Act II of “Antony and Cleopatra” CLEOPATRA's palace.
Enter a Messenger:
CLEOPATRA
Messenger
If thou say Antony lives, is well,
Or friends with Caesar, or not captive to him,
I'll set thee in a shower of gold, and hail
Rich pearls upon thee.
Or friends with Caesar, or not captive to him,
I'll set thee in a shower of gold, and hail
Rich pearls upon thee.
Cleopatra in “Antony
and Cleopatra,” often behaves
childishly and with relentless self-absorption; nevertheless, her charisma,
strength, and indomitable will make her one of
Shakespeare’s strongest, most awe-inspiring female characters.
(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "P" is for Philadelphia)
I
loosely - very loosely - based the following scenelet upon a famous character
in a Shakespeare play. Your assignment, if
you choose to accept it is, which character?
(Mitch has lunch with an old friend, Gail, a young
woman he’s known since high school.)
“How long have you been back in L A?”
“It’s been a week or so now. Gail, I’m sorry I haven’t called. They made me a department head and it's almost as if I were quarantined, I've been that busy.”
“Sure, but Mitch, you’re practically my oldest friend. You could have taken just a moment to call
and say you were back. You know I always
want to know what’s going on in Philadelphia.”
“Well, outside of the occasional acrid smell here and there it's a pretty fine town."
“What about other items of interest in Philly?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know dam’ well what I mean.”
“Oh, him.”
“Yes, him.”
“Oh, Greg’s fine.
Didn’t see him much, what with me being so busy. He seems to be doing okay.”
“He promised me he’d be back in Los Angeles in a
month. According to the date on the
morning paper this is the sixth week.”
[Antony Pic 2, right]
“Gail, listen.
You know I don’t have any control over what Greg does. I can tell you this. He told me that the time he spent with you on
the beach in Southern California was the happiest time of his life.”
“He said that – ‘happiest’?”
“Right.”
“It’s really wonderful I have a good friend like you
I can talk to, Mitch. You see, there’s
this problem, the problem so many females are faced with. If I call him, or email him, or whatever - which
I’m dying to do - I come across as needy and someone to be pitied. If I just sit here and say nothing, I come
across as someone who’d just as soon forget the whole deal.”
“Well, Gail, I’m no Doctor Drew; I wouldn’t be able
to offer any helpful advice. There is
something, though, that I have to tell you.”
“H’mm. I
don’t like the way this is heading.”
“He – uh – he met this girl.”
“I see.
What’s her name?”
“Joanne.”
“’Joanne.’
Sounds kind of frumpy.”
“Well, I guarantee that she isn’t in the same
ballpark with you, as far as looks are concerned. Greg told me you were the most beautiful girl
he’d ever known.”
“So he stays in Philadelphia with Miss Frumpy? How does that make sense?”
“Gail, here’s the bad news. Joanne is the daughter of Greg’s boss, the
CEO of the Corporation. To be brutally
honest, it seems that alone makes her very attractive. So I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell
you - they were married last week.”
“What! You came here to tell me Greg’s married? I thought you were my friend! I never really liked you anyway; get out of
here - I wish you’d never called! “
“Gail, come on, don't get so dramatic.
I knew you’d be upset. But you
know the rule: don’t attack the messenger.”
“Who the hell else can I attack!?”
22 comments:
Katherine in Taming of the Shrew?
This sounds like Woody Allen to me...
Not sure which of the two characters you wanted us to guess, but I'm guessing Gail is Cleopatra, which would probably make Mitch Marc Antony.
Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream?
Guess who's first with the right answer: naturgesetz.
Perchance Cleopatra?
Thanks for stopping over and linking up at Lunch Break
Another county heard from. Kathe W also has the correct answer.
My. I guess this was a tough one. Think hard now - as a hint, how many Shakespeare characters do you know who married their brothers?
Oh well, we'll have a nice easy one next week.
Ophelia in Hamlet
Guess I was wrong; have to get my thinking cap on again!
Is it Cleopatra from Antony and Cleopatra? I remember she wasn't too happy with the message she got…
;)
I keep think it's Olivia from Twelfth Night
Another right answer, this time from Sue. Congrats...
Rosalind from "Twelfth Night"
Clever stuff! I like the way you built this up.
Hell hath no fury ! Thanks Berowne
Gertrude in Hamlet I think it is!
Hank
I do not like 'But yet,' fie upon 'But yet'!... Hilarious!
I forgot to come back to your site! Out of town four days. Oh well, there's next week...
Welcome back...
Oh dear, the poor messengers!
I enjoyed reading these.
My piece is here.
http://dothedead.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/the-storm/
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