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Antony and Cleopatra | The Character of Cleopatra
Essay focusing on the character of Cleopatra and, specificially, the reasons she elects to commit suicide.
After Antony's death at the end of Act IV, Cleopatra says to her handmaiden Charmian that "Our lamp is spent" and concludes "Come we have no friend/But resolution and the briefest end" (IV, xv, ll.90-91). This strongly implies that the Egyptian queen is determined to take her own life and that its is the death of her paramour, Antony, that compels her toward suicide. Plainly the bond between Cleopatra and Antony is powerful, and her tragic love for the fallen Antony seems strong enough to drive her to self-destruction. But Cleopatra's love for Antony does not fully explain her ultimate...
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- Antony and Cleopatra: Introduction
- Antony and Cleopatra: Summary
- Antony and Cleopatra: William Shakespeare Biography
- Antony and Cleopatra: Reading Shakespeare
- Antony and Cleopatra: List of Characters
- Antony and Cleopatra: Historical Background
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Antony and Cleopatra: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scenes 1 and 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 3: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scenes 4 and 5: Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scenes 1 and 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scenes 3, 4, and 5: Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scenes 6 and 7: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scenes 2, 3, and 4: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scenes 5, 6, and 7: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scenes 8-11: Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scenes 12 and 13: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scenes 1, 2, and 3: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scenes 4, 5, and 6: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scenes 7, 8, and 9: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scenes 10, 11, and 12: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scenes 13 and 14: Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 15: Summary and Analysis
- Act V, Scenes 1 and 2: Summary and Analysis
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Antony and Cleopatra: Quizzes
- Act I, Scenes 1 and 2: Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 3: Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scenes 4 and 5: Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scenes 1 and 2: Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scenes 3, 4, and 5: Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scenes 6 and 7: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scenes 2, 3, and 4: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scenes 5, 6, and 7: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scenes 8-11: Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scenes 12 and 13: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scenes 1, 2, and 3: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scenes 4, 5, and 6: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scenes 7, 8, and 9: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scenes 10, 11, and 12: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scenes 13 and 14: Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 15: Questions and Answers
- Act V, Scenes 1 and 2: Questions and Answers
- Antony and Cleopatra: Themes
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