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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the "Tiber" to which Antony refers at the beginning of the play?

2. What is Cleopatra's initial fear when a messenger arrives from Italy in Act 2, Scene 5?

3. Towards where do the ships of the defeated flee?

4. How does Caesar respond to Antony's challenge?

5. What does Enobarbus say is the cause of the "odd tricks" shot out of Antony's mind?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Cleopatra act in Antony's absence?

2. For what reason does the Soothsayer tell Antony he must go back to Egypt?

3. Why does Enobarbus tell Menas that that which has caused amity between Caesar and Antony will likewise "prove the immediate author of their variance"?

4. For what reason does Antony spurn the news that has come from Rome at the play's beginning?

5. What characterizes Antony's speech after Actium, before Cleopatra arrives, at the palace in Alexandria?

6. What is the significance of the discussion between Enobarbus and Agrippa in the first part of Act 3, Scene 2?

7. What does the sight of Thyreus kissing Cleopatra's hand provoke in Mark Antony?

8. What good does Caesar say that Octavia's letters had done, regarding Antony?

9. How does Cleopatra expose her true self in Act 3, Scene 13?

10. What does Caesar imply by his directions regarding giving the soldiers a feast the night before the battle at Alexandria?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The primary element to the vibrancy of any of Shakespeare's plays, particularly those that are historically based, is the richness of the characters' portrayal. As such, comprehending the roles of even the most minor characters can be crucial to appreciation of the play as a whole. In the case of Antony and Cleopatra, every character revolves around fidelity to some other, more powerful individual. Analyze in an insightful essay all of the characters who are fundamentally attached to Antony, excluding Enobarbus. What is common among the various characters attached to Antony? How does this reflect upon Antony himself? What sort of relationship is there between each character and Antony? Upon what is the relationship founded? Is there any sort of reciprocity present?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout Antony and Cleopatra's stormy relationship in the play, it is shown that their love is always a hair's-breadth away from becoming hate, and vice-versa. In a well-developed analytical essay, examine the nature of Antony and Cleopatra's relationship insofar as it alternates from one extreme to another. What propels the characters to launch from one condition to another? How is hate assuaged and love incited? In what way are the two conditions similarly portrayed?

Essay Topic 3

As Antony's rival, Octavius Caesar plays a vital role in the tragic story of Antony and Cleopatra. As the story's external antagonist, he helps to propel the action of the story. In a thoughtful essay, analyze the character of Caesar, being sure to contrast him with Mark Antony but nonetheless retaining focus on Caesar himself. What are his principal traits as a character? What are his motivations? How does he treat other characters in the story? What worldview does Caesar represent? How does Caesar correspond to a changing world dynamic?

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