Critical estimate of Cleopatra the woman as seen in plays by Shakespeare, Dryden and Shaw Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Campbell, Abby Anne, 1932- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 12:46:45 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551397 nBlTlCSL ESTIMATE OF GLEOPATR& THE' WQMM AS SEEM - a i -BiATS-: bt shseespbahs.,, dbyden ahd s w ? ; ' v..1 A ;AfelDf Anne Campbell L' r / '% ' ' % A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of.the : ;; ^: "■ V : v; In Partial FulfIllmeht of • the Bequirements ': For the Degree; of.i.;-. ; ■ , : : : • .MASTEB: OF ARTS ' • : In,; the' Sra^ Goilege ' .vv;-, : ... - AHI20MA ;: ’, : ? 7 9 / 95-9 4, : sT M Taim T BYymmom . ■■ This thesis hag been submitted; in partial fu lfill^ ment; of requirements for an advanced degree at the Universi­ ty of Arizona andls deposited in the University Library to toe made available to borrowers under rules of the ' Libraryo ■ ■ .''• . ' ■. ■ ' -' ; . ' Brief quotations from this thesis are allowatole ; without speoial jfermissions provided that accurate aeknow= ladjg^eht'-oT-'-aoureei'ls'made^ Requests for permission for % : extended quotation from or reproduction of this raanu™ ■: : script ;in:' whole :or::'in\part may toe . granted toy the head of : the maior. department or the Dean of the Graduate College when; in their 'judgment the proposed us.e of the material is in the Into re s ts of'scholarshipe in all other instancess ■ how ever5 permission must be obtained, fromthe authoro : m m s m t Q j ^ M j Q , ^ >. - . $totoy Anne Camphell . ■ t v; . .y- ; ' TmBis DimcTOE :, . : , ■ : : : Thi s the sis has been appro ved on the d a te shown he low: xi)-: ' " ' ' " ' " .. ’ .KiiRFAi:BIMZ; proupfit .mHcW 'h:; >■:~ ^“:vSiDate »Professor of .Drama . •: . ‘. v : V . :: TABLE OF GOITBETS ■Page i#mo#pTiom ©' O 6 . © 0 ;; 0 © © © © . O O © 0 © © , ©> i : ;-v" v--' ^ : , . X ^ / Bhapter^'T' ' • ' ' I® CLEOPATRA A8 V IE m D AGAIHST THE HISTORICAL : ;■ ■ _ BACKGROUND OF HER TIIffie = 0 . » , ^ ; ® :e \® 11 o '' SHSEESPEiRE"Ss DSXDEN8 S AID SHAW’ S CLEOPATRA >/ MV;TOliED AGAINST THE; HISTORICAL BACKGROUND;' ; OF 'HER TIMEo O O, O O O .0 . 6 O O U O O O 0 o © .© © 55 Ill© ; ^ CLEOPATRA” S • PERSONAL .^ATTRIBUTES®: » . © 0 .. ©- o e :© ' 65 ■ ■ . IV® , THE ATTITUDE OF CLEOPATRA TOWARDS OTHERS •: AND.: THE. ATTITUDE" OF OTHERS TOWARD GLBOPATR&© © - © l i d SUMMARY A # CONCLUSIONS© © ©.■ <, © © © © © © © ©: ©, © • © io- 150 BIBLIOGRAPHY© © © © © © © © © .©. © © © © © © © © © © © © 152 : -'v- v INTRODUCTION ' . The purpose of this.study is to investigate Cleopatra the woman as portrayed in the three plays 9 Ahtohy aad Oleo= :patra b y; Shakespeare^ 'All., for ■; Love by DrydenP and - Cass a r' and Cleopatra by^: ShawoU. IM s inforraatibn 'w ill be. 'examined ; in the light of available primary source material and also the best secondary mat e r i a 1 a v a il ab le * •" ' ' 1 'In this study of Cleopatra it was necessary to dis= cover the eirowaslances which led to her prominence In her period of historyo The history of Egypt in the first cen- : tury Bo Co as ■well as the background of Creeoe. and Rome have, therefore been studiedo It was found that the Greek atmos­ phere and background influenced to a great degree Cleopatra life and action> more than the Egyptians though the- latter has. tended to color her legendary character^ The reasons for t'his;■ Creek influence.' w ill therefore be <$losely;{examined ■. 'The factual material thus assembled has then been compared and contrasted with the literary material as of­ fered in the three plays above mentioned 0 There has been no attempt to make . a oritioal., estimate of the playss but ■ :::©n:iyV:Qf''the character of Cleopatra as she appears the re in o ,. This study has been undertaken with a view to its ; fythre. Utsa ; as .research m aterials not only on •the" spaeifie GharaGter-of Gleo'gatrap but as a guide toward the analyses of other outstanding historieal Ghars'eters who have re- eeiw d varying treatments by different, authors® The editions of the plays used in this thesis art the following: , for. ^Antony and Cleopatra 16 by William : Shake spear© 9 the edition used was entitled Shakespeare > • ' Twenty^three plays and the Sonnets9 edited by Thomas.Mare Parrot^ published in Hew York in 1955s for the play wS il for Love or the World - Well Lost® by' John Dryden $, the edi­ tion by William Fr© S t s Seleeted Works of John Dry den 0 was ; cuseds, ■ ■ the •'bookv Issued..ih^Hew^oi^^and:::^ in .vlS'SSi f or % aesar'and Cleopatra® by G©orge,Bernard ShaWj the edition used was Four Plays by George Bernard Shawa published in Hew York in 1957® . ; , : ; Many people have lent valuable time and ideas to th is' projeet® Foremost .among , them is Professor- .Fairfax 1® Walkup who' has given information and encouragement through ' out the pro jeet o Many thanks 'are due also to.Profesatir . Peter H® Marroneys Head of the Department of Dramatic Arts A speGial,#o.tG of gratitude is due to my parents^ without whom the pro j e G t might never have been begum and without whose heip its c ompletion would have been most _ .dlffloult®. /: ''v MAP OF ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA Dtaww bflfr GBOl Ti 1898. Sea/* A*- t CHiPEEa; i ' cmoamm 'fsi: histohical background ; ; OS: HEfi. f i m : ' : :;-v 1 - 2?© mSerstand tile Cleopatra of the three plays of this studys one must know something of the Cleopatra of history and of the environment in which, she lived«, For the Cleopatra of Shakespeares Dryden and Shaw is the Egyptian., the eastern woman@ ’ Bash play indeed features the m eeting, of and friotion between east: and westo:; ' Cleopatra: herself ; / eomibined,. botheast and wests but was primarily a Macedonian Greek in her lineage; and 'life 0 : y 1 : This chapter w ill deal with Alexandria,, named after its Graeeo^Maoedoaian founder^ the city in whieh Cleopatra was born and die% and where she spent the greater part of her lifeo The historical^ geographical and social signi­ ficance of the city .will be discusseds in terms of both the world, of its day and of .Its importance t© Cleopatrao . ' ■ .' A 'summary ' of the events which eoneeraed : Cleopatra . will, also: be includedo , For although the three, playwrights . dealt with..the Cleopatra of history^ it is hot an historical picture which they prosento However^ it is important to haW the basic. known facts about Cleopatra in order to see clearly the differeueds in the Cleopatras which the three have presented & ^ H istorical Background Cleopatra ascended the throne of Egypt in 51 BoCo At that time the city of Alexandria was almost three hundred years oldo In 3S2 BoCo Alexander the G-reat had conquered ■. Egypts 13o o o the last of the Hedlterranean provinces to be WOh'0 .0 ;psl:' He had spent the winter, of S32 -BeCc,>=531 BoCo in Egyptduring which period he founded the city of Alexan­ dria» 33An Egyptian toWnletfl Bhacotis^ already stood on the shore and was a resort of fishermen and pirates c, Perhaps Alexander realised: the great trading potential of the loca= ti©ny or perhaps he saw what Reginald Poole states^ that ^Ho position in Egypt is so good for defense as that of AlexandriaoSurely he took into account the excellent harboro Be that as it mays by the time that Alexander left Egypt in 331 BoCos the city of Alexandria had been founded and 33o. o the taxation of Egypt and the control of its army *• ' i #Aiexander#'y Encyclopaedia Britannica^ 11th edo j ly - Po 5.68, . '; ^Alexandrian Encyclopaedia Britannica^ 11th ed«l - - tv',: • . ' . ■ : ^Reginald Stuart Pooler The C ities o f‘Egypt (Eohdon^ :i88@)^y‘'py/;l810;':- l :. 1 t • ';;' ; ; ■ v \ : and navy/waa - left to^ tlaB Greeks . ;; ' v IhliLe s till in Alexandria that same winters Alexan­ der made an expedition te the temple of Zens Ammono Ale weleomedby the Egyptians"as their tie- - llverer from the Persians 0 In this trip to the temple of Zeus s Alexander* was „hailed by the priest as- son of the god9o ? To consider their rules of divine descent . was ; an ancient - Egyptian cus tom and.. b e lie f s ; Though the 'Greece seem to have remained for the most part aloof from Egyptian life > the succeeding monarchs kept alive this and nther Egyptian traditions s , ’ . i; ; fv/.v Cirenmstances induced the Egyptians to accept ■ ; y...: ■ ’ ■ -, : /th ese / foreign© rs .....as., the sue c e s s io n ’ o f th e ir , a n c ie n t : ■ v: kings and they gave to the. Ptolemies the '/titles '-'-y. y : that had belonged- to., the Pharaohs g ' they called v: - the Ptolemies 'Image of imo.n® a ’Son of the Sun8 s -y- . and ’The Chosen of Ptah*» In the temples were i -'y y y ; •erected their statues with the Insignia of the ancient Pharaohs = the double crown of Upper and /r' -’ .'y'./. low er E gyp t5 the horns and feathers of Amons their /: ■ - y brows' encircled by . the/ Hoyal. snake 9 In. this dress' •'./ :_ the Ptolemies' paid adoration before the Cow Hatihoiy and bent low before the Crocodile Sebak whilst they /,:',-/ - ' burnt their incense to the Cat Basts the Gods of ' the Egyptian people/that were two thousand and mofe y ea rs ©Ido The Ptolemies were depieted in the arms of Isis, saluted by Gsiris and/receiving the kiss , of .Hut ® mother if the ski® ,6 .