"Cleopatra"

I am the air you breathe; I am the air that keeps you alive. I am the fire that rages in spirit destroying any enemies that fall in my path. I am Cleopatra. I have already kissed the cold dead lips of my love, Antony. I have already endured the embarrassment of bowing myself down to weep before Caesar. Still, I stand strong before everyone even though I have been betrayed by my own servants, who have lost their loyalty for me. Darkness begins to fall and death creeps closer. Am I now supposed to endure more mortification by walking, in the triumph, as a slave? That is what I am not, I am not a slave; people bow down to me, I do not bow down to them. Through this humiliation, I shall have my neck and head held high just like that of a swan’s. I will make sure to be in tranquility during this animosity. I will not let them belittle me; I walk and bow before no one, I am Cleopatra. Not a soul will take away from me the one thing I still hold; I refuse to give away my dignity. I refuse to let my children be put into chains and shame. I will do what I must. “Nothing remains except to tease this fellow out of mind.” I must end my life before I ruin it. I must take the black snake to my breast as “a parting act of pity.” I would rather face death than see my reputation die.

In this response, I decided to make it as if I was Cleopatra. I spoke the meaning of the poem through what I interpreted as Cleopatra’s point of view. By doing this, I believe that I got a better sense of the message that Akhmatova tried to portray through this poem. Cleopatra is a very strong-willed woman who refuses to be looked down on. She would rather die with her dignity than allow it shatter in front of her.