Antony and Cleopatra summary

Summary

Act One, Scenes 1-3

Scene One. Cleopatra's palace, in Alexandria. Philo complains to Demetrius that Cleopatra has transformed Antony from a great general to a whore's fool. Antony and Cleopatra enter, with Cleopatra pushing Antony to describe how much he loves her. A messenger comes from Octavius, but Antony, clearly annoyed, commands the messenger to be brief. Cleopatra, partly mocking, partly serious, chides Antony and tells him to hear the message. But in the end Antony refuses to hear the message, and he and Cleopatra set out for a night in the city. Philo and Demetrius do not approve.

Scene Two. Cleopatra's palace, in Alexandria. The servants of Cleopatra's court ask a soothsayer to predict their futures. The soothsayer seems to start out well, telling Charmian that she will outlive her mistress, but then he warns that the days to come will be worse than the days past. When the soothsayer insinuates that Charmian's loose, she's had enough. The soothsayer tells Iras that her fortune will be like Charmian's.

Cleopatra enters looking for Antony, and the man himself enters shortly after. Cleopatra takes off with a huff, taking her servants with her. Antony hears the messenger: his wife, Fulvia, and his brother have united in a war against Caesar, and have been driven from Italy. The other news is worse: Rome's most powerful adversaries, the Parthians, have overrun the territories of the Near and Middle East.

A second messenger brings yet more grim news: his wife Fulvia is dead. Antony muses that he sometimes wished her dead while she lived, and now that she's gone he can only miss her. Antony resolves to stop dallying in Egypt. He summons Enobarbus, and informs him that they'll have to leave. Enobarbus talks, with irony and cynicism, about how their departure will shatter Cleopatra. When informed of Fulvia's death, Enobarbus continues with this lightness of tone. Antony has learned that Sextus Pompeius, the son of Pompey the great, now rules the seas in defiance of the triumvirate. Lepidus and Caesar will have need of Antony if they are to overcome him.

Scene Three. Cleopatra's palace, in Alexandria. Cleopatra enters with Charmian, Alexas, and Iras. She tells them to find Antony, and exactly what deceptions to use to bring him to her. When Charmian suggests that honesty and obedience might be a better way to keep Antony's heart, Cleopatra replies that such behavior would be a sure way to lose him. When Antony appears and tries to tell Cleopatra that he must leave, her response is scathing. Even news of Fulvia's death only increases her distress: as Fulvia goes unmourned, Cleopatra says, so will she. Yet eventually she asks forgiveness for her behavior, and wishes Antony success. He promises that though they separate, they will be with each other in spirit.

Analysis:

The first three scenes of Act One all take place in Queen Cleopatra's palace, in Alexandria. They establish quickly the conflict between duty and passion, ambition and pleasure, Rome and Egypt. They also showcase Cleopatra's complexity: her incredible emotional vicissitudes, her theatricality, her manipulative streak, and her genuine passion for Antony. They also hint at the destructive powers of historical necessity, a great theme of the play, through the figure of the soothsayer and the juxtaposition of his unsettling presence with the gayness of Cleopatra's court.

The first scene is short, and framed by the disparaging comments of Philo and Demetrius, two of Antony's men. The Roman soldiers disapprove of Antony's decadent affair with the queen, and are quick to write her off as a whore. Philo calls her a gipsy, which in Shakespeare's time connoted sorcery, treachery, and cheap trickery. Their view is simple and straightforward, and perhaps not perfectly in line with what we see when Antony and Cleopatra themselves appear. Cleopatra, though mocking of Antony's Roman duties, does in fact encourage him to hear the message. Her purposes for doing so are not entirely clear: she may be using reverse psychology on her lover, and her arguments already have a hint of irony, which can be played up in productions of the play.

The theme of duty versus passion, and Rome versus Egypt, both come together in this scene. Antony is having too fine a time to be bothered by news from the capitol, and shirks his duties: "Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch / Of the ranged empire fall! Here is my space, / Kingdoms are clay . . ." (1.1. 33-35). Egypt is escape from the duties of empire, and in Alexandria Antony is able to live life as he loves to live it. But Antony's attitude will be sharply reversed by the next scene, and he will force himself back to Rome: Antony is torn throughout the play between duty and passion, between Roman power and the good life of Egypt.

He is never able to reconcile the two, and their fundamental incompatibility are emphasized by the commentary provided by Philo and Demetrius. When Antony and Cleopatra appear before us, they are beautiful in their excess. They are a grand, godlike couple, a handsome Roman general and a magnificent queen, playful and exuberant, and conscious of their glamour. Youth is not part of their glamour; both are middle-aged. Their beauty is one of ripeness and maturity, and Antony revels in his Egyptian life as rest from a lifetime of fighting wars. Antony proudly proclaims, "We stand up peerless" (1.1.39), and within a certain realm he's right. But the world where they stand up peerless is a different one that Rome's world of duty, war, and ambition. The couple's beautiful language and delight in one another make no great impression on Philo and Demetrius, who can't understand Antony's shirking of his duties.

Scene Two contrasts the incredible gaiety and liveliness of Cleopatra's court with a dour, though not humorless, Soothsayer. The play touches on the theme of fate for the first time here. Playfully seeking some kind of entertainment from the Soothsayer, the servants of Cleopatra make bawdy jokes and tease each other, even as the Soothsayer, in words whose meaning only becomes clear later, foretells the maids' deaths. The gay and frivolous world of Cleopatra's palace seems an unfit place to speak of death, and this scene drives home how grim historical necessity will put an end to this Eastern world of fun and play.

The beginning of that process follows immediately. As the servants and Cleopatra exit, Antony enters with messengers and finally hears the news he has been avoiding. Antony sees the price of his neglect of his duties, and he is immediately remorseful, owning up to his faults and encouraging the messenger to tell him all bad news without fear. This scene makes an interesting juxtaposition with later scenes (2.5 and 3.3) where Cleopatra takes bad news out on the messenger. One of Antony's most outstanding qualities is his capacity for remorse. His sincere emotional response to his own failures is in marked contrast to Octavius' detached machinations. Antony's remorse leads, at least temporarily, to renewed resolve.

Enobarbus' response to Anthony's new resolve is cynical, cutting, and strangely light considering the gravity of the news. He seems to mock Cleopatra's intense emotions, warning of what she'll do when she hears news of Antony's departure: "I have seen her die twenty times upon far poorer moment" (1.2.143-4). Yet he defends her, with an undetermined degree of irony, from the charge of insincerity. His lightness leaves much open to the actor's interpretation: does he believe Cleopatra's sincerity, or is he speaking with deep irony? His response to Fulvia's death is strangely light: although at first he seems shocked (Antony needs to tell him the news three times), he quickly becomes cynical, telling Antony that Fulvia's death would only be sad if there were no other women left on earth. While this might be a real bit of misogyny on Enobarbus' part, it also refers to Antony's relationship with Cleopatra. He mocks Antony a few lines later, saying with sly innuendo that though the business in Rome cannot do without him, the sexual business he has started with Cleopatra can't do without him either. Enobarbus speaks in prose, and his talk with Antony is bold and plain. Their familiarity with each other shows a relationship not between master and subject, but between two soldiers and old friends, even if Antony is his superior. That kind of equality is part of Rome's tradition of citizenship, as well as a function of military service together, not possible to the same degree between Cleopatra and one of her subjects.

The next scene (1.3) gives amazing characterization of Cleopatra: "If you find him [Antony] sad, / Say I am dancing; if in mirth, report / That I am sudden sick" (1.3.3-5). Cleopatra's emotions are often sincere, but she also knows how to use emotion for her own ends. Her relationship with Antony has something of the feeling of a game to it. She seeks to play him in a way that will keep him hers, and although she decries falseness in a man sees nothing wrong with keeping Antony on his toes with a few well-placed lies. Proclaiming she is faint several times, she goes through emotional changes at a dizzying speed: first she rails against Antony, saying she should never have trusted a man who was so faithless to his wife; then she hears news of Fulvia's death and says that as Antony seems unmoved by the loss of Fulvia, so will he be unmoved by the loss of Cleopatra; then she tells Antony to forgive her, and to be on his way, with her hopes for his success. Note that Cleopatra sees every bit of news only in terms of how it relates to her. Antony's departure, for reasons of vital importance to the empire, is seen as faithlessness to his love. Fulvia's death is evaluated not as news of death, but as a sign of the faithlessness of Antony's heart. Yet Cleopatra also recognizes Antony's duty, and in the end asks forgiveness for her ways. She lets him go, though not without commenting on her own (as she tells it) pitiful status: "Therefore be deaf to my unpitied folly, / And all the gods go with you. Upon your sword / Sit laurel victory, and smooth success / Be strewed before your feet!" (1.3.98-101). Even as she relinquishes hold and asks forgiveness for her "becomings" (1.1.96), which means her graces but suggests the rapid changes of her emotional state, she cannot help but toss in a self-pitying note to elicit some response from Antony. Cleopatra has lived her life as the center of attention, as if life is a play in which she is the star. For the queen, even love has an element of performance, and Antony must proclaim his love to satisfy her.

Act One, Scenes 4-5

Scene Four. Caesar's house, in Rome. Octavius and Lepidus, followed by their train, discuss Antony. While Lepidus is inclined to defend Antony, Octavius condemns Antony's neglect of his duties. A messenger brings news that Sextus Pompeius' power by sea grows only greater. Lepidus and Octavius go their separate ways, to evaluate their capabilities before meeting tomorrow to discuss how to battle Pompey.
Scene Five. Cleopatra, attended by Charmian, Iras, and Mardian, languishes without Antony. Alexas arrives with news from Antony, assuring her of his continued devotion and that his martial endeavors will make her mistress of the East. Cleopatra seems delighted to have news from her lover, and asks Charmian if ever she loved Caesar so. When Charmian teases her mistress, saying that once Julius Caesar was considered to be a paragon of men, Cleopatra replies that those were "salad days," when she was green, and therefore younger and knew less.
Analysis:
In scenes three through five, we leap from Egypt to Rome to Egypt again. The concerns in these two places could not be more different. Note that when Romans speak to each other, the concern is over empire, duty, and politics. The theme of Rome versus Egypt becomes clear here. Octavius and Lepidus exhibit none of the sense of play seen in Egypt, where even servants play along wittily with their masters. Both scenes four and five show characters discussing Antony. Octavius and Lepidus evaluate him as a soldier, and Octavius condemns him roundly as a "man who is th'abstract of all faults / That all men follow" (1.4.8-9). When Cleopatra and her attendants speak of Antony, it is entirely within the context of her love affair with him.
The vast leaps in space constitute one of Antony and Cleopatra's famous characteristics. No other play of Shakespeare's makes such vast leaps, from one edge of the known world to the other, and back again. These leaps in space parallel the jumps in perspective: in scenes four and five, we get two completely different descriptions of Antony. While Lepidus praises Antony, defending him against Caesar's charges of moral failure, he does not use the same criteria of judgment as Cleopatra. These leaps in perspective help to create great portraits of character, even though the play that has more talk than action: while we don't see the kind of amazing drama of Macbeth or King Lear, we are treated to eloquent discussions of characters by other characters. Compare in 1.1 the difference between Philo's descriptions of Antony and Cleopatra and the description Antony and Cleopatra give themselves. Compare the Romans' different descriptions of Cleopatra. Enobarbus' description of Cleopatra in 1.2 is different from Philo's easy label of "strumpet" in 1.1. Antony describes her quite differently at different points in the play. Throughout the play, pay attention to the descriptions characters give other characters, and the portraits that emerge.

Act Two, Scenes 1-5

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Scene One. Messina. Pompey's house. Pompey discusses strategy with his men, Menas and Menecrates, confidently assessing his fortunes. When Menas reports that Lepidus and Octavius Caesar are in the field against him, Pompey dismisses it: they wait in Rome, helpless without Antony. Pompey is counting on Antony to stay in Egypt with Cleopatra. Varrius enters with bad news: Antony has returned. Pompey is distressed, as Antony is by far the best soldier of the triumvirate. Menas hopes that Antony and Octavius will not be able to work together, due to the fact that Antony's brother and late wife warred against Octavius, but Pompey points out that natural enemies may band together against a common threat.
Scene Two. Rome. Lepidus' house. Enter Lepidus and Enobarbus. Lepidus tries to get Enobarbus to keep his master's temper calm, but Enobarbus refuses, acting a bit ornery himself. Antony and Ventidius enter from one side, Caesar with Agrippa and Maecenas from the other. Lepidus urges unity. Caesar and Antony butt heads, with Caesar asking if Antony incited his brother and late wife against him. When assured that it was not so, he accuses Antony of breaking his oath by dallying in Egypt while his fellow triumvirs were threatened in Rome. Antony makes as much apology as he can without compromising his honor. Maecenas urges them to remember the common threat, and Enobarbus tells them they'll have time to fight each other when Pompey is beaten. Antony tells Enobarbus to be quiet, several times, before the soldier falls silent. Octavius says there's truth in what Enobarbus says, and that they need a way to make a lasting peace between them. Agrippa suggests that Antony marry Octavius' sister, Octavia. Octavius and Antony agree to it. Antony expresses a preference for a diplomatic resolution with Pompey. The triumvirs decide that before they go off to deal with the threat, Antony's marriage to Octavia should be settled.
All exit except Enobarbus, Agrippa, and Maecenas. They are eager for stories of Egypt and Cleopatra. Enobarbus entertains them with the story of Cleopatra's seduction of Antony. To meet him, she came in a splendid royal barge, and invited him to be her guest. Incredibly opulent, magnificent as a hostess, she won his heart. Then he tells another story of Cleopatra, on an occasion when she was out of breath on a public street. At that moment she was no less splendid than when she was in her barge. She can "make defect perfection" (2.2.237), and Enobarbus cannot believe that Antony will ever leave her.
Scene Three. Rome. Caesar's house. Octavius presents his sister Octavia to Antony. Antony promises to be a better man than. Octavius and his sister exit. The soothsayer enters, and warns Antony that as long as he and Caesar stand side by side, Antony will lose. Alone, Antony muses that the Soothsayer is right: in every game of chance, in every trifling matter, Caesar seems to beat him against the odds. He will send Ventidius to Parthia, to deal with the threat there, and keep his marriage for the sake of peace. But for pleasure, he will eventually return to Egypt.
Scene Four. A street in Rome. Lepidus, Agrippa, and Maecenas part. Their different forces will meet again on the field.
Scene Five. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Attended by Mardian the Eunuch, Alexas, Charmian, and Iras, Cleopatra reminisces about a fishing trip she took with Antony. A messenger arrives from Rome. Cleopatra toys with the poor man as a cat with a mouse, promising rich reward for good news and punishment for bad news. When the messenger tells him that Antony has married Octavia, Cleopatra beats him. The Queen grows more enraged, threatening the poor messenger with a knife. When she regains control of herself, she calls him back to confirm the news. She dismisses him. Devastated, faint, Cleopatra has her ladies lead her off. As she goes, she bids Alexas and Mardian ask the messenger about Octavia's appearance and charms.
Analysis:
Pompey's discussion with his men (2.1) gives interesting information about the triumvirate. Pompey does not fear Octavius and Lepidus. Antony is the only member of the triumvirate who worries him, Antony's skills as a military leader being "twice the other twain" (2.1.35). Pompey also understands the future. If not for Pompey, "T'were pregnant they [Antony and Octavius] should square between themselves" (2.1.45). If and when Pompey is defeated, Antony and Octavius will inevitably turn against one another. The theme of fate or historical necessity is touched on here. Necessity has already seemed to dictate what course events must take. Apparently a pious man, Pompey also invokes the gods constantly. But his belief that "If the great gods be just, they shall assist the deeds of justest men" (2.1.1) does not match the events that unfold in the play. The triumph of good men is not the story of Antony and Cleopatra. Historical necessity, or fate, operates by a set of rules different from those described by Pompey's pious statement.
Inevitability comes up again in the next scene (2.2), when Enobarbus inappropriately tells Antony and Octavius that they'll have time to fight each other after Pompey is beaten. Octavius needs Antony. Pompey assessed correctly in the last scene that without Antony, Octavius and Lepidus are afraid to face him. And yet Octavius baits Antony throughout this whole scene, aggressively criticizing Antony's recent behavior and actions. Even though the two men are forced to work together, differences in character and destiny divide them.
After the triumvirs have exited, Enobarbus regales Caesar's comrades with colorful tales of Egypt and the East. The first four scenes of Act Two take place in the Western parts of the Empire, but Shakespeare makes sure that in both of the poles of the play, the other pole is invoked. There are references to Egypt and Antony's colorful life there in 2.1, but Enobarbus' tales (beginning at 2.2.180) make a wonderful piece of writing that conjures up Cleopatra's world as well as any of the scenes actually set in Alexandria. Enobarbus is sensitive to the charms of the East, and to the charms of Cleopatra. He predicts, correctly (and indiscreetly, considering he is speaking with the right-hand men of Caesar) that Antony will never leave Cleopatra.
The soothsayer's warning (2.3) is taken from Plutarch. The good Protestants of Shakespeare's audience were not supposed to believe in soothsayers, but Shakespeare often uses elements good Protestants are supposed to disdain (the ghost in Hamlet, the oracle of A Winter's Tale) to great effect. Though part of a Christian civilization, Shakespeare adored the richness and vividness of the pagan world and pre-Protestant beliefs. Plutarch's soothsayer makes good theatre, and so Shakespeare retains him. The use of the soothsayer underscores the theme of destiny, which in a play based on historical events can be viewed in different ways. To us, the defeat of Antony is inevitable, fated, because it has already happened. The soothsayer's presence adds a sinister inevitability to a historical event playing out before us. Historical forces become conflated with less rational conceptions of destiny and fate. Because of the soothsayer's presence, history itself takes on a supernatural element, being beyond the control or explanation of men. Ironically, Antony plays into fate's (or history's) hands the moment he hears the soothsayer's warning. He resolves to return to Cleopatra, despite his vows to Octavia. He is fleeing Octavius Caesar, whose fortune always will overcome his in contest, but by returning to his decadent life in Egypt he will give Octavius pretext for war.
Scene Four is another scene in Rome before the 2.5 return to Egypt. It gives us Lepidus, Agrippa, and Maecenas in transit on a Roman street. The scene is short and may seem irrelevant to the plot, but many of Antony and Cleopatra's scenes seem extraneous to the plot while contributing to Shakespeare's portrait of the Roman world. The contrast between 2.4 and 2.5 makes the inclusion of 2.4 worth it: 2.4 depicts the energy of change and action, forcefully expressing the theme of dynamic Rome versus static Egypt. The scene is on a street, a place between places, which becomes a metaphor suggesting transition, movement from one place to another. The rushed Romans arrive briefly, only to say they'll meet again at the scheduled meeting place later. Short and without insight into character or plot, the scene nevertheless suggests the dynamic energy of Rome.
What a contrast to the languor of scene 2.5's opening. Cleopatra reminisces about a fishing trip, on a beautiful day when they laughed together, played in the sun, and she drank him under the table. Egyptian complacency is embodied in the land's queen: Cleopatra does not make decisions of state, or rush to implement policy or make war. She lies around, enjoying being Cleopatra.
Cleopatra's treatment of the messenger shows an important side of her character, as well as the difference in traditions between Rome and Egypt. In 1.2, Antony tells the fearful messenger not to shirk from delivering bad news: "Tis thus: / Who tells me truth, though in his tale lies death, / I hear him as he flattered" (1.2.98-100). Sharp contrast to Cleopatra, who gives gold to reward good news, but warns that if the news turns bad "The gold I give thee will I melt and pour / Down thy ill-uttering throat" (2.5.34-35).
More than a difference is character is evident. Antony comes from a world of duty, where power means responsibility. Cleopatra sees royalty as an entitlement to the fullest pleasures life and wealth can offer. She does not come from anything remotely approaching the traditions of the Roman Republic; her lineage, for centuries, has been royal. She can mistreat others as she sees fit, because she is dealing with subjects, while a Roman, even one in power, is dealing with citizens. Egypt is changeless compared to Rome, far older, and with a far more stable and static structure of power; by this time, pharaohs have ruled Egypt for three thousand years. Cleopatra does not need to do anything to earn her throne. Not once do we see Cleopatra making an important, effective decision of state. Rule means pleasure; the contrast is not only to Antony, but to Octavius, who would surely use power for different ends.

Act Two, Scenes 6-7

Scene Six. Near Misenum. The triumvirate meets with Pompey. He tells them he wants to avenge his father against Rome. [His father, also called Pompey, fled East during a conflict with Julius Caesar, and was assassinated.] Antony points out that while at sea Pompey is powerful, by land the triumvirate is supreme. The triumvirate has made Pompey an offer: he can retain rule of Sicily and Sardinia, but he must rid the sea of pirates and send tribute to Rome. Pompey says that he would accept, if not for the ingratitude Antony has shown him. When Octavius and Antony's brother were at war, Antony's mother fled to Sicily and was generously received by Pompey. Antony thanks him, the two men shake, and Pompey accepts the triumvirate's offer. The tension is eased, and the men turn to talk of feasting together. Enobarbus pipes up, blunt as always, and Pompey recognizes him from past battles. Pompey and Enobarbus exchange compliments.
All exit except Menas and Enobarbus. They exchange compliments, mixed with a bit of boasting. Menas confesses displeasure at Pompey's decision. Enobarbus, when asked about Cleopatra, informs Menas of Antony's marriage to Octavia. He predicts that Antony will return to Cleopatra, and that Antony and Caesar must eventually face off. They go to drink together.
Scene Seven. On board Pompey's galley, off Misenum. Two servants bring on a banquet. They mock Lepidus, saying he is already drunk, and the lame duck of the triumvirate. Amidst trumpet sounds, the triumvirs, Pompey, Enobarbus, Menas, Agrippa, and Maecenas enter with other captains. Encouraged by Lepidus, Antony tells stories of Egypt's natural and historical wonders. Meanwhile, Menas offers to do Pompey a service: the triumvirs are all here, under their power, and murdering them all would be easy. Pompey tells Menas that if he'd done it without telling him, it would have been a good thing. But Pompey, for his honor, cannot knowingly condone the action. Lepidus is carried off drunk. Octavius resists requests to drink more. The men sing a song, and Octavius, a bit sour, decides to leave and takes his cohorts with him.
Analysis:
With Antony back in the West, Pompey cannot withstand the power of the triumvirate. He demands thanks from Antony before agreeing to their terms, but this point is mainly one of pride. This development shows the strength of Antony's military reputation. He is here at the height of his power.
Enobarbus speaks in verse when addressing Pompey, rising to the occasion of speaking with the big players, but when only he and Menas are left the two men speak in prose. The two soldiers are speaking plainly with one another. Menas is an ambitious man, disillusioned with his master for bowing to the triumvirate's demands. The theme of historical necessity or inevitability is touched on again, as Enobarbus repeats his predictions that Antony will return to Cleopatra and Caesar will make war on him. He predicts accurately that Octavia will be cause for war, as a man like Antony can never love so simple and docile a woman, and Octavius shall be furious at his sister's spurning.
Scene seven's opening shows that even servants can see Lepidus' inferior status in the triumvirate. Their talk foreshadows Lepidus' ruin, as one servant says that to be asked to bear too much responsibility can bring a weak man to disaster.
The Roman world's potential for treachery and the theme of honor are very much at play in 2.7. Menas' suggestion shows the ruthlessness of his ambition. Violation of a guest's trust was perhaps the most shameful moral crime in the ancient world, and Pompey refuses because of his honor. Pompey is not without his streak of ruthlessness; he admits that if it had been done without his knowing, he could condone it. But he cannot knowingly murder his guests. His reasoning shows the fine line between honor and treachery for a Roman leader. It is not a superficial conception of honor, concerned only with appearances. When Pompey says "Tis not my profit that does lead my honor / Mine honor, it" (2.7.78-9) he is speaking of priorities, not strategies for success. Pompey might be blamed for their deaths even if the deed were done without his knowledge; conversely, he could order the murders and claim Menas did it without his knowledge. Pompey is not incapable of accepting deaths as the price for power, but he cannot actively and consciously pursue such a bloody course. He has a streak of simple piety in him. When we first see him in 2.1, he proclaims a belief that the gods help men who are just. This belief is completely discredited by the play's end, as Pompey is thanked poorly for his act of restraint, and Octavius achieves ultimate power by means quite alien to justice.
Menas, in an aside, resolves to desert Pompey. It is the first of several occasions in the play when a soldier deserts a superior for failing to live up to his expectations of him.
While the other men make merry, Octavius stands apart. He does not like alcohol: "It's monstrous labour when I wash my brain / And it grows fouler" (2.7.101-2). Octavius possesses marvelous self-control, and he doesn't enjoy wasting time. Drinking robs him of his self-control, and to no purpose. After the men sing a song, Octavius expresses distaste and asks Antony to leave with him: ". . . our graver business / Frowns at this levity" (2.7.122-3). Octavius is not a normal man. He does not enjoy the luxuries that power can bring, nor is relaxing from duty a pleasure for him. His purposes and motivations are political, and any activity that doesn't serve his ambition is a waste of time.

Act Three, Scenes 1-6

Act Three, Scene One. A plain in Syria. Ventidius, with Silius and other Roman soldiers, surveys the field. Ventidius has beaten the Parthians, a great feat. When Silius encourages him to pursue the Parthians, and heap up more victories for himself, Ventidius declines. A subordinate should not be too successful, lest he rouse the envy of his superior. Ventidius will meet Antony in Athens.
Scene Two. Rome. Caesar's house. Enobarbus and Agrippa enter from different sides. Enobarbus informs Agrippa that Pompey has departed, and the triumvirs are making final arrangements before leaving. Caesar seems sad, Octavia is weeping, and Lepidus has been ill since the feasting. Both men mock Lepidus' weak position in the triumvirate. Enobarbus and Agrippa part.
Octavia and the triumvirs enter. Octavius and his sister are extremely emotional as they part. Quietly, Enobarbus asks Agrippa if Caesar will weep, mocking the idea of a man who cries. When Agrippa points out that Antony wept openly after Julius Caesar's and Brutus' deaths, Enobarbus mockingly says Antony had a cold. He wept that year for things he'd tried to destroy [Brutus committed suicide after being defeated by Antony].
Scene Three. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Attended by Charmian and Iras, Cleopatra bids Alexas fetch the fearful Messenger. When the terrified man arrives, she questions him about Octavia's looks. The Messenger has learned his lesson, and describes Octavia in comically unflattering terms. She dismisses him, saying she'll need him again when she sends off her letters.
Scene Four. Athens. Antony's house. Antony tells Octavia that her brother has been slandering him. Octavius makes new wars against Pompey, unapproved, and drums up public support by proclaiming a will where his wealth is left to the people of Rome. Octavia is distraught, torn between brother and husband. Antony suggests she act as emissary, and she agrees. He authorizes her to go in his name, with whatever company and at any expense she chooses.
Scene Five. Athens. Antony's house. Eros brings news from Rome to Enobarbus. Though Caesar and Lepidus warred together against Pompey, Caesar has now imprisoned Lepidus, claiming (falsely) that Lepidus conspired with Pompey. Eros reports that Antony is incredibly upset. He is furious with the officer who assassinated Pompey [at Antony's request]. Eros brings Enobarbus to meet with Antony.
Scene Six. Rome. Caesar's house. Caesar confers with Maecenas and Agrippa. He tells them that Antony is back in Alexandria, and he has in public acknowledged his relationship with Cleopatra. They made a public appearance in the marketplace on thrones of gold, with Cleopatra dressed like the Egyptian goddess Isis. Antony has divided the Eastern territories of Rome between Cleopatra and their sons together. He has made various accusations of wrongdoing against Caesar, which Caesar has sharply answered. Caesar has made all this known to the public. Octavia enters with her Train. Caesar criticizes the paltriness of her train, implying that Antony treats her lightly, and informs her of Antony's return to Egypt. Antony is preparing for war, and Octavius must prepare to fight him. He lovingly welcomes his sister back to Rome, pitying her suffering and condemning her husband. War is about to begin.
Analysis:
Ventidius' scene (3.1), like 2.4, is a scene that gives little insight into the main characters' personalities and does nothing to develop the plot. But Ventidius' remarks about the dangers of too much success speak volumes about the Roman world. We are fresh from 2.7, in which the triumvirate might have lost their lives to a treacherous and ruthless assassination. Here Ventidius shows us another ugly side to the Roman world of duty and valor. A subordinate who does too well can be perceived as a threat, and to be perceived as a threat is dangerous. Duty and ambition have a strained and complex relationship.
Does Caesar give his sister to Antony in order to have pretext for war? Octavius seems to love his sister deeply, but using her as a political tool and loving her are not mutually exclusive. Enobarbus sees the whole situation plainly in 2.6, when he predicts that Antony's shoddy treatment of Octavia is inevitable, and his return to Cleopatra will give Octavius reason to go to war. Probably, Octavius sees it just as clearly from the start. Although we cannot know his motivations with certainty, an Octavius who uses his sister for political ends is not inconsistent with the man we see elsewhere. His tears at the parting show his human side, but they don't rule out a deeper political motivation for allowing the marriage.
The different needs of human emotion and political ambition are commented on by Enobarbus, even as he watches Octavius weeping. Antony wept at Brutus' death, even though he was hunting Brutus down for Julius Caesar's assassination. Enobarbus comments that when he did so, "What willingly he did confound [destroy] he wailed" (3.2.58). Although Enobarbus is talking about Antony, Shakespeare has placed these comments strategically. Although we can't know if Enobarbus is consciously implying that Octavius is weeping for a sister whom he knowingly is putting in harm's way for political ends, certainly the audience can notice the parallel.
Cleopatra's second scene with the messenger is comic in effect. Cleopatra is not that interested in the truth; she is interested in play. The messenger is turned into a bit of fun, and Cleopatra is able to comfort herself, even if that comfort doesn't come from truth and is sadistic.
These scenes condense an incredible amount of time, and they are not necessarily chronological. 2.5 was the last time we saw Cleopatra with the messenger, at the end of which she demanded that Alexas bring the messenger to her so she could question him about Octavia's looks. Here in 3.3, we have the interrogation scene, which should follow, chronologically, the events of 2.5. But between 2.5 and 3.3, the triumvirate moves to Misenum, deals with Pompey, and makes the final arrangements before parting. Also, the time it would take for a message to go from Rome to Alexandria is considerable. Shakespeare is arranging the scenes for the purpose of juxtaposition, and not for chronological fidelity.
The following scenes condense great amounts of time, and effect leaps in space. In Athens, Antony informs Octavia that her brother is on the move, warring against Pompey. In the next scene, the war is apparently over. In two scenes, the balance of power has changed radically, and the action has all been Octavius'. By 3.5, Lepidus is imprisoned for life, his wealth confiscated by Octavius. The charges against Lepidus are patently bogus: as proof of Lepidus' treachery, Octavius has used letters to Pompey that Octavius himself urged him to write (3.5.10-11). In 3.6, Caesar himself states other supposed reasons for imprisoning Lepidus: "I have told him [Antony] Lepidus was grown too cruel / That he his high authority abused / And did deserve his change" (3.6.32-4). This description of Lepidus is totally inconsistent to the Lepidus we have seen. Lepidus is mild, conciliatory, a bit foolish. Nothing about him suggests tyrant. Octavius has ruthlessly disposed of Lepidus in order to take his wealth and territories. His ambition is far greater than any personal bond he might feel for Lepidus.
Antony has made several tactical miscalculations. Though not stated explicitly, Eros implies that before Lepidus' removal, Antony ordered the assassination of Pompey (3.5.18-19). Antony hoped to do his allies a good turn, but now that he sees that Octavius is most certainly preparing to come after him next, he realizes that Pompey would have made a useful ally. Antony severely underestimated Octavius' ambition, and overestimated Lepidus' value as a balance to Octavius' power. He also overestimated Octavius' sense of loyalty.
Octavius' description of Antony's inappropriate proclamations is yet another wonderful Roman description of Egyptian decadence. Note that in the play, the best descriptions of Eastern luxury are made by Romans; without traveling widely himself, Shakespeare realized that natives of a place take its wonders for granted, while outsiders are endlessly amazed by what is foreign and exotic to them.
Again, we are being hit over the head with the thematic issues represented by Rome versus Egypt. The Roman world is one of duty, dominated by men. Cleopatra's court is a place of pleasure, play, and decadence. She is the central figure of the court, even when Antony is there, and the most important attendants are women. She has a few male attendants, but they are nothing like Roman men, and one of them is a eunuch. When Octavius describes Antony's scandalous actions, the luxury is one of the shocking parts: "I'th' marketplace on a tribunal silvered / Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold / Were publicly enthroned" (3.6.3-5). The expense shocks them, but there's no mistaking the fascination. Octavius description of the scandal begins with that material detail.
Octavius' distaste for the pleasures of normal men becomes a condemning prudery, when he says that around them sat "all the unlawful issue that their lust / Since then hath made between them" (3.6.7-8). The idea of Octavius having illegitimate children is laughable, at least from the way Shakespeare depicts him; Shakespeare's Octavius would only procreate according to plan. He can only speak of the children of Antony's love with words that drip with contempt.
Octavia is greeted with pity by Octavius and his men. She is depicted sympathetically, but Shakespeare does not develop her character. He is far more interested in the rivalry between her husband and brother, and too much Octavia might hamper his purposes. She works better as a tool, a somewhat naïve woman who cannot understand her husband's longing for the East or her brother's political machinations. Octavius' comfort returns to the theme of fate: ". . . Be you not troubled with the time, which drives / O'er your content these strong necessities; / But let determined things to destiny / Hold unbewailed their sway" (3.6.82-5). He sees her unhappiness partly as the fault of Antony, but partly the product of destiny. She is a casualty of fate. Is Octavius strategically cleansing himself of any responsibility for the marriage? Does Octavius see the destiny of one unified empire as the only thing that matters, with the needs of all, including himself, being subordinate to that goal? Or is he merely avoiding blame for using Octavia as a political tool? We know now that Octavius values loyalty less than other virtues, but is his dream of a unified empire motivated by ambition, a sense of duty, or both? Octavius is fascinating because one feels certain that his motivations must be crystal clear to himself; only from the outside, where the audience sits, is there the appearance of ambiguity.

Act Three, Scenes 7-13

:
Scene Seven. Near Actium. Antony's camp. Cleopatra scolds Enobarbus for opposing her participation in how the war is to be conducted. He argues that she distracts Antony, and she argues that Octavius has declared war personally against her. Antony enters with his lieutenant general, Canidius. Caesar has moved quickly, and he has refused Antony's challenge to fight in single combat. He has also avoided confronting Antony on land, where Antony is stronger and a better field commander. Enobarbus urges Antony not to challenge Caesar by sea: Octavius' ships are lighter, more maneuverable, and better manned. But Antony insists on a sea battle, which Cleopatra apparently wants. A soldier enters, and begs Antony not to wage the battle by sea. They are Romans, and fight better on land. Antony ignores him and leaves with Cleopatra and Enobarbus. The soldier tells Canidius that he still feels a land battle is the way to go; Canidius agrees, and says that Antony is being led by Cleopatra. More messengers arrive, with news of Caesar's amazingly fast movements.
Scene Eight. A plain near Actium. Caesar warns his man Taurus not to engage by land until the battle at sea is done.
Scene Nine. Another part of the plain. Antony gives orders to Enobarbus about troop placement.
Scene Ten. Another part of the plain. Canidius enters with his army on one part of the stage, and Taurus with his army enters on another. Enobarbus enters, horrified. Antony's ship has fled. Scarus enters, equally pained. The battle is lost. While the battle was still even, Cleopatra panicked and fled with her ships. Antony followed. The battle was thus lost. Antony and Cleopatra have fled to the Peloponnesus, in Greece. Scarus will follow them. Canidius will not: he will defect to Caesar's side, as six kings under Antony have already done.
Scene Eleven. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Antony urges his attendants to take his treasure for themselves and flee. When they refuse, he tells them that he himself set an example by fleeing like a coward. Antony is nearly mad with grief. Cleopatra enters, with Charmian, Iras, and Eros. They encourage Cleopatra to comfort him, but she hesitates, keeping apart. Antony speaks miserably of how Octavius is not a great field commander, dependent on lieutenants, and yet things have come to this. At first, he seems to talk only to himself. When he finally notices Cleopatra, he condemns her for fleeing, because he was compelled to follow her. Cleopatra begs pardon. They have sent their children's schoolmaster as ambassador to Caesar, to plead humbly for peace. But Cleopatra's cries of "Pardon! Pardon!" finally reconcile Antony to her. Even in his misery, he calls for food and wine. They will feast despite the impending doom.
Scene Twelve. Egypt. Caesar's camp. Antony's ambassador is brought to Caesar. The requests are humble, and the use of a tutor as ambassador says something about how short Antony is on personnel. Antony asks to be allowed to live in Egypt, or, if not, as a private man in Athens. Cleopatra asks that the crown of Egypt be preserved for her heirs. Caesar says that Antony's requests are in vain, but Cleopatra can have her wish on condition that she either exile or execute Antony. Caesar sends Thidias, ordering him to try to drive Cleopatra from Antony. He authorizes Thidias to offer the queen whatever she wants.
Scene Thirteen. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Cleopatra asks Enobarbus who bears the blame for Caesar's victory. Enobarbus says Antony, because the responsibility was his. She bids him be silent as Antony approaches with the Ambassador. Antony relays Caesar's conditions to Cleopatra. He says the he will once again challenge Octavius to single combat, and exits. In an aside, Enobarbus comments that Antony's challenge is ridiculous. Caesar has won the war. He won't risk his life in a sword fight against the physically stronger Antony. Antony's challenge shows that he has lost his reason.
A servant announces another ambassador arrived from Caesar. Enobarbus, in another side, ponders deserting Antony. He decides to stay to the end, because the loyal lieutenant who does so earns his own share of fame. Thidias enters, saying that Caesar wishes to be generous to Cleopatra, since, of course, she was Antony's mistress out of fear. Cleopatra's seems willing to play along. Enobarbus resolves to desert Antony, since even Cleopatra seems to be doing so. He exits. Cleopatra offers obedience to Caesar.
Antony and Enobarbus return to find the emissary kissing Cleopatra's hand. Antony orders his men to seize Thidias and whip him, before bringing him back so that he can deliver Antony's message to Caesar. He condemns Cleopatra, calling her sexual history into question. Thidias is brought back, and Antony tells him to convey his anger back to Caesar. If Caesar dislikes what has been done, he can whip one of Antony's men. Once Antony's rage is done, Cleopatra affirms her loyalty to him. He seems to calm down. And before the last battle, he resolves to feast. It is Cleopatra's birthday, and though she meant not to celebrate it, she sees that Antony is himself again. They will celebrate, and then Antony will fight with a greater ferocity than ever. All exit except Enobarbus. He thinks Antony's desperation has destroyed his reason. Enobarbus will leave Antony at the first opportunity.
Analysis:
Shakespeare condenses the war, leaving out large gaps of time between short scenes, emphasizing the rapidity of Antony's defeat. The decisions leading to that defeat are strategically unsound. Antony has no stomach, in the end, for empire. The love of living and Cleopatra thoroughly undo him. He indulges Cleopatra's will for a sea battle, when numbers and experience are against it. And when she has no stomach for war, he abandons his men to follow her.
By 3.11, the once-great commander has been psychologically destroyed. He is a quivering, soliloquizing mess, able to feel remorse for his lost fortune but unable to recover it. When Enobarbus speaks of Pompey in 2.6, he unknowingly foreshadows Antony's fate: "If he do [lose an empire], sure he cannot weep't back again" (2.6.106).
The loss of empire is not the only humiliation Antony suffers. The loss of honor is in some ways worse. The horror the Romans feel in 3.10 is not just at the loss of their prospects, but also at seeing their commander so thoroughly emasculated. Scarus comments on Antony's flight from Actium: "I never saw an action of such shame; / Experience, manhood, honor, ne'er before / Did violate so itself" (3.10.21-23). Antony has committed two cardinal sins against the Roman conception of honor: he abandoned his men in battle, and he allowed a woman to lead him.
Antony has many wonderful traits. He is quick to anger, but quicker to forgive. He swings between reckless, unpardonable irresponsibility and winning magnanimity. He abandons his men at Actium, allowing men who are dying for him to die for no cause. But in Alexandria, he thinks of his attendants, giving away his wealth and promising to see to their safe escape. His changes are no less dramatic when it comes to Cleopatra. One moment he blames her for his defeat. In the next he forgives her, as soon as she shows contrition: "Fall not a tear, I say; one of them rates / All that is won and lost. Give me a kiss; / Even this repays me" (3.12.69-71). Bold statements, stunning because they are so rapidly removed from what he said only a few lines previous. But this Antony is perhaps the truer one; he is not built for empire-building, as Octavius is. Power, to him, is a means to pleasure, rather than an end in itself.
Antony is becoming more and more unhinged. Once Caesar refuses his request to be allowed to live as a private citizen, Antony becomes wild with desperation, completely unreasonable. He repeats his absurd request for a one-on-one duel, which is all bravado and passion, and serving no constructive purpose. The one-on-one duel is also a desperate last chance to salvage Antony's honor. The changed situation is evident in Enobarbus. When before he spoke plainly and openly, now his wry comments are all asides. Enobarbus has five asides in 3.13, mostly comments on the desperate situation and the foolishness of his masters. Antony's whipping of Thidias is an example of how desperation has changed him. The generous Roman general of previous scenes would not have taken his anger out on a messenger, especially a fellow Roman.
Antony's wild swings are evident in this last scene of the act. When he sees Thidias kissing Cleopatra's hand, he condemns her as a whore in everything but name:
I found you as a morsel cold upon
Dead Caesar's trencher: nay, you were a fragment
Of Gneius Pompey's, besides what hotter hours,
Unregist'red in vulgar fame, you have
Luxuriously picked out. For I am sure,
Though you can guess what temperance should be,
You know not what it is. (3.13.116-22)
He has never spoken to her this way before. His words touch on the theme of Roman anxiety about female sexuality. His fear of her sexual freedom, never mentioned before, comes bubbling to the surface as he imagines himself as only the most recent in a long line of lovers. (Never mind that Antony, too, has had other lovers before Cleopatra, and in fact has been married to two other women during his relationship with Cleopatra.) Antony's fury at her desertion at Actium was nothing compared to this. A kiss on the hand prompts the cruelest words any character says to another in the play.
But a moment later, they are reconciled. A few words of contrition are enough to set things right, and Antony resolves that they should feast. These wild swings show the words and actions of a man who knows he has little time left. Enobarbus, astute witness, decides at last to leave. Antony's new resolve to feast and fight valiantly is the sign not of mature rededication, but desperation: "When valor preys on reason, / It eats the sword it fights with" (3.13.199-200). Enobarbus cannot serve a master who no longer acts rationally.

Act Four, Scenes 1-11

Summary:
Scene One. Before Alexandria. Caesar's camp. Caesar chats with Maecenas and Agrippa, with the army in tow. Caesar scoffs at Antony's offer of a duel. He tells his men that tomorrow should be the last battle. So many have defected from Antony's side that the defectors alone would make sufficient force for Caesar.
Scene Two. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Antony has heard Caesar's refusal. He has Enobarbus call in various Servitors, and makes a speech, bidding them make merry, and thanking them for their years of service. Cleopatra asks Enobarbus what Antony intends. All are moved to tears, and even Enobarbus has to beg Antony to stop: "What mean you, sir, / To give them this discomfort? Look, they weep, / And I, an ass, am onion-eyed; for shame, / Transform us not to women" (4.1.33-6).
Scene Three. Alexandria. Before Cleopatra's palace. Soldiers talk as they stand on watch. They hear strange music moving away. Some think the music signifies Hercules, one of Antony's patron gods, deserting him.
Scene Four. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Antony, Cleopatra, Charmian, Eros, and others. Antony is putting on his armor, with Eros' help. Cleopatra insists on helping. At first she can't get it right, but eventually she helps him put the pieces on correctly. He says brave words and kisses her goodbye. Cleopatra, with Charmian, laments that Caesar did not accept Antony's challenge to single combat. But nothing can be done.
Scene Five. Alexandria. Antony's camp. Antony and Eros meet with a Soldier. The Soldier informs Antony that Enobarbus has left for Caesar's camp, leaving behind his treasure. Antony orders Eros to send Enobarbus' treasure to him, and plans to write a gentle farewell letter to his old friend.
Scene Six. Alexandria. Caesar's camp. Caesar enters with Agrippa, Dolabella, and Enobarbus. Octavius orders that Antony be taken alive. Octavius says that soon, the war will end and peace will reign over the known world. When a messenger arrives with news that Antony has come into the field, Caesar orders that the soldiers who defected from Antony be moved to the front lines. All exit except Enobarbus. Enobarbus informs us that all who defected from Antony to Caesar have no trust from their new master; Caesar went so far as to hang Alexas. Enobarbus is ashamed of his desertion. The Soldier enters, and tells him that Antony has sent him his goods. Enobarbus is horrified, and guilt-stricken. He resolves to find a foul ditch in which he can die.
Scene Seven. Field of battle between the camps. Agrippa and his soldiers retreat, having met with greater resistance than expected. Antony and his men are jubilant, and pursue the fleeing enemy.
Scene Eight. Before Alexandria. Antony has beaten Caesar back to his camp. He praises his men. Cleopatra enters, and Antony tells her that Scarus fought like a god. She thanks him with armor of gold. Antony orders a celebratory march through the city.
Scene Nine. Caesar's camp. A Sentry and Second Watch observe, unseen, as Enobarbus cries out grievously about his awful betrayal of Antony. He seems to swoon. The two soldiers go to him, and find that he is dead or dying.
Scene Ten. Between the two camps. Antony tells Scarus the battle plan.
Scene Eleven. Between the two camps. Caesar gives orders for troop movement.
Analysis:
Cleopatra cannot understand Roman duty and the Roman conception of honor. She must ask Enobarbus who bears responsibility for Actium, and she also has to ask what Antony means by his speech to his servants.
These short, quick scenes convey the sense of a rapid war. By this point, victory for Octavius is inevitable. There are times when Antony temporarily sets Octavius back, but even these scenes are rapid, so as not to give the impression of a permanent reversal. Shakespeare gives Antony a few last fleeting moments of glory, greatly expanding on the last battles from the terse version in Plutarch.
Antony is quite conscious of impending doom, although he puts a brave face on defeat. The coming end makes him emotional, and he indulges his tendency toward extravagance. Like Cleopatra, he has a sense of the theatrical, but as with her his love of drama does not mean that his emotions aren't genuine. Inevitable death has a way of bringing out theatrically and genuine emotions. One cannot imagine Octavius, even in defeat, making a similar gesture.
The taste for extravagant gesture also means that Antony will put up a good last fight, but Caesar is so passionless, objective, and rational that Antony might as well be fighting gravity. The theme of fate and historical necessity is very much present until the very end. The war has always seemed fated, and its progression has only made the end clearer. Caesar looks forward to the fulfillment of the Roman world's destiny: "The time of universal peace is near. / Prove this a prosp'rous day, the three-nooked world [three-cornered, the corners being Europe, Asian, and Africa] / Shall bear the olive freely" (4.6.5-7). Caesar hopes to achieve peace, although arguably his peace is the peace that cannot challenge one man's absolute power. With the political animal, such as Caesar, it is easier to see the process than the ultimate motivations. Does Caesar see his power as a means to a universal peace? Or is universal peace the natural and necessary status of an empire under his power alone?
Enobarbus' end is deeply concerned with questions of honor and loyalty. Enobarbus has stayed on longer than most of Antony's men. He does so because of honor, even after he knows Antony will lose: ". . . he that can endure / To follow with allegiance a fall'n lord / Does conquer him that did his master conquer / And earns a place I'th'story" (3.13.43-46). When Antony seems to be deprived of his good sense, Enobarbus deserts, but regrets it almost immediately. In Caesar's camp, Antony's men are used but never trusted. Caesar, with chilling calculation, orders that the defectors should make up his own front line, alluding euphemistically to the fact that the front line will take the worst casualties. Having betrayed one master, Antony's former friends cannot hope to be trusted by their new one.
Although Antony has failed at the most important points of Roman honor, in loyalty and generosity to his friends he is splendid. His gift to Enobarbus drives the deserter to die of grief. Enobarbus, who throughout most of the play has cynically observed the shortcomings and hypocrisy of others, in the end is obsessed with his own failure to be loyal to Antony. His insight, when turned on himself, drives him to grief. The play loses one of its most outspoken, objective, and insightful characters.

Act Four, Scenes 12-15

Scene Twelve. In the midst of battle, Antony sees that his fleet is surrendering to Octavius. He blames Cleopatra, and resolves to kill her for her treachery. Cleopatra enters, apparently ignorant of what has happened, but Antony is in such fury that she flees in terror. Antony resolves to execute her.
Scene Thirteen. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. At Charmian's recommendation, Cleopatra decides to lock herself up in her monument, and send false word to Antony that she is dead.
Scene Fourteen. Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace. Antony gives a marvelous speech to Eros about clouds, likening himself to the cloud that has a shape for brief moments before it dissolves. He tells Eros that he should not weep, because they have their own suicides to attend to. Mardian the eunuch arrives with the news that Cleopatra is dead by her own hand. Mardian says she died calling Antony's name. After the eunuch leaves, Antony asks Eros to give him a moment alone. He resolves to kill himself, to rejoin his life. He calls Eros back, and orders him to kill him. To escape the duty of killing his beloved master, Eros kills himself. Antony falls on his sword, but the wound is not fatal. Decretas and three guards arrive, and ignore Antony's pleas to finish the job he started. Decretas remains when the guards leave, and takes Antony's sword, hoping to gain favor with Caesar by showing it to him. Diomedes enters, and Decretas leaves. Diomedes has been sent by Cleopatra to fetch Antony, because she feared he might do harm to himself. Some more guards arrive, and they carry Antony to her.
Scene Fifteen. Cleopatra and her maids are in an elevated monument. Diomedes arrives, with the guards carrying Antony. Antony is dying, and wants to kiss Cleopatra one last time. Cleopatra resolves to kill herself rather than be captured by Caesar. The women use ropes to heave Antony up to the monument. Antony tells Cleopatra to look to her own safety, and warns Cleopatra to trust no one of Caesar's company but Proculeius. He expresses satisfaction at dying by his own hand, in some sense unconquered by Octavius. He dies. Cleopatra swoons, recovers, and speaks of the world as a worthless place without Antony. She resolves to prepare his body for burial, and then kill herself.
Analysis:
Antony has lost much of himself for the sake of his love of Cleopatra. Actium was partly Cleopatra's fault, but the final responsibility lies with him. When he believes that Cleopatra has betrayed him, he loses all sense of his identity. His honor, manhood, and sense of self as a Roman are destroyed when he casts aside valor and duty and Actium. In the East, his persona has been linked to Cleopatra and his love for her. He played the soldier-lover and magnanimous ruler who laid whole kingdoms at her feet. When he believes she has betrayed him, his sense of himself disappears. He speaks of clouds that seem to make pictures, but just as quickly dissolve into vapors: "My good knave Eros, now thy captain is / Even such a body: here I am Antony, / Yet cannot hold this visible shape . . ." (4.14.12-14). Empire and honor were lost first. Then Antony believes his lover has been lost, and feels as if his whole identity is evaporating. We have seen Antony as a general, a lover, a magnanimous friend and leader. This speech touches on what makes Antony great. He has something of the poet in him, sensitive to beauty and life's sensuous pleasures. The clouds become a metaphor for a universal condition, the ephemeral nature of power and life, both of which end all too quickly.
Antony is as quick to forgive as ever when he hears news of Cleopatra's death. He resolves to die, to be with her, even though he has reason to believe she betrayed him. His love for her is his ultimate priority. Most Romans cannot respect that. When the first set of guards arrives with Decretas, Antony cries out, "Let him that loves me strike me dead" (4.14.107). The First, Second, and Third Guards' replies are unequivocal: "Not I," "Nor Me," and "Nor anyone." The use of the word "love" is significant. Antony has traded away love of his countrymen and fellow soldiers for love of Cleopatra.
In Antony's last moments, he concerns himself with giving Cleopatra advice, having forgiven her immediately for the deception about her own death. Antony's last words, however, are not about love. They concern his honor, and how he has met his end nobly by his own hand, "a Roman by a Roman / Valiantly vanquished" (4.15.57-8). Since Actium, Antony has been struggling to retain some sense of himself. Suicide is the only way that he has lived up to the Roman conception of honor, and it is this thought that comforts him in the end. Antony has lived torn between two conceptions of what life should be. The pomp and decadence of his life in Egypt seduced him, and his love for Cleopatra ultimately destroyed him. But he is not a failure in every sense. His love for Cleopatra will become legend, and he is untarnished to Cleopatra herself, who calls him "noblest of men" (4.15.59), proclaiming that the gods have taken him because "this world did equal theirs / Till they had stol'n our jewel" (4.15.76-77). She does not understand him completely. Cleopatra could never understand all the nuances of what it means to be Roman, any more than Octavius could understand what it means to be an Egyptian queen. But she adores Antony without qualification.
To emphasize Cleopatra as wily lover and decadent Queen, Shakespeare never brings her children on stage. We are nearly made to forget that she is a mother, and he excludes those parts of Plutarch that deal with Cleopatra's concern for her children's fate. Cleopatra will face Caesar not as a woman concerned with her line, but primarily as an individual who will not have that individuality compromised.

Act Five, Scenes 1-2

Scene One. Alexandria. Caesar's camp. Decretas brings Antony's bloody sword to Caesar. Octavius weeps, and his men seem touched. Octavius says that fate seemed to make them foes, and he mourns the loss of his old comrade-in-arms. An Egyptian arrives. Cleopatra is waiting to know what Caesar intends. Octavius assures the Egyptian that he will be generous, and the Egyptian returns to Cleopatra. Octavius decides to send Proculeius to Cleopatra. He orders Proculeius to keep her alive, no matter what. He plans to have her paraded in Rome at his triumphal procession. Then he invites all into his tent, where he will show them how reluctantly he was led into the war.
Scene Two. Alexandria. The monument. Cleopatra reflects that Caesar is merely Fortune's knave, a pawn of destiny. Proculeius arrives, and Cleopatra asks him to tell Caesar that she must beg for Egypt to be kept for her heirs. She also says she is ready to meet Caesar face to face. Proculeius is merely stalling: his men sneak up behind the Queen and take her prisoner, and when she attempts to stab herself he disarms her. Cleopatra proclaims that she would rather die than be displayed before Rome. Dolabella arrives, relieving Proculeius. He is kind to Cleopatra, and listens as she describes her dream of Antony, a vision of Antony far greater than any real mortal could be. Dolabella expresses sympathy for her grief. She asks him if Caesar means to parade her in triumph, and Dolabella tells her the truth: "Madam, he will. I know't" (5.2.110).
Caesar arrives. He warns her that if she commits suicide, he will kill her children. Cleopatra lays an inventory of her treasure before him, but the secret reserve kept for herself is revealed by her treacherous servant, Seleucus. Cleopatra is enraged by her servant's treachery, and dismisses him. Caesar treats her with extreme courtesy throughout their meeting.
When he and his train leave, Cleopatra says his kind words are tricks meant to keep her from proper action. She sends Charmian off on a secret errand. Dolabella returns, and tells her that she has three days before Caesar will take her and her children out of Egypt. He leaves. Cleopatra regales Iras with horror stories of what they will all have to endure in Rome, held up before the ridicule of the Roman mob. When Charmian returns, the queen has Charmian and Iras go to fetch her best attire. A clown brings a basket, in which is an asp [a poisonous snake, called an "aspic" by Shakespeare]. The clown leaves, and Cleopatra gives her final speech. She kisses the maids goodbye, and Iras falls dead. Cleopatra holds the asp to her breast, and receives the bite. She applies another asp to her arm. She dies. Charmian sets her queen's crown straight. When guards rush in, Charmian applies an asp to herself. Dolabella returns, followed shortly afterward by Caesar. Octavius cannot help but admire her end. He announces that she will be buried with Antony. He and his men will attend the funeral, and return to Rome.
Analysis:
Antony is dead; the whole of Act Five is reserved for Cleopatra. Her decision to kill herself wavers, and probably she would not follow her lover to death if given other options, but Caesar's intentions driver her to it.
Octavius weeps to hear of Antony's death, showing a more human side, but never is it suggested that humanity could stand in the way of his ambition. His speech of sorrow for his old friend does not negate the fact that he denied Antony the chance to live on, stripped of power, as a private citizen. Octavius, also, is capable of theatricality, but his performances all serve a political purpose. He probably feels genuine sorrow for Antony, but that does not mean he is not conscious of the performance he's giving for his men. Agrippa echoes Enobarbus: "And strange it is / That nature must compel us to lament / Our most persisted deeds" (5.1.28-30). Agrippa seems convinced of the tears' sincerity. As he sees it, Octavius' tears come because of human "nature," but one cannot help but remember the lines in their first incarnation, also the first time Agrippa heard them: "What willingly he [Antony] did confound [destroyed] he wailed" (3.2.58). Enobarbus does not speculate about the true cause of the tears. He is too cynical to ascribe them to nature, and one misses his insight now.
The sincerity of Octavius' action is brought under further scrutiny when he asks the men around him to come to his tent, to see documents showing how unwillingly he went to war. As Shakespeare depicts it, Octavius was the instigator of the war with Antony. His decisions were ruthless and all to a purpose. Such a man can inspire awe and respect, but not love.
The theme of loyalty can be explored in the final fates of many of the characters. Different kinds and degrees of loyalty, and loyalty's consequences, make an excellent paper topic. Charmian and Iras remain loyal unto death, but Seleucus betrays his mistress now that her Fortune is fallen. Caesar's men are loyal, but then again he is the winner. And Dolabella's loyalty to his master is not complete. Enchanted by the unfortunate queen, he betrays his master's wishes. Antony remains loyal to Cleopatra, despite everything, but his last words concern his own honor. Cleopatra remains loyal to her own individuality.
Cleopatra's musings about Octavius return us to the theme of fate and historical necessity. She argues to herself that in some ways Octavius is not the true agent of events: "Not being Fortune, he's but Fortune's knave / A minister of her will" (5.2.3-4). Her own final actions are not exactly in defiance of Fate, but somehow apart from it. She will make sure that despite the change of Fortune, no fundamental compromise is made to her identity. Though the world will be Roman, she will remain Cleopatra.
She does not stick to the fourth act-closing resolution of suicide, until she knows what Caesar intends for her. Her withholding of an honest inventory of her riches suggests she had planned to survive. At the same time, she has made preparations for suicide: looking on her corpse, Caesar says that her doctors warned that "She hath pursued conclusions [experiments] infinite / Of easy ways to die" (5.2.354-5). But Dolabella's warning is enough to stiffen her resolve. Not even the threat against her children can give her pause. On this point, Shakespeare omits an important part of Plutarch, where Cleopatra's attempt at self-starvation ended because Caesar threatened her children. Shakespeare has changed Plutarch to suit his own portrait of her, in line with the omission of any on-stage presence for Cleopatra's children.
Her last speech is a show-stopper, including the memorable "I am fire, and air; my other elements / I give to baser life" (5.2.289-90). When the dismayed guards discover Cleopatra dead, Charmian's last words are taken straight from Plutarch: "It is well done, and fitting for a princess / Descended of so many royal kings" (5.2.326-7).
As a tactician, she rates poorly. She is often kind to her servants, but she also bullies them. She has aspects of a tyrant. She destroys her lover's prospects, and having done so, wavers in following him to the grave for love's sake. But Cleopatra remains one of Shakespeare's most charismatic creations. Her power is such that Dolabella betrays his master's intentions, to save this foreign queen from humiliation. Her ladies-in-waiting willingly follow her to death. Charmian sees her as forever young, and despite her middle-aged status refers to her as "lass" (5.2.316) and "princess" (5.2.326). Antony, who casts aside other women easily, forgives her again and again for her excesses. She is a complicated, self-dramatizing, difficult character. But even the victorious Caesar is forced to admire her and all her wiles when he sees her dead body: ". . . she looks like sleep / As she would catch another Antony / In her strong toil of grace" (5.2.345-7).
Octavius will become Augustus, the great ruler of the Roman Empire. But Cleopatra's assessment is partially true. Octavius is known in history as the agent of Rome's transformation into Empire, but no great plays have been written about him. The poet's natural subject is Cleopatra. Because Cleopatra captures the imagination of writers like Shakespeare, her name has ultimately become even more famous than that of her conqueror.