MB UNIUD

The play begins with Philo's words. He doesn't approve the relation between Antony, Roman triumvir, and Cleopatra, Egypt's queen.

Shakespeare connotes Antony through words that express exaggeration for example "O'er flows the measure". Moreover the reader can understand that the poet plays with Cleopatra's influence on Antony and plays also with Antony's reactions. As a matter of fact Antony was skilful at war, but Cleopatra influenced him. "general, goodly eyes, Mars, captain, great fights" are words that express the duties of Antony ,but now he isn't interesting in Roman situation and so he doesn't do his duties.The phrase "reneges all tempter" further underlines that Antony  is influenced by Cleopatra. In this way Shakespeare portrays indirectly Cleopatra like a seducer because she tempted Antony and so the triumvir lose war's strength.

From reading this first exchange of dialogue the reader receives a negative information on the relation between Antony and Cleopatra. The first Cleopatra's reference  is a synecdoche "tawny front". In this way Shakespeare refers to the Cleopatra different skin colour in order to underline the different civilization. The lady is connoted in a negative way, as a matter of fact Philo says that she is a "gipsy".

In the second exchange of dialogue the poet ridicules Antony, who had lost the reason as a matter of fact Antony's friend says that he was transformed into a "strumpet's fool".

In the following  exchange of dialogue there is the first dialogue between the two lovers. The queen  starts  the dialogue with rhetorical questions , she wants to know why and how much Antony loves her. These questions underline that Cleopatra is a beautiful, attractive, seducer and intriguing woman, she is also sure to control Antony, but she wants to play with Antony's reactions. The man is fall in love with the queen and so he doesn't do his duties. He further doesn't hear messengers' message because he isn't interesting in Roman situation. Cleopatra  wants to know how much Antony loves her and so she uses her eloquence, for example " you must not stay here longer" is a phrase that induces Antony to stay in Egypt and not to return home. So the queen tempts him.

At the end the queen obtains what she wanted as a matter of fact Antony says "Here is my space". And so Antony says definitively that he isn't interesting in Roman situation because he dedicates himself to Cleopatra. 

In the act II scene II Cleopatra is connotated positively by Domitius Enobarbus. Cleopatra seems to be insert in  idealized, unreal places: " The barge burn'd on the water"; "purple and perfumed sails"; "the oars were silver", there was " smiling Cupids". Moreover Shakespeare

portrayed Cleopatra through the sense: the sense of sight because gold and silver recall Cleopatra's richness; the sense of smell "purple and perfumed sails". In addition to this, this phrase is a metaphor referring to the queen. Enobarbus represents Cleopatra like an idealized woman and also like a perfect queen; he describes Cleopatra "pavilion cloth of gold of tissue"; " delicate cheeks", and he also compares the queen to Venus, goddess of beauty. On the consequence Enobarbus can't describe Cleopatra in other way: "For her own person it beggar all description". And so readers receive another representation of the queen, different from Philo's description; in this way Enobarbus seems to justify Antony' s reactions. In the third exchange of dialogue the speaker portrays women near to Cleopatra like "gentlewoman, mermaids" in order to give importance to Cleopatra.

In this  exchange of dialogue Shakespeare uses also an important device: he takes again Odyssey  of Ulysses .As a matter of fact Cleopatra and his "mermaid" draw attention on themselves. Consequently Shakespeare wants to stick reader's attention on the most important Cleopatra's characteristic: she is a tempter of man, a seducer. She is able to catch all sense: " a strange invisible perfume hits the sense". At the end of the exchange of dialogue Enobarbus reaffirms that Cleopatra influences even the nature, and so he seems to justify Antony's infatuation. Than Enobarbus continues the connotation of the queen; " Age cannot withr her" means that Cleopatra wasn't subdue to the time; "her infinite variety" means that she is able to have different behaviours in different occasions, "she makes hungry where most she satisfies" recall Cleopatra's lust.