SparkNotes: Antony and Cleopatra: Quiz

1. In the play’s opening scene, why do the Roman soldiers fault Antony?

(A) He is overly ambitious and plans to divide the Roman state by waging war against Caesar

(B) His cowardice in battle has resulted in the loss of valuable sea trade routes to Pompey

(C) His excessive fondness for Cleopatra threatens to compromise his duties as a Roman statesman

(D) An irresponsible drinker, Antony often treats his subordinates disrespectfully

2. What do Charmian and Iras do in order to foresee their futures?

(A) Consult a crystal ball

(B) Summon a soothsayer, who reads their palms

(C) Read tea leaves

(D) Visit a witch

3. How does Antony react to the news of Fulvia’s death?

(A) He regrets having wished her dead and wishes her back

(B) He weeps uncontrollably

(C) He chastises Cleopatra for keeping him from his true family

(D) The news does not faze him

4. Why does Caesar condemn Antony for abandoning Rome?

(A) He does not like the fact that Antony is having more fun than he is

(B) He cannot collect taxes on Antony’s unoccupied lands

(C) He himself loves Cleopatra and is jealous of Antony’s relationship with her

(D) He and Lepidus are left with the unfair burden of responding to Pompey’s armies by themselves

5. Upon leaving Egypt, what does Antony send to Cleopatra as a gift?

(A) A golden comb

(B) A pearl

(C) A snake-shaped bracelet

(D) A cask of fine wine

6. What solution does Agrippa propose to establish peace between Caesar and Antony?

(A) Antony should make a public apology for neglecting his duties to the empire

(B) Antony should marry Caesar’s sister, Octavia

(C) Antony should turn over a portion of his kingdom to Caesar

(D) Both men should drink heartily and forget the past

7. Why, according to the Soothsayer, should Antony leave Rome?

(A) As long as Antony remains in Rome, his fortune will be overshadowed by Caesar’s

(B) Caesar is plotting with Octavia to take Antony’s life

(C) Cleopatra will make life miserable for him unless he returns to her

(D) Antony’s new devotion to pleasure has compromised his military might, and he would surely be defeated in a battle with Pompey

8. How does Cleopatra react to the news that Antony has married Octavia?

(A) She faints

(B) She sends Antony a letter demanding that he never return to Egypt

(C) She beats her messenger, then orders him to go and size up the competition

(D) She courts Caesar in hopes that he will destroy Antony

9. The triumvirs offer Pompey control of Sicily and Sardinia in exchange for what?

(A) His word that he will not attack any of the empire’s lands or interests

(B) Ridding the seas of pirates and furnishing Rome with supplies of wheat

(C) Welcoming Antony’s mother on her upcoming visit to Sicily

(D) A percentage of the goods seized by his navy

10. How does Pompey react to Menas’s suggestion that they kill the Roman triumvirs and thereby make Pompey the most powerful man alive?

(A) He appreciates the thought but urges Menas to await a more fitting time to attack the triumvirs

(B) He is dismayed by Menas’s disregard for human life

(C) He tells Menas to do whatever needs to be done to secure him control of the world

(D) He wishes Menas had done the deed without telling him

11. Why does Ventidius refuse to push on into Parthia?

(A) Without Antony’s leadership, he fears defeat

(B) Like Caesar, his soldiers resent Antony’s loyalty to Egypt and cannot be counted on to fight further battles in Antony’s name

(C) He has lost too many soldiers and does not want to lose more

(D) He does not want to win Antony’s disfavor by outperforming him in battle

12. When Cleopatra’s messenger brings word to his queen that Antony has married Octavia, she beats him severely. Later, though, she praises this same man for his good service. What brings about this change of heart?

(A) The messenger reports that Octavia is plain-looking and generally unimpressive

(B) Charmian convinces Cleopatra that it is morally reprehensible to abuse one’s servants

(C) Fickle as she is, Cleopatra merely forgets the news of Antony’s marriage

(D) Cleopatra’s recent conversion to Christianity

13. After arriving in Athens, why does Antony send Octavia immediately back to Rome?

(A) He cannot pretend that he loves her as he loves Cleopatra

(B) He wishes her to make peace between himself and Caesar, who has disparaged his name in public

(C) Due to political strife in Greece, he fears that Octavia is not safe there

(D) He cannot stand Octavia’s bickering

14. What does Cleopatra contribute to Antony’s battle with Caesar?

(A) A fleet of sixty ships

(B) An army of ten thousand soldiers

(C) An amulet to protect Antony in battle

(D) A golden dagger

15. How does Antony react to Cleopatra’s first flight from battle?

(A) He thanks the gods, for battle is no place for a woman

(B) He follows her and leads his troops in a retreat

(C) He praises her assessment of the situation

(D) He admits to Enobarbus that she is an unworthy object of affection

16. How does Cleopatra repay Antony after leading him into a retreat?

(A) With a kiss

(B) With the promise of marriage

(C) By giving him her kingdom

(D) By agreeing to seduce Caesar so that Antony may kill him

17. What does Antony request of Caesar after losing the battle to him?

(A) To be publicly vilified for his cowardly behavior

(B) To be judged fairly by a jury of his peers

(C) To be allowed to live in Egypt with Cleopatra

(D) To be allowed to return to Rome and resume his marriage to Octavia

18. How does Antony react to the news of Caesar’s refusal to grant him permission to live in Egypt?

(A) He becomes enraged and determines to challenge Caesar in one-on-one combat

(B) He fakes his own death in hopes of living with Cleopatra in secrecy

(C) He travels to Parthia in hopes of mounting another army against his enemy

(D) He surrenders himself to Caesar’s soldiers

19. On the night before his fight with Caesar, what sign of bad fortune do Antony’s soldiers encounter?

(A) A full moon

(B) A black cat

(C) Strange music

(D) A man with no legs

20. How does Antony react to the news of Enobarbus’s desertion?

(A) He curses his friend’s disloyalty

(B) He vows to kill Enobarbus after he kills Caesar

(C) He believes that every man must follow his own conscience and therefore respects Enobarbus’s decision

(D) He grieves for having corrupted an honest man and orders his friend’s possessions returned to him

21. How does Enobarbus react to Antony’s gift and well-wishes?

(A) He feels extreme guilt and determines to die rather than fight him

(B) He believes that Antony has lost his mind, which only validates Enobarbus’s decision to abandon him

(C) He realizes he has made a terrible mistake and rushes back to Antony to beg his forgiveness

(D) He gives the treasure to the peasants of Alexandria and goes off to live in the desert

22. What does Charmian suggest that Cleopatra do in order to quell Antony’s anger against her?

(A) Publicly denounce Caesar

(B) Send him word that she has killed herself

(C) Write him a love letter

(D) Leave Alexandria

23. Whom does Antony order to kill him?

(A) Enobarbus

(B) Mardian

(C) Diomedes

(D) Eros

24. What does Caesar intend to do with Cleopatra after Antony’s death?

(A) Marry her

(B) Keep her on display in Rome

(C) Kill her

(D) Send her into exile

25. How does Cleopatra kill herself?

(A) She stabs herself with a dagger

(B) She jumps from the top of her monument

(C) She lets herself be bitten by poisonous snakes

(D) She drowns herself in the Nile