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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Caesar in Ptolemy's Court:
In Act 2, Caesar enters Ptolemy's court in Alexandria and causes havoc. In the stage directions that follow, Shaw describes Caesar's general attitude toward the proceedings around him using an apt simile:
ALL THE COURTIERS: [shouting fiercely and crowding towards Caesar] Away with you. Egypt for the Egyptians! Begone.
Rufio bites his beard, too angry to speak. Caesar sits as comfortably as if he were at breakfast, and the cat were clamoring for a piece of Finnan-haddie.
Caesar calmly surveys his environment, engaging with those around him as one might with a cat at the breakfast table. This simile provides important characterization for Caesar: he is calm under pressure and can handle himself in stressful situations, even reveling in the chaos around him and applauding himself on his composure in the face of it. Furthermore, he refuses to take himself too seriously, content to allow the dust to settle around him before reclaiming control of the situation at hand. Compared to Rufio in this scene, who "bites his beard, too angry to speak" at the courtiers' call for "Egypt for the Egyptians," Caesar refuses to let others rile him, remaining calm and even-keeled. This passage highlights for the audience Caesar's expertise and experience as a leader.
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Act 4
Explanation and Analysis—Cleopatra's Children:
In the following passage from Act 4, Ftatateeta uses simile and satire to explain to Pothinus how Cleopatra's relationship to the Egyptian people has changed over the course of her relationship with Caesar:
FTATATEETA: Enough of your gods! Caesar's gods are still powerful here. It is no use you coming to Cleopatra: you are only an Egyptian. She will not listen to any of her own race: she treats us all as children.
According to Ftatateeta, Cleopatra views Egyptians as children, preferring Caesar's advice to her own Egyptian advisors' counsel. Crucially, this shift in Cleopatra's character is a consequence of her relationship with Caesar, who is, in spite of his merciful and humanitarian nature, an imperialist and a tool of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra sees her people as children because she has adopted this colonial mindset.
Cleopatra's shift in attitude contributes to the play's satirical edge, drawing subtle connections between the colonial sentiments she expresses and those developed as propaganda by the British Empire. Frequently, colonial powers like Britain would use infantalizing rhetoric to justify their colonization of certain regions, claiming that the people indigenous to those areas wanted or even needed to be controlled for their own well-being. As a citizen of the British Empire, Shaw was highly critical of such paternalistic, condescending attitudes, and this negative turn in Cleopatra's character development supports Shaw's project of satirizing British colonialism.
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Explanation and Analysis—Cleopatra's Projection:
In the following excerpt from Act 4, Cleopatra taunts Pothinus, asserting that it is she who will remain in power once Caesar leaves Egypt and not her brother Ptolemy, of whom Pothinus is caretaker. She utilizes multiple similes to establish this point:
CLEOPATRA: The Queen is pleased to say this also. That Caesar will eat you up, and Achillas, and my brother, as a cat eats up mice; and that he will put on this land of Egypt as a shepherd puts on his garment. And when he has done that, he will return to Rome, and leave Cleopatra here as his viceroy.
Cleopatra's use of simile in this passage reveals that her understanding of Caesar's character is fundamentally flawed. She thinks that he shares her perspective and leadership style, when in fact the opposite is true. Cleopatra herself is often likened to a cat, and she projects this likeness onto Caesar, utilizing simile to assert to Pothinus that Caesar will pursue him viciously as a cat would a mouse. Though perhaps Cleopatra herself would do this, Caesar obviously would not, as is revealed later when Pothinus approaches Caesar for an audience.
Cleopatra also states that Caesar will "put on" the land of Egypt "as a shepherd puts on his garment." Evidently she believes that Caesar views Egyptians as an inferior civilization that should be conquered and led, as a shepherd leads a flock of sheep. Here, Cleopatra further misunderstands Caesar's character, projecting her own opinions onto the situation. This passage demonstrates a critical disconnect between Caesar and Cleopatra—a gulf that will only widen as the play progresses.
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