

Thou blushest, Antony, and that blood of thine

Caesar’s homager. Else so thy cheek pays shame

When shrill-tongu’d Fulvia scolds. The messengers.

ANTONY. Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch

Of the rang’d empire fall! Here is my space.

Kingdoms are clay; our dungy earth alike

Feeds beast as man. The nobleness of life

Is to do thus [embracing] When such a mutual pair,

And such a twain can do’t, in which I bind,

On pain of punishment, the world to weet

We stand up peerless.

CLEOPATRA. Excellent falsehood!

Why did he marry Fulvia, and not love her?

I’ll seem the fool I am not. Antony

Will be himself.

ANTONY.  But stirr’d by Cleopatra.

Now for the love of Love and her soft hours,

Let’s not confound the time with conference harsh;

There’s not a minute of our lives should stretch

Without some pleasure now. What sport to-night?

CLEOPATRA. Hear the ambassadors.

ANTONY. Fie, wrangling queen!

Whom everything becomes—to chide, to laugh,

To weep; whose every passion fully strives

To make itself in thee fair and admir’d.

No messenger but thine, and all alone

To-night we’ll wander through the streets and note

The qualities of people. Come, my queen;

Last night you did desire it. Speak not to us.

[Exit Antony and Cleopatra, with the Train.]

DEMETRIUS. Is Caesar with Antonius priz’d so slight?

PHILO. Sir, sometimes when he is not Antony,

He comes too short of that great property

Which still should go with Antony.

DEMETRIUS. I am full sorry

That he approves the common liar, who

Thus speaks of him at Rome; but I will hope

Of better deeds to-morrow. Rest you happy! [Exit.]

Write an essay on the following extracts saying, briefly, what importance it has in the development and structure of the plot, and commenting on such matters as:

·         The revelation of character

·         The use of language

·         Verse and stage action

·         The bringing out of themes.

Relate your answer, as appropriate, to other parts of the play.

4-ANTONY. I am dying, Egypt, dying; only

I here importune death awhile, until

Of many thousand kisses the poor last

I lay upon thy lips.

CLEOPATRA. I dare not, dear.

5-Dear my lord, pardon! I dare not,

Lest I be taken. Not th’ imperious show

Of the full-fortun’d Caesar ever shall

Be brooch’d with me. If knife, drugs, serpents, have

Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe.

10-Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes

And still conclusion, shall acquire no honour

Demuring upon me. But come, come, Antony—

Help me, my women—we must draw thee up;

Assist, good friends.

ANTONY. O, quick, or I am gone.

15-CLEOPATRA. Here’s sport indeed! How heavy weighs my lord!

Our strength is all gone into heaviness;

That makes the weight. Had I great Juno’s power,

The strong-wing’d Mercury should fetch thee up,

And set thee by Jove’s side. Yet come a little.

20-Wishers were ever fools. O come, come, come,

[They heave Antony aloft to Cleopatra.]

And welcome, welcome! Die where thou hast liv’d.

Quicken with kissing. Had my lips that power,

Thus would I wear them out.

ALL. A heavy sight!

ANTONY. I am dying, Egypt, dying.

25-Give me some wine, and let me speak a little.

CLEOPATRA. No, let me speak; and let me rail so high

That the false huswife Fortune break her wheel,

Provok’d by my offence.

ANTONY. One word, sweet queen:

Of Caesar seek your honour, with your safety. O!

30-CLEOPATRA. They do not go together.

ANTONY. Gentle, hear me: None about Caesar trust but Proculeius.

CLEOPATRA. My resolution and my hands I’ll trust;

None about Caesar.

ANTONY. The miserable change now at my end

35-Lament nor sorrow at, but please your thoughts

In feeding them with those my former fortunes

Wherein I liv’d the greatest prince o’ th’ world,

The noblest; and do now not basely die

Not cowardly put off my helmet to

40-My countryman—a Roman by a Roman

Valiantly vanquish’d. Now my spirit is going;

I can no more.

CLEOPATRA. Noblest of men, woo’t die?

Hast thou no care of me? Shall I abide

In this dull world, which in thy absence is

No better than a sty?  O, see, my women,

[Antony dies.] The crown o’ th’ earth doth melt.

My lord! 0, wither’d is the garland of the war,

The soldier’s pole is fall’n! Young boys and girls

Are level now with men. The odds is gone,

And there is nothing left remarkable

Beneath the visiting moon. [Swoons.]

CHARMIAN. O, quietness, lady!

IRAS. She’s dead too, our sovereign.

CHARMIAN. Lady!

IRAS. Madam!

CHARMIAN. O madam, madam, madam!

IRAS. Royal Egypt, Empress!

CHARMIAN. Peace, peace, Iras!

CLEOPATRA. No more but e’en a woman, and commanded

By such poor passion as the maid that milks

And does the meanest chares. It were for me

To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods;

To tell them that this world did equal theirs

60-Till they had stol’n our jewel. All’s but nought;

Patience is sottish, and impatience does

Become a dog that’s mad. Then is it sin

To rush into the secret house of death

Ere death dare come to us? How do you, women?

65-What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, Charmian!

My noble girls! Ah, women, women, look,

Our lamp is spent, it’s out! Good sirs, take heart.

We’ll bury him; and then, what’s brave, what’s noble,

Let’s do it after the high Roman fashion,

7n-And make death proud to take us. Come, away;

This case of that huge spirit now is cold.

Ah, women, women! Come; we have no friend

But resolution and the briefest end.

[Exit; those above bearing of Antony’s body.]

Write an essay on the following extracts saying, briefly, what importance it has in the development and structure of the plot, and commenting on such matters as:

• The revelation of character
• The use of language
• Verse and stage action
• The bringing out of themes.

Relate your answer, as appropriate, to other parts of the play.

Enter CLEOPATRA.

ENO. Hush! Here comes Antony.

CHAR. Not he; the Queen.

CLEO. Saw you my lord?

ENO. No, lady.

5-CLEO. Was he not here?

CHAR. No, madam.

CLEO. He was dispos’d to mirth; but on the sudden

A Roman thought hath struck him. Enobarbus!

ENO. Madam?

10-CLEO. Seek him, and bring him hither. Where’s Alexas?

ALEX. Here, at your service. My lord approaches.

[Enter ANTONY, with a Messenger and Attendants.]

CLEO. We will not look upon him. Go with us.

[Exit Cleopatra, Enobarbus, and the rest.]

MESS. Fulvia thy wife first came into the field.

ANT. Against my brother Lucius?

15-MESS. Ay. But soon that war had end, and the time’s state

Made friends of them, jointing their force ‘gainst Caesar,

Whose better issue in the war from Italy

Upon the first encounter drave them.

20-ANT.  Well, what worst?

MESS. The nature of bad news infects the teller.

ANT. When it concers the fool or coward. On!

Things that are past are done with me. ‘Tis thus:

Who tells me true, though in his tale lie death

I hear him as he flatter’d.

MESS. Labienus—

This is stiff news—hath with his Parthian force

Extended Asia from Euphrates,

His conquering banner shook from Syria

To Lydta and to Ionia,

Whilst—

ANT. Antony, thou wouldst say.

MESS. 0, my lord!

ANT. Speak to me home; mince not the general tongue

Name Cleopatra as she is call’d in Rome

Rail thou in Fulvia’s phrase, and taunt my faults

With such full licence as both truth and malice

Have power to utter. O, then we bring forth weeds

When our quick minds lie still, and our ills told us

Is as our earing. Fare thee well awhile.

MESS. At your noble pleasure. [Exit]

ANT. From Sicyon, ho, the news! Speak there!

1-ATT. The man from Sicyon—is there such an one?

2-ATT. He stays upon your will

ANT.  Let him appear.

These strong Egyptian fetters I must break.

Or lose myself in dotage.

[Enter another Messenger with a letter.]

2-MESS. Fulvia thy wife is dead.

ANT:  Where died she?

2-MESS. In Sicyon. 

Her length of sickness, with what else more serious

Importeth thee to know, this bears. [Gives the letter.]

ANT: Forbear me. [Exit Messenger.]

55-There’s a great spirit gone! Thus did I desire it.

What our contempts doth often hurl from us

We wish it ours again; the present pleasure,

By revolution low’ring, does become

The opposite of itself. She’s good, being gone;

60-The hand could pluck her back that shov’d her on.

I must from this enchanting queen break off.

Ten thousand harms, more than the ills I know,

My idleness doth hatch.