How does Enobarbus convey the appeal of Cleopatra

Authors Avatar

How does Enobarbus convey the appeal of Cleopatra?

As a dedicated follower of Antony, Enobarbus has great respect for Cleopatra and unlike others in the play who only see that Cleopatra is corrupting Antony, he                                 understands Cleopatra’s attraction. He uses imagery, language and description to convey Cleopatra’s appeal.

Join now!

  The first thing the audience notices in Enobarbus’s description is that he never describes Cleopatra herself; only describes her surroundings. This may be because Enobarbus feels that it is not his place, as a friend and follower of Antony, to talk about Cleopatra so intimately and in such detail. However, Enobarbus’s beautiful descriptions of her surroundings create the illusion that she must be as beautiful as them and all his descriptions have deeper meanings, which often relate to descriptions of Cleopatra. For example:

‘ The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,

Burned on the water;’

...

This is a preview of the whole essay