Cleopatra

Richard Barrow PI no. B6096456. Assignment 01. Part 1 Cleopatra. Compare the portrayal of Cleopatra in the 1963 film with representations of her in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century as discussed on the DVD Video ‘Cleopatra’. What aspects of her portryal have changed or stayed the same, and why' Cleopatra was most famously portrayed in the 1963 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. More recent works also featured on the DVD include Carry on Cleo (1964), Xena Warrior Princess (2000), Rome (HBO 2005), and Cleopatra (1999). In the 1963 film Cleopatra’s wealth and opulence are there for all to see. Not only is she shown as being beautiful, but we also see the wily politician who is able to exploit the shortcomings of her opponents. The film also made some attempt to bring the past back to life ( Commentary, 2008, DVD Video). The result of this would have been to entertain, and, to some extent, inform. The 1964 film Carry on Cleo was clearly designed to amuse. The opening credits of the film acknowledge that the past has been manipulated. Famous scenes from the story of Cleopatra are tweaked in order to make the audience laugh. Cleopatra is shown to be wealthy and beautiful, but also quite empty headed. (Commentary, 2008, DVD Video). The beauty and wealth are present in the Cleopatra (1999) and Rome (2005) productions. Cleopatra does, however, become more involved in the action. In the former she fights in battle, and strikes a Roman soldier in the genitals. In the latter she makes direct use of her sexuality. The same applies with Xena – Warrior Princess (2000) (Commentary, 2008, DVD Video). It is acknowledged that the cultural values of an audience affect how they view a subject (Fear, 2008, p.24). Given that Cleopatra was a woman it would make sense to consider how our cultural view of women has changed in the time span covered by these productions. A large change has been around the drive for equality. This has been reflected in legislation, for example the Equal Pay Act 1970 the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and Article 141(1) of the Treaty of the European Community. In the various productions we can also see how Cleopatra’s ethnicity has moved away from a white European look to something that is more inclusive (Commentary, 2008, DVD Video) and more likely to be realistic. This reflects the trend of of a less eurocentric view of history (Fear, 2008, p.25). It is necessary that the nature of the evidence is considered too. Some of the Cleopatras seen on the DVD are intended to amuse, some entertain, and some inform. This in itself requires her to be potrayed in different ways, and is something that Cleopatra did herself (Fear, 2008, p.24). In conclusion, we can see how the portayal of Cleopatra has changed, and at the same time, how it has remained the same. We see her in a stronger and more equal role – actually doing the fighting, and overtly manipulating men with her sexuality. However, the themes of beauty and wealth remain because they are central to the story of Cleopatra, and are key to it enduring. (Commentary, 2008, The Arts Past and Present, Cleopatra, DVD Video). Bibliography: Fear, T. (2008) ‘Cleopatra’, in Moohan, E. (ed.) Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 3 – 28. AA100 The Arts Past and Present – Book 1 Reputations (2008) DVD Video, ‘Cleopatra’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Richard Barrow PI no. B6096456. Assignment 01 Part 2 Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus. Read the following passage from Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Discuss Marlowe’s use of language in this passage and how it contributes to the characterisation of Faustus. Here Faustus has rejected his studies. He has been drawn to necromancy, and the unlimited power it offers. Faustus has summoned Mephistopheles to take the offer of his soul to Lucifer, in return for twenty four years of living in ‘all voluptuousness’ (1. 4. 94). In the first paragraph Faustus talks at some length as he persuades Mephistopheles that he wants to do a deal with Lucifer. As we move through the passage, Faustus asks only single line questions about Lucifer. By contrast, Mephistopheles becomes increasingly vocal. His initial replies do nothing to deter Faustus. The direction the questions are going in causes him to become alarmed, and he implores Faustus to leave the matter alone. Faustus has no experience of damnation – unlike Mephistopheles, but this does not stop him boasting that it holds no fear for him. Faustus adds that he sees no distinction between heaven and hell. Marlowe demonstrates his own education with the classical allusion (O’Connor, 2003, p154) : His ghost be with the old philosophers! This refers to the ancient Greeks, and, that like them, Faustus does not believe in damnation (Pacheco, 2008, p.42). The third line also breaks the rhythm of the first two, and this metric variation serves to underline Faustus’s exclamation (O’Connor, 2003, p.145). In the forth line: But leaving these vain trifles of men’s souls, Faustus is in too much of a hurry to ask Mephistopheles about Lucifer. He belittles the issue of men’s souls despite the fact that it is his own that he will shortly be offering up. As they discuss Lucifer, Mephistopheles explains that Lucifer came by his present position: …by aspiring pride and insolence, Yet Faustus does not pick up on this point. He moves on to his next question without considering that these are the very traits he is displaying. Mephistopheles tries to warn Faustus that having anything to so with Lucifer will lead, one inevitable step after another, to damnation:: Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer, Conspired against our God with Lucifer, And are for ever damned with Lucifer. Marlowe makes use of the repetition of ‘Lucifer’ to re-enforce this point. Faustus asks Mephistopheles about hell, and displays his ignorance of this subject. Mephistopheles realises that Faustus has not listened to him, and finishes the passage with an impassioned plea. Here Marlowe makes use of the iambic pentameter. This enables the point of the verse to flow from one line to the next. This would help the lines to be delivered at a greater speed, and convey the rising desperation Mephistopheles feels (O’Connor, 2003, p.147). In the penultimate line Marlowe uses makes use of a caesura. This breaks the rhythm of the verse, and gives added emphasis to Mephistopheles’s last desperate appeal (0’Connor, 2003, p.146). The language Marlowe uses for Faustus portrays an arrogant character. Faustus is rude and disrespectul towards Mephistopheles. He ignores all the warnings in his impatience to get his offer before Lucifer. Bibliography. Pacheco, A. (2008) Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, in Moohan, E. (ed.) Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp.30 - 54. Doctor Faustus the A text (2003) Christopher Marlowe (O’Connor, John ed.)