Antony and Cleopatra (41 page)

a
he (i.e. the schoolmaster)   

⁷⁹
sent our schoolmaster
i.e. as ambassador to Caesar   

⁸⁰
full of lead
i.e. burdened with grief   

⁸¹
viands
food   

⁴
argument
sign, indication   

plucked
i.e. stripped of power and authority   

⁵
pinion
furthest section of a bird’s wing   

⁶
Which
who   

Ambassador
the schoolmaster   

¹⁰
petty
insignificant   

ends
plans   

¹¹
myrtle leaf
leaf of the myrtle, an aromatic Mediterranean shrub, sacred to Venus, symbol of love, peace, and honor   

¹²
his grand sea
the great ocean that is Antony/the great ocean from which it originated   

¹³
Declare thine office
say what you’ve come for   

¹⁵
Requires
requests   

not granted
if this request is not granted   

¹⁶
sues
formally requests   

¹⁷
breathe
i.e. live   

²¹
circle … Ptolemies
crown of the kings of Egypt   

²²
hazarded … grace
dependent upon your favor, staked on your goodwill   

²⁵
Of … so
will not fail to get a hearing or her wish so long as   

²⁶
friend
lover   

³⁰
Bring
escort   

bands
troops   

³¹
Dispatch
make haste/get going   

³²
From … Cleopatra
persuade Cleopatra to abandon Antony   

³³
in our name
on my authority (Caesar uses the royal pronoun)   

add … offers
think up further offers yourself   

³⁴
Women … vestal
women aren’t strong at the best of times but when in need the purest virgin will break her vows   

³⁶
cunning
skill   

³⁷
Make … pains
decide on your own reward for your efforts   

³⁸
answer
make good, fulfill, observe   

⁴⁰
becomes his flaw
behaves in his downfall   

⁴¹
very action speaks
every action means   

⁴²
power that moves
move he makes   

²
Think
i.e. reflect on our situation/indulge in melancholy thoughts   

³
we
I   

⁴
will
desire/penis   

⁶
several ranges
separate battle-lines   

⁸
affection
passion/lust   

⁹
nicked
negated/dented, damaged/won (gambling term)/cut off (possible castration connotations)   

captainship
military leadership   

¹¹
meerèd question
entire cause   

¹²
course
follow   

flying
fleeing   

¹³
gazing
watching in amazement   

¹⁷
The … up
Cleopatra will be well treated if she gives me up to Caesar   

²⁵
he … particular
as he has the bloom of youth on him, the world should expect some remarkable deed   

²⁸
ministers
agents, subordinates   

³¹
gay caparisons
showy trappings   

³²
answer me declined
fight with me in a similarly diminished fashion   

³³
Ourselves alone
just the two of us   

³⁴
high-battled
with great armies at his command   

³⁵
Unstate his happiness
deprive himself of his powerful position and good fortune   

staged to th’show
put on public display (as if in a gladiatorial contest)   

³⁶
sworder
gladiator   

³⁷
A parcel of
of a piece with, reflect   

things … alike
calamitous external events have a corresponding psychological effect (Antony’s judgment has been impaired by the deterioration in his fortunes)   

⁴⁰
Knowing
understanding   

measures
a “measure” is a vessel of a fixed capacity and sets up the image of power as a cup that can be
full
or empty   

full
at the height of his power   

⁴¹
Answer
respond to   

⁴⁵
blown
withered   

⁴⁷
honesty
sense of honor, integrity   

square
be in conflict   

⁴⁹
faith
fidelity   

⁵²
i’th’story
in the narrative/history book   

he … i’th’story
he who remains loyal to his lord in defeat overcomes the ill fortune that overthrew his master and so deserves fame and recognition   

⁵⁴
apart
in private   

⁵⁵
None but friends
all are friends here   

⁵⁶
haply
perhaps/probably   

⁵⁸
Or … us
or else he doesn’t need us (his situation being so desperate)   

⁵⁹
for
as for   

⁶⁰
Whose … Caesar’s
i.e. any friend of Antony is a friend of ours, so we are Caesar’s friends   

⁶³
Not … Caesar
do not worry about your situation insofar as you know you’re dealing with Caesar (a deliberately ambiguous statement: being Caesar may imply mercy or the power to punish)   

⁶⁵
right royal
very generous   

⁷⁰
constrainèd
forced, compelled   

⁷³
right
true   

⁷⁴
merely
only/completely   

⁷⁸
quit
abandon   

⁸⁰
require
request   

⁸¹
desired
asked   

⁸⁵
his … landlord
the protection of him who is the lord of the whole world (
shroud
plays ominously on the sense of “sheet in which to wrap a corpse”)   

⁹⁰
in deputation
as my representative/in your role as deputy   

⁹³
all-obeying breath
voice that is obeyed by all   

⁹⁴
doom
fate/sentence   

Egypt
Cleopatra/the country   

⁹⁷
If … it
i.e. if one is courageous enough to exercise wisdom, no ill fortune can affect matters   

¹⁰⁰
father
by adoption only; in fact Julius Caesar was his great-uncle   

¹⁰¹
mused … in
thought about conquering kingdoms   

¹⁰³
As
as if   

¹⁰⁴
Favours
? i.e. referring to Thidias’ being allowed to kiss Cleopatra’s hand (sexual connotations)   

¹⁰⁵
fellow
(lowly) man/servant   

¹⁰⁷
fullest
most powerful   

¹¹⁰
kite
whore/scavenging bird of prey (addressed to Cleopatra)   

¹¹²
muss
game in which small objects are thrown to be scrambled for   

¹¹⁴
jack
knave, common fellow   

¹¹⁵
whelp
cub   

¹¹⁸
tributaries
those who pay tribute   

¹²⁰
saucy
familiar   

¹²¹
Since she was
who used to be   

¹²²
cringe
contract, distort (in pain)   

¹²⁸
blasted
blighted, withered   

¹³⁰
Forborne
done without   

getting
begetting, conceiving   

a lawful race
legitimate descendants   

¹³²
feeders
parasites/dependents who eat at another’s table   

¹³⁴
boggler
waverer, equivocator/one ready to use her bogle boe, i.e. vagina   

¹³⁶
seel
close up (literally, sew up as the eyes of a young hawk were for training purposes)   

¹³⁹
confusion
overthrow, destruction   

¹⁴²
trencher
wooden platter   

fragment
scrap, leftover   

¹⁴³
Gneius Pompey
son of Pompey the Great and lover of Cleopatra   

hotter
more lustful   

¹⁴⁴
vulgar fame
common gossip   

¹⁴⁵
Luxuriously
lecherously   

picked out
collected/passed   

¹⁴⁶
temperance
restraint of sexual appetite   

¹⁵⁰
“God quit you!”
expression of thanks from one of lower rank   

quit
requite, reward   

¹⁵¹
seal
token, pledge   

¹⁵²
plighter
one who pledges   

high
noble   

¹⁵³
hill of Basan
near the Sea of Galilee and described in Psalms 22:12 as frequented by “many bulls”   

outroar
bellow more angrily than, be more bull-like than   

outroar … herd
men with unfaithful wives were popularly supposed to grow horns   

¹⁵⁴
savage cause
cause for beastly behavior   

¹⁵⁵
civilly
politely   

¹⁵⁶
haltered neck
neck with a noose around it   

¹⁵⁷
yare
brisk, nimble   

¹⁵⁹
begged a
did he beg   

¹⁶³
follow … triumph
serve Caesar now that he’s triumphant/follow in Caesar’s triumphal procession   

¹⁶⁵
hand … lady
i.e. offered for you to kiss   

fever thee
put you into a feverish sweat   

¹⁶⁷
thy entertainment
how you were received   

look
make sure   

¹⁷³
orbs
orbits/rotating transparent spheres in which stars and planets were thought to be contained   

¹⁷⁴
th’abysm
the abyss   

¹⁷⁶
enfranchèd bondman
freed bond slave (he had deserted Antony for Caesar)   

¹⁷⁸
quit
requite, repay   

¹⁸¹
terrene moon
earthly moon (i.e. Cleopatra, associated with the moon goddess Isis)   

¹⁸²
portends alone
foretells only (eclipses were regarded as bad omens)   

¹⁸³
stay his time
wait until he’s finished   

¹⁸⁴
mingle eyes
exchange glances   

¹⁸⁵
ties his points
does up Caesar’s points (laces with metal tags, used for fastening clothes)   

¹⁹¹
in my neck
on my head/down my throat   

determines
comes to an end, melts   

¹⁹²
Caesarion
Cleopatra’s son by Julius Caesar   

¹⁹⁵
discandying
melting