Antony and Cleopatra

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and analyzes the source text’s treatment of death by suicide.

“Nay, but this dotage of our general’s

O’erflows the measure.”

The first lines of the play are spoken by the Roman soldier Philo, expressing his concern that Antony’s love for Cleopatra is dangerous. Philo uses the metaphor of an overflowing cup, implying that Antony’s love is a problem because it is excessive. If Antony were merely having an affair with Cleopatra, William Shakespeare indicates, it would be more acceptable to the Romans. His extreme devotion to the Egyptian Queen is the source of the problem, with Philo’s disapproval introducing The Complications of Public Identity that Antony will face while torn between his private love and public reputation.

“There’s beggary in the love that can be reckoned.”

In contrast to the Roman soldiers, Antony begins the play by declaring that a restrained or moderate love is a form of “beggary.” This term relates to poverty or lowly social status, indicating that he views the suggestion that he ought to restrain his love for Cleopatra as a degrading action. The term “reckoned” means both to comprehend and to count, suggesting that Antony views love as something meant to be infinite and irrational.