Avery – Cleopatra Scene Analysis


In this scene after Antony's death, Octavian negotiates with Cleopatra about returning to Rome with her as his prisoner. The shot seems to be pretty level, the audience isn't looking down on anyone. It seems like there are two main points the audience's eye is drawn to, Octavian and Cleopatra (It's also worth noticing that the space between the two is interestingly wide).

We see Octavian standing relaxed as he looks down on Cleopatra. This shows Octavian as the one in control, not the Queen. Cleopatra is slouched and doesn't meet Octavian's eye, which again displays Octavian's power. This also shows that Cleopatra is a bit more broken than she had been before, probably because Antony had died. Cleopatra's two servants stand a few steps behind their mistress, this definitely foreshadows their loyal decision to follow Cleopatra into death.

Octavian stands next to the place where Cleopatra's body will come to rest, almost as if to symbolize that he's standing in her way of committing suicide and reuniting with Antony.

Comments

  1. Excellent job! I think you said everything that's important. Your observation that Octavian is standing in a way that blocks her only way out, suicide, is brilliant. One could maybe add that Cleopatra is presented as literally driven into a corner. Her two maids, Iras and Charmian, literally have her back and offer her her support. All three of them are as far away from Octavian as possible.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plautus Plays - Ben Webster

Basil Allen - "Casina" vs. "The Braggart Soldier"

Plautus Casina vs Plautus The Braggart Soldier - Michael Kachanyuk