Try http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/a&c1.html - it has scene by scene summaries and key quotes to follow too.
By the next time I see you - please read through the summary of the scenes up to where we've reached as a class!
Task: Post your 3 most important quotes from the play so far below - if possible tell us why you chose them! Divide yourselves between the Egyptians and the Roman's and then add a 4th quote from the word you are tracing in the play!
Ok, I have a few quotes to contribute here
ReplyDelete3 important:-
1.'bid farewell and go' - the characters in the play are constantly leaving and meeting with different people. Antony though wants to break from these 'fetters' and stay with Cleopatra
2.'that she did make defect perfection//and, brethless, pour breath forth' - even Enobarbus, the voice of reason, is mesmorised by Cleopatra and begins to speak in verse - highlights her power and attraction
3.'then put my tires and mantles on him, whilst//i worse his sword' - illustrates the roles of gender in the play - the male is supposed to be strong (Antony, in fact, is supposed to be a roman soldier and leader), and yet they are powerless to Cleopatra - as if they were women
World:-
'Wars twixt you twain would be//as if the world should cleave, and that slain men//should solder up the rift' - shows the mighty power of the roman empire and how, if defeated or attacked heavily, it could effect world - links world to war and fighting - Egypt vs. Rome
Fidelity:-
'octavia is of a holy, cold//and still conversation' - sexless vs sexy - highlights differences between Egyptian and Roman women - maybe this is contributes to why Antony wants to go back to Cleopatra - perhaps Octavia is like Octavius?
Great quotes again! You're right about the "bid farewell and go" motif in the play: with all this imagery of melting and dissolution, Shakespeare seems to be making quite a modern comment on how 'things fall apart.' We've already seen people are beginning to abandon and desert Antony - the play seems concerned with the loss of old, heroic figures - the God-like A and C, towards the more serious, "holy, cold/and still" world of Rome. This is a play characterised by instability...
ReplyDelete"Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch
ReplyDeleteOf the ranged empire fall."
For me, this is a crucial quote from the play. Clearly it contains imagery of a certain decay - melting - and this is a common image reflected in the play. However, it is interesting how much of a shocker this would have been to audiences at the time. What would have happened had Rome fallen at this point in time? Who would have disseminated Christianity to a mightier extent than the Romans did? And, in the war, Antony's career and defeat were crucial in the transition in Rome from Republic to Empire.
"Epicurean cooks
Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite."
This quote is important to me as it reflects, not only on the hedonistic attitudes of the Egyptians (Epicurus being the philosopher who preached that one must pursue their pleasures, gluttonous as they may be), but it also illustrates what has happened to Antony. He is ridiculed for his weight, and this just further shows that he has certainly changed from his status as ruthless Roman general to an 'effeminate' man; to the Jacobeans, 'enslaved' by women.
"You take from me a great part of myself.
Use me well in’t. Sister, prove such a wife
As my thoughts make thee"
For me this quote is symbolic of the misogynistic wedging of Octavia between two noble powers - both men - and the cold, dehumanising concept of using a person for one's own political gain; in this case, to seal a bond between two political triumvirs.
My fourth quote relating to my word(s), fortune/fate/doom/foresee/destiny is:
"No, let me speak, and let me rail so high
That the false huswife Fortune break her wheel,
Provoked by my offense."
This quote comes much later on in the play, where (sorry for the spoiler folks) Antony commits suicide after (a similar thing happens in Romeo and Juliet) Cleopatra sends word to Antony that she has killed her. Cleopatra curses the heavens and doesn't mind offending Fortune, who is often depicted with an incessantly turning wheel, drawing a person up to a position of power and then casting him down again.
Sorry for the typo at the end:
ReplyDelete*Cleopatra sends word to Antony that she has killed herself.
Some excellent comments. Thanks Ryan - there are some really valuable insights here on character, context and language - but best of all you're including your own readings; ditto for your ideas on the barge speech.
ReplyDeleteAntony (page 102)
ReplyDelete“These strong Egyptian fetters I must break,
Or lose myself in dotage.”
The soliloquy suggests Antony is aware of his conflicting situation, but despite acknowledging his potential decline in Egypt, still pursues the pleasures of the East (although he did attempt to carry out his duty by marrying Octavia). The spontaneous and free spirited way of life Egypt and Cleopatra presents has enchanted Antony to such a great extent that he finds it difficult/impossible to return back to the controlled lifestyle of Rome.
Caesar (page 114)
“A man who is the abstract of all faults
That all men follow.”
Caesar could be referring to both Ptolemy (Cleopatra’s younger brother) and/ or Antony. This highlights Caesar’s disapproving views towards men who follow pleasures and also suggests the lifestyle as tempting as “all men follow” it. Caesar however supresses his desires and follows his reason.
Scarus (page 201)
“We have kissed away
Kingdoms and provinces”
A minor character, one of Antony’s soldiers, sums up Antony’s actions quite literally. Since Antony has been involved with Cleopatra, the triumvirate has collapsed thus decreasing their power over provinces.
Pleasure, idleness, mirth, entertainment
Enobarbus (page 161)
“He will to his Egyptian dish again”
Antony will return to Egypt, with its pleasures of fine food and Cleopatra. The use of the word “dish” could suggest the serving of pleasure Antony receives whilst in Egypt.
Good choices Sarah - all your quotes seem to focus on the conflict between Antony's public role as member of the triumvate and miltary leader versus his private 'dotage' towards Cleopatra. Everyone, most of all Antony himself, is aware that he's 'lost himself.' Cleopatra, on the other hand, seems to have no such inner conflict.
DeletePhilo - Page 91
ReplyDelete"The triple pillar of the world transformed into a strumpets fool."
Immediately the audience find out about the contrast between the mysogynistic Rome and the female dominated Egypt.
Antony - Page 103
"I must from this enchanting queen break off."
This quote demonstrates the ambivalence Antony feels towards Cleopatra. The word "enchanting" could signify witchcraft.
Antony - Page 94(speaking about Cleopatra)
"Wrangling queen Whom everything becomes."
In contrast to the previous quote.
Become can mean 'be attracted to'.
My word (melting,dissolving,decaying)
Antony "let Rome in Tiber Melt"
Antony's earlier apathetic opinion of Rome and the empire.
Good quotes! I'm interested in how your quotes include words like 'transformed', 'break off', 'becomes' and 'melt.' All of these imply change or movement of some sort. The play dramatises this instability, particularly with Antony the way his identity seems to fluctuate between warrior and the 'twerp' that Laurence Olivier called him.
ReplyDelete