Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw
"Caesar and Cleopatra," a play by George Bernard Shaw, presents a dramatic interpretation of the historical relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII of Egypt. The narrative begins with a chance encounter in the Egyptian desert, where Caesar meets a young Cleopatra, who is both superstitious and fearful of the Romans. This initial meeting sets the stage for their complex interactions, highlighting themes of power, gender roles, and political intrigue.
As the story unfolds, Cleopatra matures under Caesar's influence, moving from a girl to a more politically savvy figure. The play explores the tensions of occupation, as Caesar navigates the challenges posed by the Egyptian royal court and the backdrop of Roman military presence. With a mix of wit and tension, Shaw illustrates the dynamics of their relationship, including Cleopatra's desires for power and independence, which occasionally clash with Caesar's political ideals.
The plot thickens with betrayal and assassination, leading to a climax where Cleopatra grapples with her ambitions and loyalties. Ultimately, the play concludes with Caesar's departure to Rome, leaving Cleopatra in a state of reflection on her identity and aspirations. Shaw’s work offers a nuanced exploration of historical figures, inviting the audience to consider the complexities of leadership and the interplay of personal and political motives.
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Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw
First produced: 1906; first published, 1901
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Comedy
Time of plot: October, 48 b.c.e.-March, 47 b.c.e.
Locale: Egypt
Principal characters
Julius Caesar ,Cleopatra , the queen of EgyptPtolemy Dionysus , her brother and husband, the king of EgyptFtatateeta , Cleopatra’s nurseBritannus , a Briton, Caesar’s secretaryRufio , a Roman officerPothinus , the king’s guardianApollodorus , a Sicilian
The Story:
Act 1. Caesar is alone at night in the Egyptian desert, apostrophizing a statue of the Sphinx. Caesar is startled when a young girl, Cleopatra, addresses him from the paws of the Sphinx. He climbs up to her, thinking he is dreaming. She is full of superstitions about cats and Nile water. She tells Caesar she is there because the Romans are coming to eat her people. Caesar sees that he is not dreaming and identifies himself to Cleopatra as a Roman. She is terror-stricken, but Caesar tells her that he will eat her unless she can show herself to him as a woman, not a girl. Cleopatra puts herself in the hands of this Roman and they move to her throne room. Caesar tries to persuade Cleopatra to act like a queen; Ftatateeta enters and begins to order Cleopatra about until the nurse is chased from the room. Caesar orders Cleopatra’s servants to dress her in her royal robes. When Roman soldiers enter and salute Caesar, Cleopatra finally realizes who he is and, with a sob of relief, falls into his arms.
Act 2. The ten-year-old king Ptolemy is delivering a speech from the throne in Alexandria, prompted by his tutor and guardian. Caesar enters and demands taxes, then calls for Cleopatra. Rufio reminds Caesar that there is a Roman army of occupation in Egypt, commanded by Achillas and supporting the Egyptians, while Caesar has only four thousand men. Achillas and Pothinus suggest that they hold the upper hand, but when Roman troops enter, the Egyptians back off. Lucius Septimius and Pothinus remind Caesar that they decapitated Pompey to ingratiate themselves with Caesar, who is horrified to hear of the act. All the Egyptians but Ptolemy leave, and Rufio again protests against Caesar’s clemency. Ptolemy is escorted out. Cleopatra and Caesar discuss how much Cleopatra has grown, and Caesar promises to send strong young Mark Antony to Cleopatra. A wounded Roman soldier enters to inform Caesar that the Roman army of occupation has come; Caesar orders that all the ships be burned except those that are to carry the Romans to the lighthouse on an island in the harbor. As Caesar starts to arm himself, Pothinus enters, followed by Theodotus with the news that the great library in Alexandria is burning. After Pothinus and Theodotus leave, Cleopatra helps Caesar put on his armor and makes fun of his baldness. Caesar and Rufio leave to lead the troops to the Pharos.
Act 3. On a quay in front of Cleopatra’s palace, Apollodorus, who brings carpets for Cleopatra to look at, argues with the Roman sentinel. Cleopatra wants to be rowed to the lighthouse, but the sentinel refuses to allow it. Cleopatra thereupon says she will make a present of a carpet to Caesar, and secretly she is rolled up in one and put in a boat that is sailing for the lighthouse that the Egyptians begin to attack. When Apollodorus enters with the carpet, which is unrolled and reveals Cleopatra, Caesar regards the young woman as a nuisance. The Egyptians cut off the Romans and are approaching. Several Roman ships approach, whereupon Apollodorus, Caesar, and Rufio dive into the sea to swim to them. Cleopatra is tossed into the sea as well and carried along.
Act 4. Six months later, Cleopatra and her serving women are discussing Caesar when Ftatateeta brings in Pothinus, who is now a prisoner of the Romans and wants to make a deal with Cleopatra. After Rufio and Caesar enter, Rufio brings Pothinus to talk to Caesar privately. Pothinus finally blurts out that Cleopatra wants Caesar out of the way so that she can rule alone. Cleopatra denies this, but Caesar knows it is true. When Pothinus leaves, Cleopatra orders Ftatateeta to kill him. Caesar, Rufio, and Apollodorus, just returned for a banquet, hear a terrible scream. Apollodorus, sent to investigate, reports that Pothinus was assassinated and that the city, in an uproar, is blaming Caesar. Cleopatra admits that she gave the order, but Caesar cannot make her understand that this is not his way of governing. Lucius Septimius approaches Caesar and tells him that the relief army under Mithridates is near. Realizing that the Egyptian army left to fight Mithridates, Caesar leaves, intending to meet Mithridates and fight the Egyptian army. When Rufio learns that Ftatateeta killed Pothinus, he kills her.
Act 5. Having won the battle, Caesar prepares to return to Rome. He appoints Rufio to be the Roman governor of Egypt, praises Britannus for his conduct in the battle, and leaves Apollodorus in charge of Egyptian art. Cleopatra, in mourning for Ftatateeta, pleads for revenge against Rufio, who admitted to killing Ftatateeta; since it was a justified slaying, Caesar denies Cleopatra’s plea. He says that Cleopatra learned little from him but again promises to send her Mark Antony. Caesar boards the ship to a salute from the Roman soldiers. Cleopatra remains behind, saddened but content.
Bibliography
Compton, Louis. “Caesar and Cleopatra.” In Shaw the Dramatist. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1969. Discusses the social, philosophical, and historical backgrounds of the play. Offers a clear and accessible presentation of Shaw’s ideas and their sources in the nineteenth century intellectual tradition.
Dukore, Bernard F. “The Center and the Frame.” In Bernard Shaw, Playwright: Aspects of Shavian Drama. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1973. Concentrates on the formal aspects of the play and discusses how certain key scenes contribute to the whole. Deals at length with the prologues, which are seldom played, and act 3, which Shaw had suggested could be omitted but which Dukore claims is important and even necessary.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Shaw’s Theater. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000. Focuses on the performance of Shaw’s plays and how Caesar and Cleopatra and other plays call attention to elements of the theater, such as the audience, characters directing other characters, and plays within plays. Includes a section on “Bernard Shaw, Director,” and another section in which Shaw describes how a director should interpret Pygmalion for theatrical production.
Evans, T. F., ed. Shaw: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1976. A useful collection of generally brief early reviews and notices of Shaw’s plays, including Caesar and Cleopatra. Interesting to compare these early reviews with later scholarly views.
Holroyd, Michael. Bernard Shaw: The Search for Love. New York: Random House, 1988. In this first volume of his standard and indispensable biography of Shaw, Holroyd relates Shaw’s life and thought to his works.
Innes, Christopher, ed. The Cambridge Companion to George Bernard Shaw. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Collection of scholarly essays examining Shaw’s work, including discussions of Shaw’s feminism, Shavian comedy and the shadow of Oscar Wilde, his “discussion plays,” and his influence on modern theater. Caesar and Cleopatra is analyzed in Matthew H. Wikander’s essay “Reinventing the History Play: Caesar and Cleopatra, Saint Joan, ’In Good King Charles’s Golden Days.’”
Pagliaro, Harold E. Relations Between the Sexes in the Plays of George Bernard Shaw. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004. Demonstrates how the relationship between men and women is a key element in Shaw’s plays. Notes a pattern in how Shaw depicts these relationships, including lovers destined by the “life force” to procreate; relations between fathers and daughters, and mothers and sons; and the sexuality of politically, intellectually, and emotionally strong men.
Whitman, Robert F. “Plays for Realists.” In Shaw and the Play of Ideas. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1977. Discusses the play’s conflict between the realist and the idealist. Caesar’s grasp of reality makes him immune to the temptations of vengeance and to Cleopatra’s sensuality; Caesar is the representative of the future.