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The Character of Cleopatra - Essay
This essay, written by an A plus English student, explores the character of Cleopatra.
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Antony and Cleopatra EssayKate Jones
Topic 3
‘Cleopatra’s sense of self is very acute; she is a constant manipulator of illusion and reality,
herself the embodiment of the irrational, the ultimate exception to all rules…’
[Marjorie B Garber: Dream in Shakespeare: From Metaphor to Metamorphosis, 1974]
Is this an accurate representation of Cleopatra? In your essay, you are required to discuss
each aspect of her character mentioned in the quotation above.
Cleopatra is a multifaceted character who is able to manipulate the people around her in
order to achieve her wishes. While most women, especially in Rome, are viewed as weak,
she is a powerful, dynamic personality. Her irrationality regarding Roman values and her
feelings towards Antony is another defining quality.
Cleopatra’s deceptive nature is evident predominantly in her interactions with Antony. He
chooses to remain with his “Egyptian dish” rather than return to his public duties in Rome,
proclaiming that “Rome [can] in Tiber melt” as he would prefer to be with Cleopatra. She is
“cunning past man’s thought”, able to transform Antony from “the triple pillar of the world”
into “a strumpet’s fool”. Her ability to manipulate Antony is further revealed as she is
continually able to convince him to forgive her after she appears to betray him. His anger at
having “offended reputation” after fleeing from Actium, in pursuit of Cleopatra, disappears
as he forgives her with a mere “kiss”, and his view of her as a “foul Egyptian” and a “witch”
shifts again towards love when he discovers that “she [has] slain [her]self”. Cleopatra’s
cunning personality is also illustrated through her deception of Caesar. She assures him
that he is “[her] master and [her] lord”, but then “beguile[s]” him by killing herself.
Furthermore, Cleopatra is an “exception to all rules” as her strong personality contrasts the
weakness of Roman women. Octavia, who is “of a / Holy, cold and still conversation”, acts
as a foil to Cleopatra, a “most triumphant lady” from whom “power breathe[s] forth”.
Cleopatra’s “infinite variety” causes Antony to repeatedly “make his will / Lord of his reason”
and neglect his duties as a triumvir. Enobarbus encapsulates her magnificence and power
as he describes her “o’erpictur[ing] that Venus which… outwork[ed] nature” itself. Even
Caesar, who, like most Romans, initially viewed Cleopatra as a “ribaudred nag of Egypt”,
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