ANTONY'S Camp near the Promontory of Actium.

[Enter CLEOPATRA and ENOBARBUS.]

CLEOPATRA.
I will be even with thee, doubt it not.

ENOBARBUS.
But why, why, why?

CLEOPATRA.
Thou hast forspoke my being in these wars,
And say'st it is not fit.

ENOBARBUS.
Well, is it, is it?

CLEOPATRA.
If not denounc'd against us, why should not we
Be there in person?

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside.] Well, I could reply:--
If we should serve with horse and mares together
The horse were merely lost; the mares would bear
A soldier and his horse.

CLEOPATRA.
What is't you say?

ENOBARBUS.
Your presence needs must puzzle Antony;
Take from his heart, take from his brain, from's time,
What should not then be spar'd. He is already
Traduc'd for levity: and 'tis said in Rome
That Photinus an eunuch and your maids
Manage this war.

CLEOPATRA.
Sink Rome, and their tongues rot
That speak against us! A charge we bear i' the war,
And, as the president of my kingdom, will
Appear there for a man. Speak not against it;
I will not stay behind.

ENOBARBUS.
Nay, I have done.
Here comes the emperor.

[Enter ANTONY and CANIDIUS.]

ANTONY.
Is it not strange, Canidius,
That from Tarentum and Brundusium
He could so quickly cut the Ionian sea,
And take in Toryne?--You have heard on't, sweet?

CLEOPATRA.
Celerity is never more admir'd
Than by the negligent.

ANTONY.
A good rebuke,
Which might have well becom'd the best of men
To taunt at slackness.--Canidius, we
Will fight with him by sea.

CLEOPATRA.
By sea! what else?

CANIDIUS.
Why will my lord do so?

ANTONY.
For that he dares us to't.

ENOBARBUS.
So hath my lord dar'd him to single fight.

CANIDIUS.
Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia,
Where Caesar fought with Pompey. But these offers,
Which serve not for his vantage, he shakes off;
And so should you.

ENOBARBUS.
Your ships are not well mann'd:
Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, people
Ingross'd by swift impress; in Caesar's fleet
Are those that often have 'gainst Pompey fought:
Their ships are yare; yours heavy: no disgrace
Shall fall you for refusing him at sea,
Being prepar'd for land.

ANTONY.
By sea, by sea.

ENOBARBUS.
Most worthy sir, you therein throw away
The absolute soldiership you have by land;
Distract your army, which doth most consist
Of war-mark'd footmen; leave unexecuted
Your own renowned knowledge; quite forgo
The way which promises assurance; and
Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard
From firm security.

ANTONY.
I'll fight at sea.

CLEOPATRA.
I have sixty sails, Caesar none better.

ANTONY.
Our overplus of shipping will we burn;
And, with the rest full-mann'd, from the head of Actium
Beat the approaching Caesar. But if we fail,
We then can do't at land.

[Enter a Messenger.]

Thy business?

MESSENGER.
The news is true, my lord: he is descried;
Caesar has taken Toryne.

ANTONY.
Can he be there in person? 'tis impossible--
Strange that his power should be.--Canidius,
Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land,
And our twelve thousand horse.--We'll to our ship:
Away, my Thetis!

[Enter a SOLDIER.]

How now, worthy soldier?

SOLDIER.
O noble emperor, do not fight by sea;
Trust not to rotten planks: do you misdoubt
This sword and these my wounds? Let the Egyptians
And the Phoenicians go a-ducking: we
Have us'd to conquer standing on the earth
And fighting foot to foot.

ANTONY.
Well, well:--away.

[Exeunt ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, and ENOBARBUS.]

SOLDIER.
By Hercules, I think I am i' the right.

CANIDIUS.
Soldier, thou art: but his whole action grows
Not in the power on't: so our leader's led,
And we are women's men.

SOLDIER.
You keep by land
The legions and the horse whole, do you not?

CANIDIUS.
Marcus Octavius, Marcus Justeius,
Publicola, and Caelius are for sea:
But we keep whole by land. This speed of Caesar's
Carries beyond belief.

SOLDIER.
While he was yet in Rome
His power went out in such distractions as
Beguil'd all spies.

CANIDIUS.
Who's his lieutenant, hear you?

SOLDIER.
They say one Taurus.

CANIDIUS.
Well I know the man.

[Enter a Messenger.]

MESSENGER.
The Emperor calls Canidius.

CANIDIUS.
With news the time's with labour; and throes forth
Each minute some.

[Exeunt.]

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

Shakespeare next focuses on several battle scenes. The first opens at Antony's camp, where Antony, Cleopatra, and Enobarbus are planning their strategy. The main issue concerns whether or not they will fight Caesar on land or on sea. Against his better judgment, Antony chooses to fight Caesar on the sea.

As the scene opens, Enobarbus bitterly chides Cleopatra for being present on the battlefield. She retorts that since Rome has declared war on her and Antony, she has the right to be present. Antony and Canidius enter, and Antony reports on Caesar's past victories at sea. Cleopatra chides her lover for not taking swifter action against Caesar, and Antony agrees: if Caesar chooses to fight 'by the sea," Antony will do likewise; Antony's valor is at stake. Caesar "dares us to it," he says. Enobarbus objects that this is poor planning, that Antony's forces are not as well-equipped to take to the sea as Caesar's are. Caesar's men, he says, are experienced, and his ships are light and swift. By comparison, Antony's forces have been hastily drawn together, and many of them are inexperienced in battle. But Antony impulsively insists on a sea battle. He will not retreat from Caesar's challenge. Enobarbus, Antony's loyal advisor and friend, again patiently tries to explain that if Antony pursues this course of action he will "throw away the absolute soldiership  by land." But Antony replies again, "I'll fight at sea." The length and patience of Enobarbus's speeches and the repetition and brevity of Antony's replies all illustrate Antony's impulsiveness. He doesn't offer a reason why he feels that a battle on the sea is a good choice; he simply insists upon it. At this point, Cleopatra offers him the use of sixty ships, and he accepts. A soldier enters and begs Antony not to fight Caesar at sea. But Antony rejects this advice. Antony, Cleopatra, and Enobarbus leave then, and the unnamed soldier and Canidius remain. The two men blame Antony's foolish and headstrong decisions on Cleopatra's influence. There is, of course, reason enough to accept their evaluation of the situation, but we should be careful to assess these characters' opinions. Shakespeare does not allow any single character in this play to speak as an all-knowing mouthpiece. Rather, he gives us a variety of viewpoints and lets the audience discern where the truth of the drama lies and what the decisive motivations are for the action.

Cleopatra plans to go into battle alongside Antony and responds angrily to Enobarbus's suggestion that her presence will be a distraction. Enobarbus tries to dissuade her, but she dismisses his objections. Antony tells his general, Camidius, that he will meet Caesar at sea. Camidius and Enobarbus object, pointing out that while they have superiority on land, Caesar's naval fleet is much stronger. Antony, however, refuses to listen. Cleopatra maintains that her fleet of sixty ships will win the battle. Antony leaves to prepare the navy, despite the protests of a soldier who begs him to forgo a doomed sea battle and advocates fighting on foot. After the general and the queen exit, Camidius complains that they are all "women's men," ruled by Cleopatra. He comments on the speed of Caesar's approach, then goes to prepare the land defenses


A plain near Actium.

[Enter CAESAR, TAURUS, Officers, and others.]

CAESAR.
Taurus,--

TAURUS.
My lord?

CAESAR.
Strike not by land; keep whole; provoke not battle
Till we have done at sea. Do not exceed
The prescript of this scroll: our fortune lies
Upon this jump.

[Exeunt.]

A plain near Actium. Caesar warns his man Taurus not to engage by land until the battle at sea is done

Caesar orders his army to hold off its attack until the sea battle ends

Act III, scenes viii-xiii Act III, scenes viii-x show that narrative time and chronological time occur at much different paces in Antony and Cleopatra. In the space of three scenes, we witness the full battle of Actium. We see Caesar, then Antony, prepare for battle and know the outcome of their meeting within the first four lines of Act III, scene x. In other sections of the play, the same number of scenes conveys less information and covers much less time. The rapid progression of these scenes attests to the ease with which time can be compressed onstage: in a matter of minutes, an entire naval battle is waged and won. What Enobarbus witnesses certainly complicates our perception of Antony, demonstrating that his failures take place not just in his private affiliations but in his public life as well. Although by Caesar's and even by his own account he has neglected his duties to Rome, Antony has remained a fierce and respected soldier: his quietly threatening presence, as much as any offer of Sicily and Sardinia, persuades young Pompey to accept the triumvir's offer of peace. Indeed, until this point, the blemishes on Antony's character have been of a more personal nature: although he is twice an adulterer, although he has risked the security of the empire in order to partake in the pleasures of Egypt, his military prowess has never been in question. His retreat, however, conflicts with his values, as he is a man whose honor rests almost exclusively in his performance as a soldier. A number of critics have attacked this moment in the play, asserting that such a retreat by an experienced general is unbelievable. To condemn or dismiss this scene for its lack of realism, however, misses the point for several reasons. First, by failing to allow Antony to be both the famed soldier and the distracted lover, to be both noble and irresponsible, one simplifies and diminishes his character. Second, the lost navy battle is more crucial on a symbolic than a literal level, for Antony's decision to flee encapsulates the climactic neglect of duty that haunts him throughout the play. The aftermath of the battle shows that Antony is struggling with divided, competing identities. His lament that he has fled from himself shows that his character has developed beyond his own understanding. The self he believes he has fled is the military hero; the self he now confronts is a man whose heart can lead him into defeat as surely as his reason has led him into victory. The play, however, refuses to side with Antony in his argument against himself. We may share in Enobarbus's disapproval of his commander's performance, but surely we still view Antony as a worthy and sympathetic character. Indeed, the fallen general's plea to Cleopatra makes it impossible to respond to him with simple contempt: Egypt, thou knew'st too wellMy heart was to thy rudder tied by th'strings,And thou shouldst tow me after. O'er my spiritThy full supremacy thou knew'st, and thatThy beck might from the bidding of the godsCommand me.           Antony's willingness to accept defeat out of his great love for Cleopatra does not make him a two-dimensional character, nor does it make him reprehensible to us. In fact, his flaws may be exactly what we respond to, since they highlight that he is human, riddled with weaknesses despite his famous strengths.


Another part of the Plain.

[Enter ANTONY and ENOBARBUS.]

ANTONY.
Set we our squadrons on yon side o' the hill,
In eye of Caesar's battle; from which place
We may the number of the ships behold,
And so proceed accordingly.

[Exeunt.]

Another part of the plain. Antony gives orders to Enobarbus about troop placement

Antony instructs Enobarbus to set their squadrons on a hillside, which will allow them to view the battle at sea


Another part of the Plain.

[Enter CANIDIUS, marching with his land Army one way; and
TAURUS, the Lieutenant of CAESAR, with his Army, the other way.
After their going in, is heard the noise of a sea-fight.]

[Alarum. Enter ENOBARBUS.]

ENOBARBUS.
Naught, naught, all naught! I can behold no longer:
The Antoniad, the Egyptian admiral,
With all their sixty, fly and turn the rudder:
To see't mine eyes are blasted.

[Enter SCARUS.]

SCARUS.
Gods and goddesses,
All the whole synod of them!

ENOBARBUS.
What's thy passion?

SCARUS.
The greater cantle of the world is lost
With very ignorance; we have kiss'd away
Kingdoms and provinces.

ENOBARBUS.
How appears the fight?

SCARUS.
On our side like the token'd pestilence,
Where death is sure. Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt,--
Whom leprosy o'ertake!--i' the midst o' the fight,
When vantage like a pair of twins appear'd,
Both as the same, or rather ours the elder,--
The breese upon her, like a cow in June,--
Hoists sails and flies.

ENOBARBUS.
That I beheld:
Mine eyes did sicken at the sight, and could not
Endure a further view.

SCARUS.
She once being loof'd,
The noble ruin of her magic, Antony,
Claps on his sea-wing, and, like a doting mallard,
Leaving the fight in height, flies after her:
I never saw an action of such shame;
Experience, manhood, honour, ne'er before
Did violate so itself.

ENOBARBUS.
Alack, alack!

[Enter CANIDIUS.]

CANIDIUS.
Our fortune on the sea is out of breath,
And sinks most lamentably. Had our general
Been what he knew himself, it had gone well:
O, he has given example for our flight
Most grossly by his own!

ENOBARBUS.
Ay, are you thereabouts?
Why, then, good night indeed.

CANIDIUS.
Toward Peloponnesus are they fled.

SCARUS.
'Tis easy to't; and there I will attend
What further comes.

CANIDIUS.
To Caesar will I render
My legions and my horse; six kings already
Show me the way of yielding.

ENOBARBUS.
I'll yet follow
The wounded chance of Antony, though my reason
Sits in the wind against me.

[Exeunt.]

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

Enobarbus describes the sea fight he has just witnessed: Antony's forces were winning the battle until Cleopatra's ship fled without warning and Antony followed her. The fleet was thrown into confusion, and the victory went to Caesar. Antony's soldiers are sickened by the sight, one of them declaring that he has never seen anything so shameful. Camidius defects to Caesar's side, bringing his army and following the lead of six of Antony's royal allies, but Enobarbus, against his better judgment, remains loyal to his general


Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.

[Enter ANTONY and attendants.]

ANTONY.
Hark! the land bids me tread no more upon't;--
It is asham'd to bear me.--Friends, come hither:
I am so lated in the world that I
Have lost my way for ever:--I have a ship
Laden with gold; take that; divide it; fly,
And make your peace with Caesar.

ALL.
Fly! Not we.

ANTONY.
I have fled myself, and have instructed cowards
To run and show their shoulders.--Friends, be gone;
I have myself resolv'd upon a course
Which has no need of you; be gone;
My treasure's in the harbour, take it.--O,
I follow'd that I blush to look upon:
My very hairs do mutiny; for the white
Reprove the brown for rashness, and they them
For fear and doting.--Friends, be gone: you shall
Have letters from me to some friends that will
Sweep your way for you. Pray you, look not sad,
Nor make replies of loathness: take the hint
Which my despair proclaims; let that be left
Which leaves itself: to the sea-side straightway:
I will possess you of that ship and treasure.
Leave me, I pray, a little: pray you now:--
Nay, do so; for indeed I have lost command,
Therefore I pray you:--I'll see you by and by.

[Sits down.]

[Enter CLEOPATRA, led by CHARMIAN and IRAS, EROS following.]

EROS.
Nay, gentle madam, to him!--comfort him.

IRAS.
Do, most dear queen.

CHARMIAN.
Do! why, what else?

CLEOPATRA.
Let me sit down. O Juno!

ANTONY.
No, no, no, no, no.

EROS.
See you here, sir?

ANTONY.
O, fie, fie, fie!

CHARMIAN.
Madam,--

IRAS.
Madam, O good empress,--

EROS.
Sir, sir,--

ANTONY.
Yes, my lord, yes;--he at Philippi kept
His sword e'en like a dancer; while I struck
The lean and wrinkled Cassius; and 'twas I
That the mad Brutus ended; he alone
Dealt on lieutenantry, and no practice had
In the brave squares of war: yet now--no matter.

CLEOPATRA.
Ah, stand by.

EROS.
The queen, my lord, the queen!

IRAS.
Go to him, madam, speak to him:
He is unqualitied with very shame.

CLEOPATRA.
Well then,--sustain me.--O!

EROS.
Most noble sir, arise; the queen approaches:
Her head's declin'd, and death will seize her, but
Your comfort makes the rescue.

ANTONY.
I have offended reputation,--
A most unnoble swerving.

EROS.
Sir, the queen.

ANTONY.
O, whither hast thou led me, Egypt? See
How I convey my shame out of thine eyes
By looking back, what I have left behind
'Stroy'd in dishonour.

CLEOPATRA.
O my lord, my lord,
Forgive my fearful sails! I little thought
You would have follow'd.

ANTONY.
Egypt, thou knew'st too well
My heart was to thy rudder tied by the strings,
And thou shouldst tow me after: o'er my spirit
Thy full supremacy thou knew'st, and that
Thy beck might from the bidding of the gods
Command me.

CLEOPATRA.
O, my pardon!

ANTONY.
Now I must
To the young man send humble treaties, dodge
And palter in the shifts of lowness; who
With half the bulk o' the world play'd as I pleas'd,
Making and marring fortunes. You did know
How much you were my conqueror; and that
My sword, made weak by my affection, would
Obey it on all cause.

CLEOPATRA.
Pardon, pardon!

ANTONY.
Fall not a tear, I say; one of them rates
All that is won and lost: give me a kiss;
Even this repays me.--We sent our schoolmaster;
Is he come back?--Love, I am full of lead.--
Some wine, within there, and our viands!--Fortune knows
We scorn her most when most she offers blows.

[Exeunt.]

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

Instead of staying to battle Caesar's forces, Antony is defeated in battle when he follows Cleopatra's sudden retreat. He is despondent and is not comforted even when Cleopatra enters and tries to soothe him. On the contrary, he is so ashamed of his cowardice that to some extent he places the blame upon her. Cleopatra apologizes, but there is, in fact, nothing to apologize for; obviously, Antony cares for her above all else. For this, no apology is possible. He changes the subject and tells her that he has sent Euphronius, their children's tutor, as an ambassador to request the terms of a peace treaty.

In one sense, Antony is at his weakest and most pitiful in this scene. He is utterly defeated because of his own poor judgment , and yet he cannot resist making excuses; in particular, he thinks that it is possible that he was so bewitched by "Egypt" that his judgment was affected. Yet at the same time, he is aware that this is only partly true: his defeat was also the result of his own choice -- that is, he placed Cleopatra above all else in his life. And in the end, he says he is not sorry that he made this choice. Of course, ideally, he would have liked to have won the battle and spent as much time as possible with Cleopatra, but he failed. He tried, however, and one can easily suspect that a part of Antony's shame comes from the knowledge that he was defeated by a young upstart for whom he had little respect. Underestimating Caesar was an error that he, an experienced soldier, should have foreseen and avoided. Antony's unfortunately underrated estimate of his enemy focuses, at times, on imaginative fantasy. Caesar, he says, behaved in battle unlike a soldier. He says that Caesar held his sword "like a dancer," meaning that he wore it more as an ornament than used it as a warrior. Still rationalizing, Antony also accuses Caesar of having depended on his lieutenants rather than getting involved in the actual fighting himself. These are scenes of frustration, confusion, and self-pity. Antony prided himself in being a rational general. His love for Cleopatra has changed that, and in the next few scenes, at times he will seem to be petty, over-critical, and often too eager to make excuses for himself. That this is probably the result of his defeat and not a part of his normal personality is shown by Iras's comment that Antony is "unqualitied with very shame" -- that is, he is not acting like himself because of the great shame that he suffers.

Deeply ashamed of his performance in battle, Antony berates himself, ordering his servants to leave the service of such an unworthy master. He urges them to abandon Antony as Antony has abandoned his nobler self. When Cleopatra enters, she finds her lover distraught and alone. She tries to comfort him, but Antony can remind her only of his valiant past: it was he who won fierce battles, who dealt with the treacheries of Cassius and Brutus. But now, he determines, such events do not matter. He asks Cleopatra why she has led him into infamy, and she begs his forgiveness, saying that she never dreamed that he would follow her retreat. He asks her how she could doubt that he would follow her, when his heart was tied to her rudder. Antony complains that he must now seek young Caesar's pardon, but unable to bear the sight of the queen's sorrow, he forgives her. As Antony kisses Cleopatra, he remarks that even her mere kiss repays him for his shame


CAESAR'S camp in Egypt.

[Enter CAESAR, DOLABELLA, THYREUS, with others.]

CAESAR.
Let him appear that's come from Antony.--
Know you him?

DOLABELLA.
Caesar, 'tis his schoolmaster:
An argument that he is pluck'd, when hither
He sends so poor a pinion of his wing,
Which had superfluous kings for messengers
Not many moons gone by.

[Enter EUPHRONIUS.]

CAESAR.
Approach, and speak.

EUPHRONIUS.
Such as I am, I come from Antony:
I was of late as petty to his ends
As is the morn-dew on the myrtle leaf
To his grand sea.

CAESAR.
Be't so: declare thine office.

EUPHRONIUS.
Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, and
Requires to live in Egypt: which not granted,
He lessens his requests; and to thee sues
To let him breathe between the heavens and earth,
A private man in Athens: this for him.
Next, Cleopatra does confess thy greatness;
Submits her to thy might, and of thee craves
The circle of the Ptolemies for her heirs,
Now hazarded to thy grace.

CAESAR.
For Antony,
I have no ears to his request. The queen
Of audience nor desire shall fail; so she
From Egypt drive her all-disgraced friend,
Or take his life there: this if she perform,
She shall not sue unheard. So to them both.

EUPHRONIUS.
Fortune pursue thee!

CAESAR.
Bring him through the bands.

[Exit EUPHRONIUS.]

[To THYREUS.] To try thy eloquence, now 'tis time. Despatch;
From Antony win Cleopatra. Promise,
And in our name, what she requires; add more,
From thine invention, offers: women are not
In their best fortunes strong; but want will perjure
The ne'er-touch'd vestal: try thy cunning, Thyreus;
Make thine own edict for thy pains, which we
Will answer as a law.

THYREUS.
Caesar, I go.

CAESAR.
Observe how Antony becomes his flaw,
And what thou think'st his very action speaks
In every power that moves.

THYREUS.
Caesar, I shall.

[Exeunt.]

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

In his camp in Egypt, Caesar is meeting with some of his officers and also with Antony's ambassador, Euphronius. Euphronius presents Antony's requests to Caesar: Antony requests to be allowed to remain in Egypt, but if that is impossible, he asks that he at least be allowed to live as a private citizen in Athens. Euphronius also tells Caesar that Cleopatra acknowledges that Caesar is the victor and the supreme ruler of them all, but she requests that she be permitted to remain as queen of Egypt and to retain the crown of the Ptolemies, the Egyptian royal family, for her heirs. Caesar ignores Antony's request and makes an offer to Cleopatra: if she will betray Antony and drive him from Egypt, or kill him there, then he might consider her requests. Caesar then orders his servant Thyreus to return to Cleopatra with Caesar's answer. He comments that women are no stronger than their own interests, and that, being a woman, Cleopatra can probably be bribed with the promise of her own safety in exchange for Antony's life.

Caesar's own insecurity is revealed here by the harshness of his settlement. Certainly he has the right to demand Antony's life, but most Romans were known for being relatively generous to those whom they conquered. In this case, however, Caesar may be a more accurate judge of Antony's character than Antony was of Caesar's. Caesar knows, and rightly so, that he can never really feel safe as long as Antony is alive or free. Note, however, that Caesar is a very poor judge of Cleopatra's character. Since he can't see beyond the popular stereotype of her as being little more than a prostitute, he believes that she can easily be bought. This is not an unusual mistake for someone like Caesar to make; as far as we know, he does not really know what it is like to fall in love. Here, Caesar shows himself to be the complete soldier or strategist, not only in his ignorance about aspects of life not connected with war or politics, but also in the care he takes in his negotiations. He instructs Thyreus to be "cunning." Interestingly, Caesar is at his most "cunning" here, for he makes no firm promises to do anything at all for Cleopatra.

Caesar is with Dolabella and Thidias, two of his supporters, when Antony's ambassador arrives with his master's request: Antony asks to be allowed to live in Egypt or, barring that, to "breathe between the heavens and earth, / A private man in Athens". The ambassador further delivers Cleopatra's request that Egypt be passed on to her heirs. Caesar dismisses Antony's requests but declares that Cleopatra will have a fair hearing so long as she expels Antony from Egypt or executes him. He sends Thidias to lure Cleopatra to accept these terms, hoping that she will betray her lover


Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.

[Enter CLEOPATRA, ENOBARBUS, CHARMIAN, and IRAS.]

CLEOPATRA.
What shall we do, Enobarbus?

ENOBARBUS.
Think, and die.

CLEOPATRA.
Is Antony or we in fault for this?

ENOBARBUS.
Antony only, that would make his will
Lord of his reason. What though you fled
From that great face of war, whose several ranges
Frighted each other? why should he follow?
The itch of his affection should not then
Have nick'd his captainship; at such a point,
When half to half the world oppos'd, he being
The mered question; 'twas a shame no less
Than was his loss, to course your flying flags
And leave his navy gazing.

CLEOPATRA.
Pr'ythee, peace.

[Enter ANTONY, with EUPHRONIUS.]

ANTONY.
Is that his answer?

EUPHRONIUS.
Ay, my lord.

ANTONY.
The queen shall then have courtesy, so she
Will yield us up.

EUPHRONIUS.
He says so.

ANTONY.
Let her know't.--
To the boy Caesar send this grizzled head,
And he will fill thy wishes to the brim
With principalities.

CLEOPATRA.
That head, my lord?

ANTONY.
To him again: tell him he wears the rose
Of youth upon him; from which the world should note
Something particular: his coins, ships, legions,
May be a coward's; whose ministers would prevail
Under the service of a child as soon
As i' the command of Caesar: I dare him therefore
To lay his gay comparisons apart,
And answer me declin'd, sword against sword,
Ourselves alone. I'll write it: follow me.

[Exeunt ANTONY and EUPHRONIUS.]

EUPHRONIUS.
Yes, like enough high-battled Caesar will
Unstate his happiness, and be stag'd to the show
Against a sworder.--I see men's judgments are
A parcel of their fortunes; and things outward
Do draw the inward quality after them,
To suffer all alike. That he should dream,
Knowing all measures, the full Caesar will
Answer his emptiness!--Caesar, thou hast subdu'd
His judgment too.

[Enter an Attendant.]

ATTENDANT.
A messenger from Caesar.

CLEOPATRA.
What, no more ceremony?--See, my women!--
Against the blown rose may they stop their nose
That kneel'd unto the buds.--Admit him, sir.

[Exit Attendant.]

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside.] Mine honesty and I begin to square.
The loyalty well held to fools does make
Our faith mere folly:--yet he that can endure
To follow with allegiance a fallen lord
Does conquer him that did his master conquer,
And earns a place i' the story.

[Enter THYREUS.]

CLEOPATRA.
Caesar's will?

THYREUS.
Hear it apart.

CLEOPATRA.
None but friends: say boldly.

THYREUS.
So, haply, are they friends to Antony.

ENOBARBUS.
He needs as many, sir, as Caesar has;
Or needs not us. If Caesar please, our master
Will leap to be his friend: for us, you know
Whose he is we are, and that is Caesar's.

THYREUS.
So.--
Thus then, thou most renown'd: Caesar entreats
Not to consider in what case thou stand'st
Further than he is Caesar.

CLEOPATRA.
Go on: right royal.

THYREUS.
He knows that you embrace not Antony
As you did love, but as you fear'd him.

CLEOPATRA.
O!

THYREUS.
The scars upon your honour, therefore, he
Does pity, as constrained blemishes,
Not as deserv'd.

CLEOPATRA.
He is a god, and knows
What is most right: mine honour was not yielded,
But conquer'd merely.

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside.] To be sure of that,
I will ask Antony.--Sir, sir, thou art so leaky
That we must leave thee to thy sinking, for
Thy dearest quit thee.

[Exit.]

THYREUS.
Shall I say to Caesar
What you require of him? for he partly begs
To be desir'd to give. It much would please him
That of his fortunes you should make a staff
To lean upon: but it would warm his spirits
To hear from me you had left Antony,
And put yourself under his shroud, who is
The universal landlord.

CLEOPATRA.
What's your name?

THYREUS.
My name is Thyreus.

CLEOPATRA.
Most kind messenger,
Say to great Caesar this:--in deputation
I kiss his conquring hand: tell him I am prompt
To lay my crown at's feet, and there to kneel:
Tell him, from his all-obeying breath I hear
The doom of Egypt.

THYREUS.
'Tis your noblest course.
Wisdom and fortune combating together,
If that the former dare but what it can,
No chance may shake it. Give me grace to lay
My duty on your hand.

CLEOPATRA.
Your Caesar's father
Oft, when he hath mus'd of taking kingdoms in,
Bestow'd his lips on that unworthy place,
As it rain'd kisses.

[Re-enter ANTONY and ENOBARBUS.]

ANTONY.
Favours, by Jove that thunders!--
What art thou, fellow?

THYREUS.
One that but performs
The bidding of the fullest man, and worthiest
To have command obey'd.

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside.] You will be whipp'd.

ANTONY.
Approach there.--Ah, you kite!--Now, gods and devils!
Authority melts from me: of late, when I cried 'Ho!'
Like boys unto a muss, kings would start forth
And cry 'Your will?' Have you no ears? I am
Antony yet.

[Enter Attendants.]

Take hence this Jack and whip him.

ENOBARBUS.
'Tis better playing with a lion's whelp
Than with an old one dying.

ANTONY.
Moon and stars!
Whip him.--Were't twenty of the greatest tributaries
That do acknowledge Caesar, should I find them
So saucy with the hand of she here,--what's her name
Since she was Cleopatra?--Whip him, fellows,
Till like a boy you see him cringe his face,
And whine aloud for mercy: take him hence.

THYMUS.
Mark Antony,--

ANTONY.
Tug him away: being whipp'd,
Bring him again.--This Jack of Caesar's shall
Bear us an errand to him.--

[Exeunt Attendants with THYREUS.]

You were half blasted ere I knew you.--Ha!
Have I my pillow left unpress'd in Rome,
Forborne the getting of a lawful race,
And by a gem of women, to be abus'd
By one that looks on feeders?

CLEOPATRA.
Good my lord,--

ANTONY.
You have been a boggler ever:--
But when we in our viciousness grow hard,--
O misery on't!--the wise gods seal our eyes;
In our own filth drop our clear judgments: make us
Adore our errors; laugh at's while we strut
To our confusion.

CLEOPATRA.
O, is't come to this?

ANTONY.
I found you as a morsel cold upon
Dead Caesar's trencher; nay, you were a fragment
Of Cneius Pompey's; besides what hotter hours,
Unregist'red in vulgar fame, you have
Luxuriously pick'd out:--for I am sure,
Though you can guess what temperance should be,
You know not what it is.

CLEOPATRA.
Wherefore is this?

ANTONY.
To let a fellow that will take rewards,
And say 'God quit you!' be familiar with
My playfellow, your hand; this kingly seal
And plighter of high hearts!--O that I were
Upon the hill of Basan, to outroar
The horned herd! for I have savage cause;
And to proclaim it civilly were like
A halter'd neck which does the hangman thank
For being yare about him.

[Re-enter Attendants with THYREUS.]

Is he whipp'd?

FIRST ATTENDANT.
Soundly, my lord.

ANTONY.
Cried he? and begg'd he pardon?

FIRST ATTENDANT.
He did ask favour.

ANTONY.
If that thy father live, let him repent
Thou wast not made his daughter; and be thou sorry
To follow Caesar in his triumph, since
Thou hast been whipp'd for following him: henceforth
The white hand of a lady fever thee,
Shake thou to look on't.--Get thee back to Caesar;
Tell him thy entertainment: look thou say
He makes me angry with him; for he seems
Proud and disdainful, harping on what I am,
Not what he knew I was: he makes me angry;
And at this time most easy 'tis to do't,
When my good stars, that were my former guides,
Have empty left their orbs, and shot their fires
Into the abysm of hell. If he mislike
My speech and what is done, tell him he has
Hipparchus, my enfranched bondman, whom
He may at pleasure, whip, or hang, or torture,
As he shall like, to quit me: urge it thou:
Hence with thy stripes, be gone.

[Exit THYREUS.]

CLEOPATRA.
Have you done yet?

ANTONY.
Alack, our terrene moon
Is now eclips'd, and it portends alone
The fall of Antony!

CLEOPATRA.
I must stay his time.

ANTONY.
To flatter Caesar, would you mingle eyes
With one that ties his points?

CLEOPATRA.
Not know me yet?

ANTONY.
Cold-hearted toward me?

CLEOPATRA.
Ah, dear, if I be so,
From my cold heart let heaven engender hail,
And poison it in the source; and the first stone
Drop in my neck: as it determines, so
Dissolve my life! The next Caesarion smite!
Till, by degrees, the memory of my womb,
Together with my brave Egyptians all,
By the discandying of this pelleted storm,
Lie graveless,--till the flies and gnats of Nile
Have buried them for prey!

ANTONY.
I am satisfied.
Caesar sits down in Alexandria; where
I will oppose his fate. Our force by land
Hath nobly held: our sever'd navy to
Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning most sea-like.
Where hast thou been, my heart?--Dost thou hear, lady?
If from the field I shall return once more
To kiss these lips, I will appear in blood:
I and my sword will earn our chronicle:
There's hope in't yet.

CLEOPATRA.
That's my brave lord!

ANTONY.
I will be treble-sinew'd, hearted, breath'd,
And fight maliciously: for when mine hours
Were nice and lucky, men did ransom lives
Of me for jests; but now I'll set my teeth,
And send to darkness all that stop me.--Come,
Let's have one other gaudy night: call to me
All my sad captains; fill our bowls; once more
Let's mock the midnight bell.

CLEOPATRA.
It is my birthday.
I had thought t'have held it poor; but since my lord
Is Antony again I will be Cleopatra.

ANTONY.
We will yet do well.

CLEOPATRA.
Call all his noble captains to my lord.

ANTONY.
Do so; we'll speak to them: and to-night I'll force
The wine peep through their scars.--Come on, my queen;
There's sap in't yet. The next time I do fight
I'll make death love me; for I will contend
Even with his pestilent scythe.

[Exeunt all but ENOBARBUS.]

ENOBARBUS.
Now he'll outstare the lightning. To be furious
Is to be frighted out of fear; and in that mood
The dove will peck the estridge; and I see still
A diminution in our captain's brain
Restores his heart: when valour preys on reason,
It eats the sword it fights with. I will seek
Some way to leave him.

[Exit.]

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.

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 , sure he cannot weep't back again". 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". 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". 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. 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. 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". Enobarbus cannot serve a master who no longer acts rationally

In Alexandria, Cleopatra and her servants discuss their plight. Cleopatra asks Enobarbus if the defeat was truly Antony's fault or if it was the fault of the Egyptians. Enobarbus answers that Antony was solely at fault, but not only for his retreat. He also erred when he made "his will Lord of his reason." Enobarbus adds that Antony's love and/or lust for Cleopatra affected his judgment; this, in his soldier's opinion, "Twas a shame no less / Than was his loss." At this point, Antony and Euphronius enter. Apparently, Euphronius has told Antony what Caesar said, and Antony instructs Euphronius to relate the news to Cleopatra so that she may decide what action she wishes to take. Antony then scornfully tells her that the "boy Caesar" wishes her to send "this grizzled head" to him in exchange for her freedom. He is insulted by Caesar's treatment, and he is piqued that the "boy" general would flatter or attempt to persuade Cleopatra in such a way. Antony tells Cleopatra that he dares Caesar to meet him in a one-to-one match . He is confident that he, Antony, will prove to be the victor. Antony and Euphronius leave. Enobarbus remarks to himself that it is possible that Caesar might agree to such a match, but in his opinion, it would be foolish. He believes that Antony's judgment is "a parcel of fortunes," and that his bad luck is reflected in his bad judgment. A servant enters to tell Cleopatra that a messenger from Caesar has arrived. The queen is offended by the brusqueness of his entrance, and Enobarbus again comments cynically on their fate, yet finally he concludes that there is a certain amount of honor even in following a fallen lord. The messenger is Thyreus, and he states to Cleopatra that he would like to speak with her privately. She says, however, that there are only friends present; they all may hear what he has to say. Thyreus begins and attempts to gain Cleopatra's confidence, while actually promising nothing. He urges her to trust Caesar and insinuates that it is well known that she did not stay with Antony freely, but rather because she was forced to, perhaps to placate him in order to protect her realm. Cleopatra appears to agree with what Thyreus says, and thus Enobarbus stalks off, convinced that all of Antony's friends, even Cleopatra, are now deserting him. She concedes that Caesar is the victor, then says little else except to acknowledge that single fact. Thyreus kneels to kiss her hand in reply just as Antony and Enobarbus enter. The gesture is courteous, but could not have been timed worse. Antony enters, and he is outraged. He orders Thyreus to be punished for his impertinence, and then he turns on Cleopatra and rages at her faithlessness. He is quite explicit about her faults, using words similar to those which she used against him when she accused him of faithlessness in the past. The servants reenter with the beaten Thyreus, and Antony sends him back to Caesar, telling him to tell his general that if he doesn't like the treatment that the messenger received from Antony, then he can do as he likes with his hostage . When Antony returns, he begins to berate Cleopatra again, and she asks him, "Not know me yet?" This stops him, and she affirms that it is he whom she loves and no one else; all else was a charade. Antony, as quickly as he was enraged, is apparently satisfied with her explanation, and they are reconciled. He vows to fight Caesar to the end. Then, as Antony and Cleopatra leave to spend her birthday night together, he brags that not even death itself will frighten him in what will probably be the final battle; he will "contend even with pestilent scythe." Only Enobarbus is left on stage, and he continues to comment on Antony's loss of judgment. More valor, he suggests, will not compensate now: "When valor preys on reason, it eats the sword it fights with." Utterly disgusted and disappointed in his doomed master, the once-loyal Enobarbus finally decides that he must desert Antony if it is possible to do so.

Cleopatra's character begins to reveal a more complex nature than we have heretofore seen. Although her methods are devious, her purpose in this scene seems more mature and noble, in the sense that she never wavers from her loyalty to Antony. Likewise, Antony appears brave and generous. But, as always, he is also impulsive and stubborn. He rapidly jumps to the conclusion that Cleopatra is altering her loyalties, when in fact she is not. Yet even Enobarbus thinks that Cleopatra may be making a truce with Thyreus. Throughout the play we see that the men generally give Cleopatra less credit than she deserves, and we shall see that even Antony, though temporarily reassured, will doubt her again.

Enobarbus tells Cleopatra that the defeat was not her fault since Antony could have chosen to follow reason rather than lust. The ambassador returns with Caesar's message: Antony declares that he will challenge his rival to one-on-one combat. Enobarbus meditates on such a course of action, but decides that if he remains loyal to Antony he might be able to attack Caesar, if Caesar kills Antony. Meanwhile, Thidias arrives to tell Cleopatra that Caesar will show her mercy if she will relinquish Antony. The queen concedes that she embraced Antony more out of fear than love and declares Caesar a god to whom she will bow down. Just then, Antony enters in a fury and demands that Thidias be whipped. He then turns to Cleopatra and rails at her for betraying him. The queen protests that she would never betray him, which satisfies Antony. Antony's fleet has reassembled, and much of his land forces remain intact, ready to attack Caesar again. Enobarbus, who has observed this scene, decides that he has been faithful to Antony long enough. He feels that Antony's mind is slipping and that he must abandon his master


CAESAR'S Camp at Alexandria.

[Enter CAESAR reading a letter; AGRIPPA, MAECENAS, and others.]

CAESAR.
He calls me boy; and chides as he had power
To beat me out of Egypt; my messenger
He hath whip'd with rods; dares me to personal combat,
Caesar to Antony:--let the old ruffian know
I have many other ways to die; meantime
Laugh at his challenge.

MAECENAS.
Caesar must think
When one so great begins to rage, he's hunted
Even to falling. Give him no breath, but now
Make boot of his distraction:--never anger
Made good guard for itself.

CAESAR.
Let our best heads
Know that to-morrow the last of many battles
We mean to fight.--Within our files there are
Of those that serv'd Mark Antony but late,
Enough to fetch him in. See it done:
And feast the army; we have store to do't,
And they have earn'd the waste. Poor Antony!

[Exeunt.]

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

At Caesar's camp outside Alexandria, Agrippa and Maecenas attend their general. He is reading an insulting letter from Antony, and after he finishes, he considers its contents. "He calls me boy," Caesar says, and he adds that Antony challenges him to "personal combat." Prudently, Caesar refuses to accept the challenge. Maecenas advises Caesar to press forward in the battle while Antony is so obviously at a disadvantage. Caesar agrees, for not only is his army strong, but he has gained additional men who have deserted Antony's army.

At this point, Shakespeare's vision of Caesar does not change; he will remain throughout the rest of the drama as a cool, calculating strategist. While Antony's defeat is a loss of honor to Antony, a matter to be resolved on the dueling field, to Caesar it is nothing more or less than the result of a battle. Caesar is irritated at Antony's slighting remarks, but unlike his foe, he does not let his emotions affect his judgment. There remains for him one single goal: total victory. In order to achieve this goal, he needs his army; wisely, he is not willing to gamble on his own prowess when he is convinced that his army can destroy Antony and his forces. It is far wiser strategy, he believes, to "laugh at  challenge . . .  the old ruffian."

Caesar, encamped near the Egyptian capital of Alexandria, receives Antony's challenge and laughs at it. Maecenas counsels him to take advantage of Antony's rage, for "ever anger / Made good guard for itself". Caesar prepares his army--swelled by deserters from his enemy's troops--and plans to crush Antony for good

Act IV, scenes i-viii Because the play's dramatic structure suggests that the battle in Act IV will be climactic and probably result in Antony's death, Antony's victory in these scenes is surprising and makes the plot much less predictable. After Antony's flight from battle in Act III, and after Cleopatra's apparent willingness to betray her lover, all seems lost for the lovers. Indeed, the opening scenes of Act IV confirm and build upon this impression. Caesar rejects Antony's proposal for hand-to-hand combat with such assurance that we feel that there is something prophetic in the line "Know that tomorrow the last of many battles / We mean to fight" . Antony, seemingly undone by the treachery of his own behavior, manages to burden his men with sadness rather than rouse them for battle, while several soldiers hear an otherworldly music they believe portends the destruction of the once great general and his forces. Not only do these scenes redirect our expectations, they also suggest different interpretations of Antony's and Cleopatra's characters. Up to this point in the play, the two lovers seem to have been so absorbed in their own romance that they have allowed nations to go to war. A decidedly Roman perspective has dominated the presentation of Cleopatra as a wanton gypsy and Antony as her fool. The day of battle, however, brings victory to Antony and, at least for a moment, restores him to good fortune. Fighting a vicious and bloody fight, Antony displays the martial abilities that have forged his reputation, and he wins the battle. In these scenes both Antony and Cleopatra display depths of character that cannot be reduced to the respective fool and strumpet. The boldest, most incontrovertible display of the honor for which Antony is famed comes not in battle but in his decision to return to Enobarbus his abandoned treasures. Enobarbus's defection to Caesar's side underscores one of the play's main concerns: the mutability of human character. Once one of Antony's most confident and self-assured comrades, Enobarbus becomes a man ruined by guilt over his disloyalty. The completeness of his change of heart is called into question, however, when he declares that he will go off to die in a ditch, because the latter part of his life has been foul. Although he has changed sides, he refuses to fight against Antony. Enobarbus lacks the distance necessary to see his life as a whole, and to understand the honorability of his past actions. He concentrates only on recent dishonorable actions, and so determines to die. But our understanding of Enobarbus must incorporate his former and present selves, the best and the foulest.


Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.

[Enter ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, ENOBARBUS, CHARMIAN, IRAS, ALEXAS, and
others.]

ANTONY.
He will not fight with me, Domitius?

ENOBARBUS.
No.

ANTONY.
Why should he not?

ENOBARBUS.
He thinks, being twenty times of better fortune,
He is twenty men to one.

ANTONY.
To-morrow, soldier,
By sea and land I'll fight; or I will live,
Or bathe my dying honour in the blood
Shall make it live again. Woo't thou fight well?

ENOBARBUS.
I'll strike, and cry 'Take all.'

ANTONY.
Well said; come on.--
Call forth my household servants: let's to-night
Be bounteous at our meal.--

[Enter Servants.]

Give me thy hand,
Thou has been rightly honest;--so hast thou;--
Thou,--and thou,--and thou;--you have serv'd me well,
And kings have been your fellows.

CLEOPATRA.
[Aside to ENOBARBUS.] What means this?

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside to CLEOPATRA.] 'Tis one of those odd tricks which sorrow
shoots
Out of the mind.

ANTONY.
And thou art honest too.
I wish I could be made so many men,
And all of you clapp'd up together in
An Antony, that I might do you service
So good as you have done.

SERVANT.
The gods forbid!

ANTONY.
Well, my good fellows, wait on me to-night:
Scant not my cups; and make as much of me
As when mine empire was your fellow too,
And suffer'd my command.

CLEOPATRA.
[Aside to ENOBARBUS.] What does he mean?

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside to CLEOPATRA.] To make his followers weep.

ANTONY.
Tend me to-night;
May be it is the period of your duty:
Haply you shall not see me more; or if,
A mangled shadow: perchance to-morrow
You'll serve another master. I look on you
As one that takes his leave. Mine honest friends,
I turn you not away; but, like a master
Married to your good service, stay till death:
Tend me to-night two hours, I ask no more,
And the gods yield you for't!

ENOBARBUS.
What mean you, sir,
To give them this discomfort? Look, they weep;
And I, an ass, am onion-ey'd: for shame,
Transform us not to women.

ANTONY.
Ho, ho, ho!
Now the witch take me, if I meant it thus!
Grace grow where those drops fall! My hearty friends,
You take me in too dolorous a sense;
For I spake to you for your comfort,--did desire you
To burn this night with torches: know, my hearts,
I hope well of to-morrow; and will lead you
Where rather I'll expect victorious life
Than death and honour. Let's to supper; come,
And drown consideration.

[Exeunt.]

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"

The scene now shifts to Cleopatra's palace and focuses on Antony's reaction to Caesar's refusal to fight in "personal combat." Antony is surprised at Caesar's refusal, but he vows that he will beat him in battle. He then calls for a meal to be served, and he compliments his servants for their loyalty. He speaks as if this is the last night they will serve him, and before long they are all weeping: even the hardened old Enobarbus is "onion-eyed" and begs Antony not to give them such discomfort, and Antony responds by laughing. He did not mean to be taken seriously, he says, and he assures those present that he expects victory -- not defeat.

Antony reveals two interesting character traits here: bravado and sentimentality. At their best, these qualities give Antony great courage and a generous and forgiving nature, but at their worst they become sentimental pap, which Enobarbus is quick to point out.

Enobarbus brings word to Antony that Caesar has refused to fight him. Antony asks why, and Enobarbus suggests that Caesar is so sure of success that one-on-one combat seems unfair. Antony declares that he will fight the next day, whether it brings him victory or death. He thanks his servants for their faithful service and warns them that this night might be his last night with them. They begin to weep, and Enobarbus, with tears in his eyes, rebukes Antony for such a morbid speech. Antony says that he did not mean to cause sorrow, and, as he leads them off toward a bountiful feast, urges them to enjoy their evening together


Alexandria. Before the Palace.

[Enter two Soldiers to their guard.]

FIRST SOLDIER.
Brother, good night: to-morrow is the day.

SECOND SOLDIER.
It will determine one way: fare you well.
Heard you of nothing strange about the streets?

FIRST SOLDIER.
Nothing. What news?

SECOND SOLDIER.
Belike 'tis but a rumour. Good night to you.

FIRST SOLDIER.
Well, sir, good night.

[Enter two other Soldiers.]

SECOND SOLDIER.
Soldiers, have careful watch.

THIRD SOLDIER.
And you. Good night, good night.

[The first two place themselves at their posts.]

FOURTH SOLDIER.
Here we: [The third and fourth take their posts.] and if
to-morrow
Our navy thrive, I have an absolute hope
Our landmen will stand up.

THIRD SOLDIER.
'Tis a brave army,
And full of purpose.

[Music as of hautboys under the stage.]

FOURTH SOLDIER.
Peace, what noise?

FIRST SOLDIER.
List, list!

SECOND SOLDIER.
Hark!

FIRST SOLDIER.
Music i' the air.

THIRD SOLDIER.
Under the earth.

FOURTH SOLDIER.
It signs well, does it not?

THIRD SOLDIER.
No.

FIRST SOLDIER.
Peace, I say!
What should this mean?

SECOND SOLDIER.
'Tis the god Hercules, whom Antony lov'd,
Now leaves him.

FIRST SOLDIER.
Walk; let's see if other watchmen
Do hear what we do.

[They advance to another post.]

SECOND SOLDIER.
How now, masters!

SOLDIERS.
[Speaking together.] How now!
How now! Do you hear this?

FIRST SOLDIER.
Ay; is't not strange?

THIRD SOLDIER.
Do you hear, masters? do you hear?

FIRST SOLDIER.
Follow the noise so far as we have quarter;
Let's see how it will give off.

SOLDIERS.
[Speaking together.] Content. 'Tis strange.

[Exeunt.]

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

Antony's soldiers stand guard before Cleopatra's palace; all of them are aware that this is the night before the final battle that shall determine Antony's fate. Suddenly they hear strange noises and eerie music, and one soldier claims that this is an ill omen from the god Hercules, from whom Antony is believed to be descended. The soldier fears that these events are a sign that the god no longer favors Antony. The soldiers attempt to follow the source of the music but cannot discover it.

Both classical and Elizabethan accounts of the Battle of Actium mention the occurrence of supernatural omens before the battle. Plutarch's version of these events varies considerably from Shakespeare's, but Shakespeare was establishing a sense of foreboding. It is also probable that Shakespeare inserted this scene to establish the importance of the final battle, which is, of course, the climax of the play; he often made use of supernatural omens to foretell a tragic death, as, for example, in Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Historians writing before and after Shakespeare's time often referred to such events, so it is difficult to know whether they did so because they believed that these events really occurred or because they were ingredients for a good story. At any rate, this scene creates a tense feeling of suspense. Our attention is focused wholly on this final battle, the one that will determine the fates of Caesar, Antony, and Cleopatra.

That night, Antony's soldiers hear strange music resounding from somewhere underground. They whisper that it is the music of Hercules, the god after whom Antony modeled himself and who they believe now abandons him


Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.

[Enter ANTONY and CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, IRAS, and others
attending.]

ANTONY.
Eros! mine armour, Eros!

CLEOPATRA.
Sleep a little.

ANTONY.
No, my chuck.--Eros! Come, mine armour, Eros!

[Enter EROS with armour.]

Come, good fellow, put mine iron on.--
If fortune be not ours to-day, it is
Because we brave her.--Come.

CLEOPATRA.
Nay, I'll help too.
What's this for?

ANTONY.
Ah, let be, let be! Thou art
The armourer of my heart. False, false; this, this.

CLEOPATRA.
Sooth, la, I'll help: thus it must be.

ANTONY.
Well, well;
We shall thrive now.--Seest thou, my good fellow?
Go put on thy defences.

EROS.
Briefly, sir.

CLEOPATRA.
Is not this buckled well?

ANTONY.
Rarely, rarely;
He that unbuckles this, till we do please
To daff't for our repose, shall hear a storm.--
Thou fumblest, Eros, and my queen's a squire
More tight at this than thou: despatch.--O love,
That thou couldst see my wars to-day, and knew'st
The royal occupation! Thou shouldst see
A workman in't.--

[Enter an Officer, armed.]

Good-morrow to thee; welcome:
Thou look'st like him that knows a warlike charge:
To business that we love we rise betime,
And go to't with delight.

OFFICER.
A thousand, sir,
Early though't be, have on their riveted trim,
And at the port expect you.

[Shout. Flourish of trumpets within.]

[Enter other Officers and Soldiers.]

SECOND OFFICER.
The morn is fair.--Good morrow, general.

ALL.
Good morrow, general.

ANTONY.
'Tis well blown, lads:
This morning, like the spirit of a youth
That means to be of note, begins betimes.--
So, so; come, give me that: this way; well said.--
Fare thee well, dame, whate'er becomes of me:
[Kisses her.]
This is a soldier's kiss: rebukeable,
And worthy shameful check it were, to stand
On more mechanic compliment; I'll leave thee
Now like a man of steel.--You that will fight,
Follow me close; I'll bring you to't. Adieu.

[Exeunt ANTONY, EROS, Officers and Soldiers.]

CHARMIAN.
Please you, retire to your chamber.

CLEOPATRA.
Lead me.
He goes forth gallantly. That he and Caesar might
Determine this great war in single fight!
Then, Antony,--but now--Well, on.

[Exeunt.]

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

It is early morning on the day of the great battle, and Cleopatra and some servants are helping Antony prepare for battle. Cleopatra urges him to sleep a bit longer, but Antony refuses; he calls for Eros, a servant, to bring him his armor. In a brief comic scene, Cleopatra says that she will help Antony put his armor on; she knows nothing about donning armor, of course, and so what she does is very clumsy. She picks up the wrong pieces, she buckles badly, but she eventually manages to get Antony dressed. Trumpets sound offstage, soldiers enter, and Antony turns to Cleopatra and tenderly kisses her. He tells his men that the morning looks good, "like the spirit of a youth." He bids Cleopatra farewell, and he and his men exit. Cleopatra goes to her room to await the outcome.

This fairly straightforward scene adds a momentary bit of lightness to the gloom of the preceding scene. The tender affection between Antony and Cleopatra is touching, for there is a sense of tragic irony here; we are familiar with the story, as were probably most of the theatergoers in Shakespeare's day. We know what the outcome will be. Still, however, there is a great deal of interest in seeing how the lovers' fates develop and how the dramatist will decide to create the tragedy's climax.

The following day, Eros arms Antony for battle, and Cleopatra insists on helping. Antony feels confident about the coming fight, promising Cleopatra that anyone who attempts to undo his armor before he is ready to remove it and rest will confront his rage. An armed soldier enters and reports that a thousand others stand ready for Antony's command. Antony bids Cleopatra adieu, kisses her, and leads his men into battle


ANTONY'S camp near Alexandria.

[Trumpets sound within. Enter ANTONY and EROS; a SOLDIER meeting
them.]

SOLDIER.
The gods make this a happy day to Antony!

ANTONY.
Would thou and those thy scars had once prevail'd
To make me fight at land!

SOLDIER.
Hadst thou done so,
The kings that have revolted, and the soldier
That has this morning left thee, would have still
Follow'd thy heels.

ANTONY.
Who's gone this morning?

SOLDIER.
Who.
One ever near thee. Call for Enobarbus,
He shall not hear thee; or from Caesar's camp
Say 'I am none of thine.'

ANTONY.
What say'st thou?

SOLDIER.
Sir,
He is with Caesar.

EROS.
Sir, his chests and treasure
He has not with him.

ANTONY.
Is he gone?

SOLDIER.
Most certain.

ANTONY.
Go, Eros, send his treasure after; do it;
Detain no jot, I charge thee; write to him--
I will subscribe,--gentle adieus and greetings;
Say that I wish he never find more cause
To change a master.--O, my fortunes have
Corrupted honest men!--Eros, despatch.

[Exeunt.]

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

At Antony's camp near Alexandria, a soldier brings word that Enobarbus, Antony's most trusted aide, has deserted and pledged his allegiance to Caesar's side. Moreover, Enobarbus fled in such haste that he left all his money and belongings behind. Antony is dismayed at Enobarbus's departure, but he honorably orders his former friend's belongings to be sent to him as a final gesture of friendship. Antony then tells Eros to write a letter to Enobarbus, saying in effect that Antony understands his actions and does not condemn him.

Many of Antony's actions in this play display not only a generous spirit, but at times almost a prescient awareness that he will be a victim of fate. Rationally, he knows that his love for Cleopatra has changed his destiny. In Act I, Scene 2, he reflected that his dalliance with her caused him "ten thousand harms, I know." Yet love defies reason, and so, of course, it is additionally deeply demoralizing when Antony's "voice of reason," his trusted advisor, Enobarbus, loses faith and deserts him. Yet it is to Antony's credit that he does not suddenly become incensed and hate his old friend for this act.

Preparing for battle, Antony admits he wishes he had taken the earlier opportunity to oppose Caesar on land. A soldier comments that had he done so, he would still count Enobarbus as an ally. This report is the first Antony has heard of his most trusted friend's desertion, and the news shocks him. At first he does not believe it, but Eros then points to the "chests and treasure" Enobarbus left behind. Antony orders soldiers to deliver Enobarbus's possessions to him, along with "gentle adieus and greetings," and laments that his "fortunes have / Corrupted honest men"


Alexandria. CAESAR'S camp.

[Flourish. Enter AGRIPPA, CAESAR, with DOLABELLA and ENOBARBUS.]

CAESAR.
Go forth, Agrippa, and begin the fight:
Our will is Antony be took alive;
Make it so known.

AGRIPPA.
Caesar, I shall.

[Exit.]

CAESAR.
The time of universal peace is near:
Prove this a prosperous day, the three-nook'd world
Shall bear the olive freely.

[Enter a Messenger.]

MESSENGER.
Antony
Is come into the field.

CAESAR.
Go charge Agrippa
Plant those that have revolted in the van,
That Antony may seem to spend his fury
Upon himself.

[Exeunt CAESAR and his Train.]

ENOBARBUS.
Alexas did revolt; and went to Jewry on
Affairs of Antony; there did dissuade
Great Herod to incline himself to Caesar
And leave his master Antony: for this pains
Casaer hath hang'd him. Canidius and the rest
That fell away, have entertainment, but
No honourable trust. I have done ill;
Of which I do accuse myself so sorely
That I will joy no more.

[Enter a SOLDIER of CAESAR'S.]

SOLDIER.
Enobarbus, Antony
Hath after thee sent all thy treasure, with
His bounty overplus: the messenger
Came on my guard, and at thy tent is now
Unloading of his mules.

ENOBARBUS.
I give it you.

SOLDIER.
Mock not, Enobarbus.
I tell you true: best you saf'd the bringer
Out of the host; I must attend mine office,
Or would have done't myself. Your emperor
Continues still a Jove.

[Exit.]

ENOBARBUS.
I am alone the villain of the earth,
And feel I am so most. O Antony,
Thou mine of bounty, how wouldst thou have paid
My better service, when my turpitude
Thou dost so crown with gold! This blows my heart:
If swift thought break it not, a swifter mean
Shall outstrike thought: but thought will do't, I feel.
I fight against thee!--No: I will go seek
Some ditch wherein to die; the foul'st best fits
My latter part of life.

[Exit.]

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

We now see Enobarbus at Caesar's camp as Caesar, Agrippa, and Dolabella plan for the coming battle. Caesar instructs his soldiers to place Antony's deserters on the front lines, presumably to demoralize Antony and his remaining men, for they will be unprepared for the psychological shock when they discover that they are fighting against their former comrades. They all exit then, except Enobarbus, who contemplates his fate. He describes the fates of other deserters, especially Alexas, Cleopatra's confidential secretary. Alexas was followed, seized, and hanged. Obviously, Caesar is not welcoming Antony's deserters; they can expect little honor or trust at the hands of their new sovereign, but Enobarbus appears to be an exception. A soldier enters to tell Enobarbus that Antony has sent "all thy treasure." Enobarbus doesn't believe him at first, and he is heartbroken when he realizes that the soldier has told the truth. He swears to himself that he cannot fight against such a noble-hearted general; his disgust with himself is so great that he vows to "go seek some ditch wherein to die."

Antony's gesture of friendship to his old friend has tragic repercussions. Enobarbus is not grateful for his treasure; instead, he is remorseful about his decision to desert his former general. Because of Antony's trust in him and because of Enobarbus's reputation for honesty and integrity, Enobarbus is very respected by Caesar. But regardless of his treatment at Caesar's hands, Enobarbus has lost all sense of his own honor and integrity. It seems that there is nothing that can return these intangible qualities to him, unless he takes his life. One should note here that in ancient Rome, and in other countries of the ancient world, suicide did not bear the stigma that it does now; then, it was often considered to be an honorable solution to many a problem. In particular, those whose lives might well be forfeited because they were conquered, or taken captive, often sought to end their lives rather than submit to the decrees of an enemy. Enobarbus's situation, however, is a bit different in that his resolve results from despair rather than from a fear of captivity or execution.

Caesar, feeling certain of his victory, orders Agrippa to begin the battle. Caesar orders that the front lines be fitted with soldiers who have deserted Antony, so that Antony will feel like he that he is wasting his efforts fighting himself. Enobarbus receives the treasure and is overcome by guilt, realizing that he has become a common traitor. Deciding that he would rather die than fight against Antony, he declares himself a villain and goes to seek out a ditch in which to die


Field of battle between the Camps.

[Alarum. Drums and trumpets. Enter AGRIPPA and others.]

AGRIPPA.
Retire, we have engag'd ourselves too far:
Caesar himself has work, and our oppression
Exceeds what we expected.

[Exeunt.]

[Alarum. Enter ANTONY, and SCARUS wounded.]

SCARUS.
O my brave emperor, this is fought indeed!
Had we done so at first, we had driven them home
With clouts about their heads.

ANTONY.
Thou bleed'st apace.

SCARUS.
I had a wound here that was like a T,
But now 'tis made an H.

ANTONY.
They do retire.

SCARUS.
We'll beat'em into bench-holes: I have yet
Room for six scotches more.

[Enter EROS.]

EROS.
They are beaten, sir; and our advantage serves
For a fair victory.

SCARUS.
Let us score their backs
And snatch 'em up, as we take hares, behind:
'Tis sport to maul a runner.

ANTONY.
I will reward thee
Once for thy sprightly comfort, and tenfold
For thy good valour. Come thee on.

SCARUS.
I'll halt after.

[Exeunt.]

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

This brief scene describes Antony's reaction to the battle that has begun. Apparently, Antony's forces are winning, although the odds were initially against it. Scarus, one of Antony's men, is badly wounded, but he bravely urges the rest of his men to continue the fight, "snatching them up like hares." Antony praises the soldier's valor, and he and his men leave to rejoin the battle.

Here, we have another brief glimpse of Antony's impulsiveness and bravery. We also meet Scarus, a brave soldier who replaces Enobarbus, to some extent, as Antony's closest comrade. Unlike Enobarbus, however, whose intelligence and insight were useful to Antony precisely because he was calmer and more rational than his general, Scarus is very much like Antony. He is much more like a brave and faithful baying dog; he can be of great help to his master, but he cannot see beyond the immediate goal, nor look beyond the decisions of his master and predict consequences.

Agrippa calls for his troops to retreat, declaring that the power of Antony's forces has exceeded his expectations


Under the Walls of Alexandria.

[Alarum. Enter ANTONY, marching; SCARUS and Forces.]

ANTONY.
We have beat him to his camp. Run one before
And let the queen know of our gests.--To-morrow,
Before the sun shall see us, we'll spill the blood
That has to-day escap'd. I thank you all;
For doughty-handed are you, and have fought
Not as you serv'd the cause, but as't had been
Each man's like mine; you have shown all Hectors.
Enter the city, clip your wives, your friends,
Tell them your feats; whilst they with joyful tears
Wash the congealment from your wounds and kiss
The honour'd gashes whole.--[To SCARUS.] Give me thy hand;

[Enter CLEOPATRA, attended.]

To this great fairy I'll commend thy acts,
Make her thanks bless thee. O thou day o' the world,
Chain mine arm'd neck; leap thou, attire and all;
Through proof of harness to my heart, and there
Ride on the pants triumphing.

CLEOPATRA.
Lord of lords!
O infinite virtue, com'st thou smiling from
The world's great snare uncaught?

ANTONY.
Mine nightingale,
We have beat them to their beds. What, girl! though grey
Do something mingle with our younger brown, yet ha' we
A brain that nourishes our nerves, and can
Get goal for goal of youth. Behold this man;
Commend unto his lips thy favouring hand;--
Kiss it, my warrior: he hath fought to-day
As if a god, in hate of mankind, had
Destroyed in such a shape.

CLEOPATRA.
I'll give thee, friend,
An armour all of gold; it was a king's.

ANTONY.
He has deserv'd it, were it carbuncled
Like holy Phoebus' car.--Give me thy hand:
Through Alexandria make a jolly march;
Bear our hack'd targets like the men that owe them:
Had our great palace the capacity
To camp this host, we all would sup together,
And drink carouses to the next day's fate,
Which promises royal peril.--Trumpeters,
With brazen din blast you the city's ear;
Make mingle with our rattling tabourines;
That heaven and earth may strike their sounds together,
Applauding our approach.

[Exeunt.]

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

The battle continues. Antony is next to the walls of Alexandria, and he tells his men to report to Cleopatra how well the battle is going. At that point, Cleopatra enters and greets them all. Antony takes Scarus's hand and presents him to Cleopatra. She congratulates him for his valor, and Antony embraces her. They are delighted with the battle's progress thus far, and they predict a complete victory by the next day. They leave then, preparing to celebrate that evening in anticipation of their victory.

This scene has ironic overtones; Antony's preparations for his victory celebration are premature. In addition, his adoration for Cleopatra seems as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. Based on the earlier behavior of both lovers, we wonder when the next lapse in trust and the resulting quarrel between them will occur.

Antony's men win the battle and retake Alexandria with a fierce display of force. Scarus receives a fantastic wound but will not relent, begging Antony for the chance to chase after the retreating army


CAESAR'S camp.

[Sentinels at their Post.]

FIRST SOLDIER.
If we be not reliev'd within this hour,
We must return to thecourt of guard: the night
Is shiny; and they say we shall embattle
By the second hour i' the morn.

SECOND SOLDIER.
This last day was
A shrewd one to's.

[Enter ENOBARBUS.]

ENOBARBUS.
O, bear me witness, night.--

THIRD SOLDIER.
What man is this?

SECOND SOLDIER.
Stand close and list him.

ENOBARBUS.
Be witness to me, O thou blessed moon,
When men revolted shall upon record
Bear hateful memory, poor Enobarbus did
Before thy face repent!--

FIRST SOLDIER.
Enobarbus!

THIRD SOLDIER.
Peace!
Hark further.

ENOBARBUS.
O sovereign mistress of true melancholy,
The poisonous damp of night disponge upon me,
That life, a very rebel to my will,
May hang no longer on me: throw my heart
Against the flint and hardness of my fault;
Which, being dried with grief, will break to powder,
And finish all foul thoughts. O Antony,
Nobler than my revolt is infamous,
Forgive me in thine own particular;
But let the world rank me in register
A master-leaver and a fugitive:
O Antony! O Antony!

[Dies.]

SECOND SOLDIER.
Let's speak to him.

FIRST SOLDIER.
Let's hear him, for the things he speaks
May concern Caesar.

THIRD SOLDIER.
Let's do so. But he sleeps.

FIRST SOLDIER.
Swoons rather; for so bad a prayer as his
Was never yet fore sleep.

SECOND SOLDIER.
Go we to him.

THIRD SOLDIER.
Awake, sir, awake; speak to us.

SECOND SOLDIER.
Hear you, sir?

FIRST SOLDIER.
The hand of death hath raught him.

[Drums afar off.]

Hark! the drums
Do merrily wake the sleepers. Let us bear him
To the court of guard; he is of note: our hour
Is fully out.

THIRD SOLDIER.
Come on, then;
He may recover yet.

[Exeunt with the body.]

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

The scene shifts briefly back to Caesar's camp. Sentries are keeping watch throughout the night, and they hear Enobarbus, still distraught, speaking to the moon. In a moving soliloquy, Enobarbus makes his final speech; he is a symbol of melancholy and madness, and he despairs that he deserted Antony. As he falls and dies, probably of self-inflicted wounds, the sentries go to him, thinking that he has merely fainted. When they discover that he is dead, they carry his body back to the camp.

It is theatrically fitting that Enobarbus's final irrational despair and delirium should occur in a scene bathed in moonlight. Many people in Shakespeare's time believed that night air and moonlight could cause illness, depression, and even madness. Even now we have words based on such notions -- "moonstruck," "lunatic," and "looney," for example. It is not clear from the stage instructions whether Enobarbus falls on his sword or whether he simply dies of self-inflicted wounds. Perhaps he has already stabbed himself, and we are hearing his last words. It is possible, however, that "the flint and hardness" of his fault is figurative only, and that he dies of grief and of a broken heart.

Antony returns from war, vowing to destroy Caesar's army completely on the following day. He praises his soldiers for their valor and commands them to regale their families with tales of the day's battle. When Cleopatra enters, Antony declares his love for her. He announces that she is the only thing that can pierce his armor and reach his heart. Antony asks Cleopatra to commend Scarus, one of his bravest soldiers. The queen promises the man a suit of golden armor that once belonged to a king. Antony leads his troops and his lover in a triumphant march through the streets of Alexandria to mark the joyous occasion

Act IV, scenes ix-xv In Act IV, scene xv, Antony, who has been betrayed by his lover and has lost the war to Caesar, offers one of the play's most profound reflections on the connection between character and circumstance: "Here I am Antony, / Yet cannot hold this visible shape, my knave" . As his fortune changes from good to bad, so, he believes, his character slips from honorable to dishonorable. He likens himself to a cloud that shifts from one shape into another. Given the play's investment in spectacle--neither love nor war truly matters unless one has something to show for them--Antony's disturbance at being unable to hold a "visible shape" is particularly interesting. His honor, it seems, is primarily a function of whether the world sees him as honorable. When it fails to do so, Antony no longer fits into it. His rigid definition of himself as a victorious general and as Cleopatra's lover betrays his Roman sensibilities, which cannot and will not allow him to assume the contradictory roles of the conqueror and the conquered. He will, he decides, either be the hero or cease to exist at all by killing himself. His statement "Here I am Antony" reflects his search for a glimpse of his former, simpler self: the indomitable hero who will put an end to his life. Thus, he thankfully notes to Eros, all that remains to him is suicide. Once the second sea battle is lost, the play belongs to Antony until his death--Cleopatra recedes, as does Caesar. In the scenes leading up to his death, Antony's feelings of betrayal, regret, and, ultimately, love give way to some of the finest language in the play. Oh, sun, thy uprise shall I see no more: Fortune and Antony part here; even here Do we shake hands. All come to this? The hearts That spanieled me at heels, to whom I gaveTheir wishes, do discandy, melt their sweetsOn blossoming Caesar, and this pine is barkedThat over topped them all.           Here, as Antony bids goodbye to "Fortune," he comes to an important realization from which he cannot recover. Comparing himself to a tree that once towered above all others, he now feels that Cleopatra's inconstant love, which once "spanieled" at his heels, has stripped him of his bark. This metaphor expresses that he feels raw, unprotected, and doomed to die. Cleopatra enters soon after Antony delivers these lines, and he scares her away with vicious threats. More than anger, however, Antony feels a keen sense of loss. He laments, "I made these wars for . . .  the Queen-- / Whose heart I thought I had, for she had mine, / Which . . .  had annexed unto't / A million more, now lost" . This utterance of regret confirms Antony's lost sense of self: he no longer possesses either of the identities--military giant or lover of Cleopatra--that have defined him so well. The news of Cleopatra's suicide suffices to cool Antony's temper and returns him to thoughts of reconciliation. By killing himself, Antony envisions joining his love in the afterlife: "I come, my queen . . .  / Where souls do couch on flowers we'll hand in hand, / And with our sprightly port make the ghosts gaze" . This consummation in death of their love moves the couple toward its ultimate victory over Caesar and the Roman Empire.


Ground between the two Camps.

[Enter ANTONY and SCARUS, with Forces, marching.]

ANTONY.
Their preparation is to-day by sea;
We please them not by land.

SCARUS.
For both, my lord.

ANTONY.
I would they'd fight i' the fire or i' the air;
We'd fight there too. But this it is; our foot
Upon the hills adjoining to the city
Shall stay with us:--order for sea is given;
They have put forth the haven:--forward now,
Where their appointment we may best discover,
And look on their endeavour.

[Exeunt.]

Between the two camps. Antony tells Scarus the battle plan

On the battlefield, between the two camps, Antony and Scarus are conversing. Caesar was defeated on land yesterday, and they observe that he is now preparing for an attack on Antony by sea. Antony fearlessly states that wherever Caesar chooses to fight, he will fight him -- whether on land, sea, fire, or air .

Antony's bravery is somewhat emotionally exaggerated, but it is exactly right for his character and for his military strategy, for we have seen that for whatever reason, his forces do fare better on land than on sea. Thus his victory on land is not altogether a surprise. The battle at sea, however, is another matter. Antony is courageous, but he is not the careful tactician that Caesar is.

Caesar's sentries discuss the coming battle as Enobarbus berates himself nearby. Unaware that he is being watched, Enobarbus rails against his life, wishing for its end and hoping that history will mark him as a traitor and a fugitive. After he collapses, the sentries decide to rouse him but discover that he has died. Because he is an important man, they bear his body to their camp


Another part of the Ground.

[Enter CAESAR with his Forces, marching.]

CAESAR.
But being charg'd, we will be still by land,
Which, as I take't, we shall; for his best force
Is forth to man his galleys. To the vales,
And hold our best advantage.

[Exeunt.]

Between the two camps. Caesar gives orders for troop movement.

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 / Shall bear the olive freely". 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". 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

We now return briefly to Caesar and his army, also on the battlefield. He instructs his men that unless they are attacked, they should keep their strongest forces on land, to hold the positions they have.

Caesar's apparent sea preparations are a ruse. He hopes, by this maneuver, to draw off Antony's best men to sea and take advantage of this strategy on land, where, thus far, Antony has been the victor.

Antony determines that Caesar means to attack him by sea and declares himself ready. He wishes his enemy were equipped to fight in fire or air, swearing he would meet him in those places if he could


Another part of the Ground.

[Enter ANTONY and SCARUS.]

ANTONY.
Yet they are not join'd: where yond pine does stand
I shall discover all: I'll bring thee word
Straight how 'tis like to go.

[Exit.]

SCARUS.
Swallows have built
In Cleopatra's sails their nests: the augurers
Say they know not,--they cannot tell;--look grimly,
And dare not speak their knowledge. Antony
Is valiant and dejected; and, by starts,
His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear
Of what he has and has not.

[Alarum afar off, as at a sea-fight.]

[Re-enter ANTONY.]

ANTONY.
All is lost;
This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me:
My fleet hath yielded to the foe; and yonder
They cast their caps up, and carouse together
Like friends long lost.--Triple-turn'd whore! 'tis thou
Hast sold me to this novice; and my heart
Makes only wars on thee.--Bid them all fly;
For when I am reveng'd upon my charm,
I have done all.--Bid them all fly; begone.

[Exit SCARUS.]

O sun, thy uprise shall I see no more:
Fortune and Antony part here; even here
Do we shake hands.--All come to this!--The hearts
That spaniel'd me at heels, to whom I gave
Their wishes, do discandy, melt their sweets
On blossoming Caesar; and this pine is bark'd
That overtopp'd them all. Betray'd I am:
O this false soul of Egypt! this grave charm,
Whose eye beck'd forth my wars and call'd them home;
Whose bosom was my crownet, my chief end,--
Like a right gypsy, hath, at fast and loose,
Beguil'd me to the very heart of loss.--
What, Eros, Eros!

[Enter CLEOPATRA.]

Ah, thou spell! Avaunt!

CLEOPATRA.
Why is my lord enrag'd against his love?

ANTONY.
Vanish, or I shall give thee thy deserving,
And blemish Caesar's triumph. Let him take thee
And hoist thee up to the shouting plebeians:
Follow his chariot, like the greatest spot
Of all thy sex; most monster-like, be shown
For poor'st diminutives, for doits; and let
Patient Octavia plough thy visage up
With her prepared nails.

[Exit CLEOPATRA.]

'Tis well thou'rt gone,
If it be well to live; but better 'twere
Thou fell'st into my fury, for one death
Might have prevented many.--Eros, ho!--
The shirt of Nessus is upon me: teach me,
Alcides, thou mine ancestor, thy rage:
Let me lodge Lichas on the horns o' the moon;
And with those hands that grasp'd the heaviest club
Subdue my worthiest self. The witch shall die:
To the young Roman boy she hath sold me, and I fall
Under this plot:--she dies for't.--Eros, ho!

[Exit.]

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

Antony and Scarus watch the battle from a hill near Alexandria. Things are not going as well as Antony had hoped. From their position, they can see that the sea battle is lost and that Caesar has retained enough forces on land to continue the fight. Antony leaves to find out how "'tis like to go." He returns almost immediately and tells Scarus that they have lost. He believes that Cleopatra has betrayed him, and he curses her. She enters shortly thereafter, and he calls her a traitor and orders her away. Then he continues to rage, and he predicts that Cleopatra will die for her treachery.

Antony's rage overpowers this scene. His accusations against Cleopatra seem especially unfair. We should remember, however, that in the past, Cleopatra has advised against  the use of sea power against Caesar. It is also likely here that Antony is remembering Caesar's earlier overtures to Cleopatra; it is also highly likely that bitter doubts arise again in his mind, regarding Cleopatra's loyalty and love.

Caesar holds his armies back, preparing to attack Antony at sea