ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the characterization of Cleopatra. 'On the ethical level she is irresponsible in every way-lubricious, cruel, self-regarding; but to ignore the divine attributes of this 'triple-turned' where is to ignore the text. As literary critics from the Renaissance to the twentieth century have delighted in pointing out, the etymology of the word character in English comes from engraving and handwriting. The chapter quotes an inadvertent gloss on Cleopatra's character, in the form of a malapropism or confusion of words. In short, Cleopatra herself is an allegory; she is not merely, and perhaps not ultimately, a historical person age, or even a dramatic character. Cleopatra is virtually impossible to describe from the very beginning of the play. For the late-twentieth-century critic Rosalie Colie, Cleopatra was an aspect of rhetorical style. Bradley singles out Cleopatra, alone with Hamlet, as a Shakespearean character who in his view has 'genius'.
