Antony and Cleopatra

English
Grade 9 • Unit 16: Elizabethan Drama
LESSON 16.3
Shakespearean Tragedy: Selection
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Objectives 2
DepEd Competencies 2
Warm-Up 2
Learn about It 3
Key Points 10
Check Your Understanding 10
Let’s Step Up! 13
Photo Credit 14
Bibliography 14
English
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Lesson 16.3
Shakespearean Tragedy: Selection
Fig. 1. Shakespeare wrote some of the greatest tragedies in the world, including
Antony and Cleopatra.
Introduction
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It was believed to be

performed around 1607 in the Globe Theater. The play looks into the relationship between
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman Republic.
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Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
● Identify the characteristics of Elizabethan drama (tragedy).
● Explain the uniqueness of Shakespeare’s dramas.
DepEd Competencies
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Determine tone, mood, technique, and purpose of the author
(EN9LT-IVa-17).
● Analyze literature as a means of understanding unchanging values in a
changing world (EN9LT-IVf-2.2.3).
Warm-Up
Think-Pair-Share
Materials
● pen
● paper
Procedure
1. Find a partner.
2. Search references, online or in a traditional library, about the lives of Cleopatra and
Mark Antony.
3. Write all the relevant and important information and present it in class.
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Guide Questions
1. When were Antony and Cleopatra born? When did they die?
2. What were their positions or designations in their respective countries? Were they
powerful or ordinary people?
3. What did they contribute to their countries?
Learn about It
Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest works of William Shakespeare. It is about love,
power, and betrayal. Read the excerpt and find out why it is regarded as a masterpiece.
Answer the guide questions that follow:
Vocabulary
woe
grief or misfortune
(noun)
lament
to express sorrow
(verb)
scepter
a decorated stick carried by royalty
(noun)
naught
nothing
(adjective)
vanquish
to defeat thoroughly
(verb)
Essential Question
How does a playwright instill views and ideas in a play?
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Read the excerpt from the play Antony and Cleopatra and answer the guide questions that
follow:
Antony and Cleopatra

Act 4 Scene 15
William Shakespeare
[Enter, above, CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN and IRAS.]
CLEOPATRA.
O Charmian, I will never go from hence!

CHARMIAN.
Be comforted, dear madam.

CLEOPATRA.
No, I will not:

All strange and terrible events are welcome,
But comforts we despise; our size of sorrow,
Proportion'd to our cause, must be as great
As that which makes it.—
[Enter, below, DIOMEDES.]
How now! Is he dead?

DIOMEDES.
His death's upon him, but not dead.

Look out o' the other side your monument;
His guard have brought him thither.
[Enter, below, ANTONY, borne by the Guard.]
CLEOPATRA.
O sun,
Burn the great sphere thou mov'st in!—darkling stand
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The varying shore o' theworld.—O Antony,

Antony, Antony!—Help, Charmian; help, Iras, help,—
Help, friends below;—let's draw him hither.
ANTONY.
Peace!
Not Caesar's valour hath o'erthrown Antony,
But Antony's hath triumph'd on itself.
CLEOPATRA.
So it should be, that none but Antony

Should conquer Antony; but woe 'tis so!
ANTONY.
I am dying, Egypt, dying; only

I here importune death awhile, until
Of many thousand kisses the poor last
I lay upon thy lips.
CLEOPATRA.
I dare not, dear,—

Dear my lord, pardon,—I dare not,
Lest I be taken: not the imperious show
Of the full-fortun'd Caesar ever shall
Be brooch'd with me; if knife, drugs, serpents, have
Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe;
Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes
And still conclusion, shall acquire no honour
Demuring upon me.—But come, come, Antony,—
Help me, my women,—we must draw thee up;
Assist, good friends.
ANTONY.
O, quick, or I am gone.
CLEOPATRA.
Here's sport indeed!—How heavy weighs my lord!

Our strength is all gone into heaviness;
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That makes the weight: had I great Juno's power,

The strong-wing'd Mercury should fetch thee up,
And set thee by Jove's side. Yet come a little,—
Wishers were ever fools,—O come, come;
[They draw ANTONY up.]
And welcome, welcome! die where thou hast liv'd:

Quicken with kissing: had my lips that power,
Thus would I wear them out.
ALL.
A heavy sight!
ANTONY.
I am dying, Egypt, dying:

Give me some wine, and let me speak a little.
CLEOPATRA.
No, let me speak; and let me rail so high

That the false huswife Fortune break her wheel,
Provok'd by my offence.
ANTONY.
One word, sweet queen:

Of Caesar seek your honour, with your safety.—O!
CLEOPATRA.
They do not go together.

ANTONY.
Gentle, hear me:

None about Caesar trust but Proculeius.
CLEOPATRA.
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My resolution and my hands I'll trust;

None about Caesar.
ANTONY.
The miserable change now at my end

Lament nor sorrow at: but please your thoughts
In feeding them with those my former fortunes
Wherein I liv'd, the greatest prince o' the world,
The noblest; and do now not basely die,
Not cowardly put off my helmet to
My countryman, a Roman by a Roman
Valiantly vanquish'd. Now my spirit is going:
I can no more.
CLEOPATRA.
Noblest of men, woo't die?

Hast thou no care of me? shall I abide
In this dull world, which in thy absence is
No better than a sty?—O, see, my women,
[Antony dies.]
The crown o' the earth doth melt.—My lord!—

O, wither'd is the garland of the war,
The soldier's pole is fallen: young boys and girls
Are level now with men: the odds is gone,
And there is nothing left remarkable
Beneath the visiting moon.
[Faints.]
CHARMIAN.
O, quietness, lady!
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IRAS.
She is dead too, our sovereign.

CHARMIAN.
Lady!—
IRAS.
Madam!—
CHARMIAN.
O madam, madam, madam!—

IRAS.
Royal Egypt, Empress,—

CHARMIAN.
Peace, peace, Iras!

CLEOPATRA.
No more but e'en a woman, and commanded

By such poor passion as the maid that milks
And does the meanest chares.—It were for me
To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods;
To tell them that this world did equal theirs
Till they had stol'n our jewel. All's but naught;
Patience is sottish, and impatience does
Become a dog that's mad: then is it sin
To rush into the secret house of death
Ere death dare come to us?—How do you, women?
What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, Charmian!
My noble girls!—Ah, women, women, look,
Our lamp is spent, it's out!—Good sirs, take heart:—
We'll bury him; and then, what's brave, what's noble,
Let's do it after the high Roman fashion,
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And make death proud to take us. Come, away:

This case of that huge spirit now is cold:
Ah, women, women!—Come; we have no friend
But resolution, and the briefest end.
[Exeunt; those above bearing off ANTONY'S body.]
Guide Questions:
1. What was Cleopatra doing in the monument?
2. Who came to see Cleopatra? Why did he want to see her?
3. What was Cleopatra’s visitor’s attitude as he faced death?
4. What did Cleopatra’s visitor reminisce about?
5. What did Cleopatra mean by this statement?
The crown o' the earth doth melt.—My lord!—

O, wither'd is the garland of the war,
The soldier's pole is fallen: young boys and girls
Are level now with men: the odds is gone,
And there is nothing left remarkable
Beneath the visiting moon.
6. Why did Charmian say “She is dead too, our sovereign”?

7. What did Cleopatra ask her maids to do after her visitor died?
8. Is Antony considered a tragic hero? Why or why not?
Let’s Check In
What was Antony’s final request?
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Key Points
● A person seeks love until the very end, as Antony asks for a kiss as he dies.
● Honor is more important than life. Antony asks Cleopatra to surrender, but she
refuses. She would rather die than be an enslaved person or enemy prisoner.
Check Your Understanding
Write true if the statement is correct and false if the statement is incorrect.
____________ 1. Cleopatra did not want to see Antony despite his condition.
____________ 2. Antony wanted to embrace Cleopatra once more before he dies.
____________ 3. For Cleopatra, life without Antony is compared to a life worth living.
____________ 4. Antony wants Cleopatra to run away from Caesar as much as she can.
____________ 5. Antony believes that he will die gloriously.
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Here is an excerpt from Antony and Cleopatra. Explain it briefly.
Antony
The miserable change now at my end

Lament nor sorrow at: but please your thoughts
In feeding them with those my former fortunes
Wherein I liv'd, the greatest prince o' the world,
The noblest; and do now not basely die,
Not cowardly put off my helmet to
My countryman, a Roman by a Roman
Valiantly vanquish'd. Now my spirit is going:
I can no more.
Writing Prompt
Do you agree with Cleopatra's choice of death over being captured by an enemy? Justify
your answer. Your answer will be graded using the rubric provided.
Criteria Does Not Nearly Meets Meets Exceeds Score

Meet Expectations Expectations Expectations
Expectations 2 3 4
1
Content (50%) The focus on The focus on The focus on The focus on
Clear and the topic is the topic is the topic is the topic is
evident focus
unclear. Most, somewhat sufficiently very clear.
on the topic.
Relevance of if not all, clear. Some clear. Answer Answer is
ideas. statements are statements are is mostly completely
irrelevant. irrelevant. relevant. relevant.
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Criteria Does Not Nearly Meets Meets Exceeds Score

Meet Expectations Expectations Expectations
Expectations 2 3 4
1
Organization The The The The

(25%) progression of progression of progression of progression of
Logical
ideas is ideas is ideas is ideas is
progression of
details and disorganized. somewhat organized. well-organize
clear Transitions are organized. Transitions are d. Transitions
transitions unclear, Transitions are sufficiently are clear and
between ideas making the text somewhat clear, leading effective,
almost clear, but there to full leading to full
impossible to are some understanding. and easy
understand. vague parts. understanding.
Language There are four There are two There is one There are no
(25%) or more to three language language
Spelling,
language language error. errors.
mechanics,
grammar, and errors. errors.
word usage
Total Score =
Let’s Step Up!
Watch the 1972 movie adaptation of Antony and Cleopatra. Choose one character
and write a character analysis of him/her. Relate this character to an important
person in the present.
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Bibliography
Abrams, M.H., and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. 2015. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 11th ed.
Stanford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Akande, Victor. “Drama/Theatre and Society: What Relevance?” The Nation Newspaper,
August 22, 2014.
https://thenationonlineng.net/dramatheatre-and-society-what-relevance/.
"Antony and Cleopatra." (n.d.) Sparknotes. Accessed July 24, 2018.

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/antony/.
“Elizabethan Theatre and Drama.” No Sweat Shakespeare, September 18, 2020.

http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/elizabethan-drama-theatre/.
Shakespeare, William. (n.d). "The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra." Wikisource.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Tragedy_of_Antony_and_Cleopatra#SCENE_XV._Alex
andria._A_monument.
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Grade 9 • Unit 16: Elizabethan Drama

Check Your Understanding 10

Let’s Step Up! 13

Grade 9 • Unit 16: Elizabethan Drama