Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra - Antony's hopes of regaining his honour

Antony and Cleopatra

Please see the bottom of this page for explanatory notes and resources.

ACT IV SCENE II	Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace.
[ Enter MARK ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS, CHARMIAN, IRAS, ALEXAS, with others ]
MARK ANTONY	He will not fight with me, Domitius.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS	No.
MARK ANTONY	Why should he not?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS	He thinks, being twenty times of better fortune,
	He is twenty men to one.	5
MARK 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?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS	I'll strike, and cry 'Take all.'	10
MARK ANTONY	Well said; come on.
	Call forth my household servants: let's to-night
	Be bounteous at our meal.
[Enter three or four Servitors]
	Give me thy hand,
	Thou hast been rightly honest;--so hast thou;--	15
	Thou,--and thou,--and thou:--you have served me well,
	And kings have been your fellows.
CLEOPATRA	[Aside to DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS] What means this?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS	[Aside to CLEOPATRA] 'Tis one of those odd
	tricks which sorrow shoots	20
	Out of the mind.
MARK 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	25
	So good as you have done.
All	The gods forbid!
MARK 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,	30
	And suffer'd my command.
CLEOPATRA	[Aside to DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS] What does he mean?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS	[Aside to CLEOPATRA] To make his followers weep.
MARK ANTONY	Tend me to-night;
	May be it is the period of your duty:	35
	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	40
	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!
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS	What mean you, sir,
	To give them this discomfort? Look, they weep;	45
	And I, an ass, am onion-eyed: for shame,
	Transform us not to women.
MARK ANTONY	Ho, ho, ho!
	Now the witch take me, if I meant it thus!
	Grace grow where those drops fall!	50
	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	55
	Where rather I'll expect victorious life
	Than death and honour. Let's to supper, come,
	And drown consideration.
[Exeunt]

Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4, Scene 3
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Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 2
From Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company.
(Line numbers have been altered.)
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9. Woo't. Would thou. A provincial form.

10. Take all. That is, I would give no quarter.

24. Clapp'd. That is, I wish I could be made into many persons while you all became Antony.

28. Scant. Do not stint the wine.

30. Fellow. That is, when I had an empire at my command as well as you.

35. Period. End.

36. Haply. Perhaps.

36. If. That is, if you do see me, it may be as a mangled corpse.

43. Yield. Give you reward.

46. Onion-eyed. Have tears in my eyes.

48. Ho, etc. Said in mockery and perhaps rebuke.

52. Dolorous. Doleful, melancholy.

54. Burn this night. That is, burn out; feast all night long.

44. Death and honor. An honorable death.

45. Consideration. Serious thoughts.

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How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company, 1908. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/antony_4_2.html >.

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