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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. Who accompanies Antony at the outset of Act 4, Scene 12?

2. Who is speaking in Act 4, Scene 11?

3. Whom does Caesar put in the van of his attack against Antony at Alexandria?

4. Where does Cleopatra go in Act 4, Scene 13?

5. In the concluding lines of Act 4, Scene 8, Antony says heaven and earth will do what to Antony and his companions?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Antony say will happen to Cleopatra if she does not vanish after his fleet has betrayed him?

2. Why does Caesar insist upon being still with his land forces on the second day of Battle at Alexandria?

3. In what way is Antony's disposition towards the battle at Alexandria changed on the second day?

4. What effect on Antony's disposition does the desertion by Enobarbus have?

5. What is indicated by Cleopatra's refusal to come down to Antony in Act 4, Scene 15?

6. How does the news of Cleopatra's death affect Antony's actions?

7. What characterizes the reactions of those present in Act 4, Scene 1, to the news of Antony's death?

8. What happens to Enobarbus after his speech in Act 4, Scene 9?

9. How has the battle gone so far, in Act 4, Scene 7?

10. What does Antony mean by saying that his men have "shown all Hectors" and why is this significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A dominant means of exposition and plot movement in the play is through the unseen but contextually described battles. Being careful to read out from the play and not into the play, explicate the significance of the battles at Actium and Alexandria, analyzing in what ways the various victories and defeats occur and what the significance of each is. Who wins the battle? How does he win the battle? What are the consequences of the battle being won? What is revealed about the various involved characters through their reactions to the conclusions of the various battles?

Essay Topic 2

Of all Cleopatra's many unique character traits, none is perhaps as efficacious on the action and plot of the story as her vanity. In a well-written essay, analyze the cataclysm that is caused by her vain pursuits. In what instances does she show her vanity? How does it affect characters and their actions? What sparks her vain tendencies? What is the evident moral consequence of indulging one's own vanity, as demonstrated by Cleopatra?

Essay Topic 3

In contrast to the more nuanced influences of the play, the direct cause of the play's tragic outcome is quite obviously the external conflict between Mark Antony and Octavius Caesar. However, the drastic importance of this conflict, its political and historical implications, have a drastic influence on the overall significance of the play. Why is the conflict important to the whole world? How is this indicated in the play? What is at stake in the conflict between the two triumvirs? What is the relationship between the greater significance of this conflict and the significance of the play as a tragedy?

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