Cleopatra essay plan

3 main scenes?

• Act 1, Scene 3- introduces her relationship

• Act 3, Scene 7- offers a turning point, revealing her as more than just a lover—she’s a political player, shaping the events around her.

• Act 5, Scene 2- captures her tragic death, showing how the themes of love, power, and identity come to a heartbreaking conclusion.

Act 1, Scene 3

• 4- If you find him sad, Say I am dancing. If in mirth, report That I am sudden sick. Quick, and return.

• Capacity for deception and her need to maintain a certain image, especially with Antony, to ensure his continued devotion

• Unpredictable and capricious in her behavior- attempt to evoke sympathy to keep him emotionally invested

• sense of urgency and control- so she can continue manipulating.. active role in orchestrating events around her, using her attendants as instruments to influence Antony’s emotional state.

• 37- ‘Eternity was in our lips and eyes, bliss in our brows’ bent, none our parts so poor but was a race of heaven’

• METAPHOR: Elevates connection to something sacred, she is emotionally invested. Their intimate love transcended time and space through their decadent acts.

• "our lips and eyes" evokes a sense of mutual devotion, as both eyes (the window to the soul) and lips (symbols of speech and love) are often associated with expressions of affection and intimacy

• "race of heaven" to describe how every part of their beings was touched by something divine or celestial.

• 63- O most false love! Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill with sorrowful water? Now I see, I see, in Fulvia’s death how mine received shall be.

• Metaphor- tool of manipulation

• Ironic- in her emotional turmoil, Cleopatra is more concerned with how Antony reacts to Fulvia's death than she is with the death itself.#

• "sacred vials" elevate the act of mourning to something more important and sacred, implying that Antony’s failure to do so makes his love appear "false."

• repetition of "I see"- reveals realization that she is no different from Fulvia in Antony’s eyes, her own emotional fate is at the mercy of Antony’s fluctuating affections.

• anticipates that her love for him will be disregarded in the same way- projects her own fear of abandonment and loss of control, seeing Fulvia’s death as a symbol of what will happen to her own status in Antony’s life.

Act 3, Scene 7

• 15- Sink Rome! And their tongues rot that speak against us! A charge we bear i’ th’ war,And as the president of my kingdom will appear there for a man. Speak not against it.

• Anger and defiance toward Rome, which she sees as an oppressive force that has long been a rival to Egypt, passion to fight back

• “president of my kingdom” reflects her role as the ruler of Egypt, asserting her authority in the decision-making process.

• Asserting dominance and challenging gender roles- willingness to take on traditionally masculine roles in battle and leadership.

• 22- Celerity is never more admired than by the negligent.

• JUXTAPOSITION- Subtly coaxes him into action, feeling that he needs to act more swiftly and decisively, pushing him toward the naval battle and away from his indecision.

• Strategic brilliance in love and politics

• 48- ‘I have sixty sails, Caesar none better.’

• HYPERBOLE- emphasises her superiority against Caesar

• Tendency to assert dominance and control to elevate her position politically and with her relationship

• Inflates her imagery as she’s portrayed as more powerful than Caesar, coercing Antony to join her

Act 5, Scene 2

• 52 ‘Now, sir, that I will not wait pinioned at your master’s court’

• METAPHOR- unwillingness to be constrained by the restrictions of Roman society will not be submissive

• Plans to suffer a noble death on her own terms- she can still outmaneuver him by thwarting his plans to bring her to Rome.

• 272- ‘Give me my robe. Put on my crown. I have immortal longings in me. Now no more

  The juice of Egypt’s grape shall moist this lip.’

• symbols of power- desire to die with dignity and as the ruler she was in life.

• remembered as ‘queen not captured’ by audience

• ‘juice’- resolve to reject earthly pleasures symbolic of sensuality in favor of a higher, almost spiritual, form of longing as she approaches death.

• shift from the physical indulgence of her previous life to a more spiritual or transcendent state- embrace fate and grandeur> decadence

• 297- ‘With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate of life at once untie. Poor venomous fool, be angry and dispatch.’

• Asp- symbol of death and an instrument of escape from the pain of her situation.

• METAPHOR- untie knot of complexities of politics, love, conflicts so she can be freed

• Sharpness and finality of death amidst betrayal

• Everything she had, political power and control has disintegrated leading to her inevitable death

• Although she’s dead, Caesar provides a proper state funeral, reinforcing her power

• Her servants die too= influential and dominant