The Shakespeare Book

284 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Burden of duty
Like King Lear, Antony wishes
to be free of his duties, but still
desires to hold on to the authority
and accolades that such power
brings. He battles with his

conscience, and blames Cleopatra

for his own weakness when he

deserts a battle in pursuit of her:

“Egypt, thou knew’st too well / My

heart was to thy rudder tied by th’

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”

(3.11.56–61).

Although Cleopatra does

much to endanger Antony, he

remains devoted to her right up

to the end. Having experienced

her infinite variety of moods to

the full, he wards off impending

death to lay the “poor last” of

“many thousand kisses” (4.16.21)

upon her lips.

Tribute to Antony

Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare’s

most self-absorbed and self-seeking

characters, and thus it can come as

Give me my robe. Put on

my crown. I have

Immortal longings in me.

Now no more

The juice of Egypt’s grape

shall moist this lip.

Cleopatra

Act 5, Scene 2

Antony is torn between his
duty toward Rome and his love
for Cleopatra. In the end, he
cannot resist the allure of
Egypt and its queen.

something of a surprise to hear her

rhapsodize upon someone other

than herself. Her emotional tribute

to Antony, following his failed

suicide, serves to augment her

lover’s reputation, encouraging

a personal rather than political

assessment of the man’s life.

Through Cleopatra, Shakespeare

ensures that our final memory

of Antony is not of a strumpet’s

fool, but of a Herculean god:

“His legs bestrid the ocean; his

reared arm / Crested the world.

His voice was propertied / As all

the tunéd spheres, and that to

friends; / But when he meant to

quail and shake the orb, / He

was as rattling thunder. For his

bounty, / There was no winter in’t;

an autumn ’twas, / That grew the

more by reaping. His delights /

Were dolphin-like; they showed

his back above / The element

they lived in. In his livery / Walked

Soldier

Duty

Honor Burden

Lover

Passion

Sensuality Indulgence