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| RSC production of Antony and Cleopatra, courtesy of zuleikahenry.co.uk |
For
Wednesday: Shakespeare, Antony and
Cleopatra, Act II
Answer TWO
of the following…
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: In Act
2, Scene 7, Menas offers to do a service for his master, Pompey: his master
refuses. What is the service and why does Pompey refuse it? What might be the
repercussions of this refusal?
Q4: Why
does Antony agree to marry Octavia, Caesar’s sister? Is this solely a political
marriage? Or is this also Antony’s attempt to “cure” himself of Cleopatra? Do
you agree with Enobarbus, who says, “He will to his Egyptian dish again” (45)?
Q2: Moving into prose allows Enobarbus to give more detail and freely describe the scenery of Cleopatra and Antony meeting. It is used more as a stream of conscious than poetic verse, allowing him to take off with his images and phrases at will. I believe Enobarbus has respect and awe for Cleopatra. His words are very detailed in his description and generates favorable imagery such as "Purple the sails, and so perfumed that / The winds were love-sick with them"(33). "O'er-picturing that Venus where we see / The fancy outwork nature.", compares Cleopatra to the Goddess Venus (33).
ReplyDeleteQ4: I believe this marriage to be entirely political for it is brought up by one of Caeser's own men. In the rising conflict between Antony and Caeser, tempers and disdain are beginning to arise due to Antony's disregard and abandonment of duties to the crown. Agrippa offers the deal up "Thou hast a sister by the mother's side, / Admired Octavia. Greet Mark Antony / Is now a widower" (31). Antony responds with a quick reply of "I am not married, Caesar. Let me hear / Agrippa further speak." The deal is sealed by the two in a hand clasping, usually not a symbol of love, but rather a union and agreement between two major political powers, which is unusual considering Antony should already be serving Caeser without regard or deal making. I do believe that Antony will return to Cleopatra, because of the infatuation the two share of each other and the fact that Antony is moving politically, not emotionally.
Great responses...yes, it's a political ploy, made all the more explicit because Agrippa, and not Antony and Caesar, even think of it! To a second party, this marriage makes sense, but it shouldn't make sense for Caesar (it's his sister, after all) or Antony (who clearly won't love her any more than he loved Fulvia). I think we see Antony trapped her, knowing the pain it will cause Cleopatra but unable to refuse--hence his very brief stalling and Caesar's evident glee when he hears the proposal.
Deleteq1. I think the scene of Cleopatra and the messenger is supposed to be funny. She's throwing this giant fit and beating this dude up for just giving her the bad news! Even before he delivers the news she immediately jumps to conclusions, "Antonio's dead!" (26). The messenger tries several times to interrupt her during her speech, assuring her that he is well, not dead, still friends with Caesar--more than ever in fact, and the moment he finally gets to chime in that Antony has married Octavia, Cleopatra beats him up. She's incredibly dramatic and I think Shakespeare did this on purpose to humor his ground-level audience. She even has to have the messenger brought back to her after he runs out and she promises him that she will not beat him up any more and gives him a lesson on delivering bad news.
ReplyDeleteq4. Antony actually lets the audience know that he has decided to marry Octavia for the political connection of it. "And though I make this marriage for my peace, / I'th' East my pleasure lies" (Act 2 Scene 3 lines 38-39). I don't doubt at all that this is solely a beneficial marriage for Antony as he is probably trying pretty hard to get his position back as a respected man rather than a foolish one who puts his love life before his work.
Yes, this a moment of high comedy in the midst of a tragic play, and it's supposed to be a great release--and it makes fun of the upper classes, showing how even a queen can be quite a fool. And yet, we also have to remember the stakes of losing Antony for Cleopatra: as an aging queen, this might be her last love affair, her last stab at power. SHe's like The Wife of Bath contemplating her last marriage. Is she too old to keep her young man's affections (though Antony isn't so young, either)?
DeleteQ1) This scene is meant to be ironic and comical. The great and powerful Cleopatra acting like a lovesick teenager. She sends him roughly twenty letters a day. Her messenger, Alexas, even calls her out on it. She curses children born on the day she forgets to write to Antony. (Does this mean that we're doomed?) She is whiny and irrational at his absence and her main servant Charmian pokes fun at her. Telling her that this isn't the only time she's behaved this way.
ReplyDeleteQ4) I believe the marriage arrangement to be completely political. Antony doesn't even consider it until Agrippa brings it up to cool tempers between Antony and Caesar. There isn't a doubt in my mind that either Antony will run back to Cleopatra and piss off Caesar, or Cleopatra will do something completely rash to get Antony's attention.
Alison Green
Yes, it is very comic, and yet, though we laugh we also have to see her desperation and fear throughout. She stands to lose a lot without Antony, and not just because she loves him. We should also remember she's getting older, too, and fears that once her beauty fades what will she have to bargain with?
DeleteQ1: I believe the scene is meant to be tragic. I think it's important to remember Cleopatra is described as very exotic, and I think Shakespeare went as far to even make her emotions exotic. In this scene, she is truly heartbroken Although her outburst against the messenger is uncalled for, this is a part of her emotional character. When the Messenger and Chairman exit the room and she is left alone, she speaks her true heart: "these hands do lack nobility, that they strike/ a meaner than myself, since I myself/ have given myself the cause" (II, iiiii, lines 82-84). She doesn't show her true weaknesses and heartbreak until she is alone, which is befitting of a queen.
ReplyDeleteQ4: The marriage is political. Antony has lost a lot of respect from the nobilities of the world and even his own men. He was threatened with a broken alliance and this was a sure way to fix it. "I'th East [his] pleasure lies" (II, iii, line 39) with Cleopatra. Octavia may be beautiful, but he wouldn't be with her if he didn't have to be.
Yes, great point: we see her at her worst and her most human only when she's alone. Antony cannot see this side of her completely, and especially not Caesar. The difficulty of playing her is that she has so many "roles" for different times and moments. Even she is not aware of all the different Cleopatras she portrays, which makes it a very challenging role to act!
DeleteQ1: When we begin Act 2, Scene 5, Cleopatra is speaking in verse, rather than prose, to describe how she feels about the messenger’s solemn look and what he has to say. She interrupts him several times to further convey how tragic it would be if Antony be dead or ill in any way. She so threatens him before she hears the news. As in the lines “But, sirrah, mark, we use / to say the dead are well. Bring it to that, / The gold I give thee will I melt and pour / Down thy ill-uttering throat.” (Lines 33-35)It escalates rapidly once she hears the real news, as she continues to beat him. I believe this is supposed to be a scene of high comedy, since she is speaking in prose, and acts so dramatically, however knowing Cleopatra is a woman of both girlish tantrums, she also has deep passion. This might be a real reaction for her, although comical.
ReplyDeleteQ4: I believe Antony agreed to marry Octavia strictly for political reasons. He is trying to show his better political side. It was never in Antony’s ideas to marry Octavia, as he has more of an interest towards his “passions in Egypt.” He agrees upon this marriage with a handshake, again a political act rather than out of kinship with Octavia. I believe Antony will return to Cleopatra as he will lose interest in being the heroic politician and want to follow his own passions. He even states in Scene 3 “Beat mine, inhoop’d, at odds. I will to Egypt; / And though I make this marriage for my peace, / I’ th’ East my pleasure lies.” (lines 39-41)
Casady Burns
Great responses...you can see the challenge of playing her, so as not to make her comical moments seem too ridiculous. She clearly isn't supposed to be a total fool, and yet her precarious position in life and love has made her a bit intense...so how could an actor convey the dignity and power of her person without compromising her sillier, bathetic moments?
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