Act 3, Scene 11 — Antony and Cleopatra

The argument After Actium, a broken Antony tells his attendants to take his treasure and flee to Caesar, then sits in shame while Cleopatra approaches — and their reunion is a mingling of accusation, confession, and desperate, irreducible love.

Enter Antony with attendants.

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

Hark, the land bids me tread no more upon’t.

It is ashamed 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.

Hark, the land bids me tread no more upon’t. It is ashamed 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.

hark, the land bids me tread no more upon’t. it is ashamed to bear me. friends, come hither. i am so lated in the world that i have lost my way for ev

ALL ALL speaks

Fly? Not we.

fly? not we.

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

I have fled myself, and have instructed cowards

To run and show their shoulders. Friends, be gone.

I have myself resolved upon a course

Which has no need of you. Be gone.

My treasure’s in the harbour. Take it. O,

I followed 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.

I have fled myself, and have instructed cowards To run and show their shoulders. Friends, be gone. I have myself resolved upon a course Which has no need of you. Be gone. My treasure’s in the harbour. Take it. O, I followed that I blush to look upon. My very hairs do mutiny, for the white Reprove th...

i have fled myself, and have instructed cowards to run and show their shoulders. friends, be gone. i have myself resolved upon a course which has no n

"My very hairs do mutiny, for the white / Reprove the brown for rashness, and they them / For fear and doting" Antony imagines his grey hairs and brown hairs as two factions at war — white hairs (age/wisdom) blaming brown (youth/rashness) for following Cleopatra, brown blaming white for not acting with courage. It's a brilliantly specific image of internal civil war.

Why it matters Antony's command to his men to 'make your peace with Caesar' and his admission that he has 'lost command' are two of the most devastating things a Roman general could say. He is disbanding his own cause.

[_Sits down._]

Enter Cleopatra led by Charmian, Iras and Eros.

EROS EROS speaks

Nay, gentle madam, to him! Comfort him.

nay, gentle madam, to him! comfort him.

IRAS IRAS speaks

Do, most dear queen.

do, most dear queen.

CHARMIAN CHARMIAN speaks

Do! Why, what else?

do! why, what else?

CLEOPATRA CLEOPATRA speaks

Let me sit down. O Juno!

let me sit down. o juno!

ANTONY ANTONY speaks

No, no, no, no, no.

no, no, no, no, no.

EROS EROS speaks

See you here, sir?

see you here, sir?

ANTONY ANTONY speaks

O, fie, fie, fie!

o, fie, fie, fie!

CHARMIAN CHARMIAN speaks

Madam.

madam.

IRAS IRAS speaks

Madam, O good empress!

madam, o good empress!

EROS EROS speaks

Sir, sir!

sir, sir!

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

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.

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.

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 end

CLEOPATRA CLEOPATRA speaks

Ah, stand by.

ah, stand by.

EROS EROS speaks

The Queen, my lord, the Queen!

the queen, my lord, the queen!

IRAS ≋ verse IRAS speaks

Go to him, madam; speak to him.

He is unqualitied with very shame.

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

go to him, madam; speak to him. he is unqualitied with very shame.

CLEOPATRA CLEOPATRA speaks

Well then, sustain me. O!

well then, sustain me. o!

EROS ≋ verse EROS speaks

Most noble sir, arise. The Queen approaches.

Her head’s declined, and death will seize her but

Your comfort makes the rescue.

Most noble sir, arise. The Queen approaches. Her head’s declined, and death will seize her but Your comfort makes the rescue.

most noble sir, arise. the queen approaches. her head’s declined, and death will seize her but your comfort makes the rescue.

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

I have offended reputation,

A most unnoble swerving.

I have offended reputation, A most unnoble swerving.

i have offended reputation, a most unnoble swerving.

EROS EROS speaks

Sir, the Queen.

sir, the queen.

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

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

’Stroyed in dishonour.

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 ’Stroyed in dishonour.

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 ’stroyed in dishonour.

CLEOPATRA ≋ verse CLEOPATRA speaks

O my lord, my lord,

Forgive my fearful sails! I little thought

You would have followed.

O my lord, my lord, Forgive my fearful sails! I little thought You would have followed.

o my lord, my lord, forgive my fearful sails! i little thought you would have followed.

🎭 Dramatic irony Cleopatra says 'I never thought you would follow' — but in 3-7, she pushed for the sea battle and insisted on being present. Her surprise here is either genuine (she panicked without thinking of the consequences) or a version of self-protection. The play doesn't decide which.

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

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.

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.

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 kn

"My heart was to thy rudder tied by th' strings" The image is exact: Antony's heart is not just attracted to Cleopatra, it is physically fastened to her navigation. She doesn't draw him — she tows him. He had no agency.

Why it matters Antony's speech about being 'tied to her rudder' is the play's most complete confession — he is not blaming her, he is describing a fact. And the fact strips him of victimhood: he chose this love knowing it had this power.

CLEOPATRA CLEOPATRA speaks

O, my pardon!

o, my pardon!

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

Now I must

To the young man send humble treaties, dodge

And palter in the shifts of lowness, who

With half the bulk o’ th’ world played as I pleased,

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.

Now I must To the young man send humble treaties, dodge And palter in the shifts of lowness, who With half the bulk o’ th’ world played as I pleased, 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.

now i must to the young man send humble treaties, dodge and palter in the shifts of lowness, who with half the bulk o’ th’ world played as i pleased,

CLEOPATRA CLEOPATRA speaks

Pardon, pardon!

pardon, pardon!

ANTONY ≋ verse ANTONY speaks

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.

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.

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? lo

"We sent our schoolmaster" Antony's 'schoolmaster' is Euphronius — a tutor, sent as an ambassador to Caesar because Antony's professional envoys have all deserted. It is a measure of how far he has fallen.

Why it matters Antony's decision to kiss Cleopatra and call for wine is not weakness — it is his refusal to let shame be the final word. This is the play's first version of his 'let's defy Fortune' theme, which will return more grandly in Act 4.

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

Antony's three 'be gones' to his men, his statement that he has 'lost command,' and his sitting down are among the most physically specific stage directions Shakespeare ever writes into dialogue. Then Cleopatra enters, supported by her women, and the scene becomes something more complicated than recrimination: Antony names what happened — 'my heart was to thy rudder tied by th' strings' — and calls it both truth and catastrophe. And then he kisses her. The play refuses to let shame be the last word.

If this happened today…

A CEO walks out of the company's catastrophic IPO day and tells his senior team to take their bonuses and find other jobs. 'I've lost command,' he says, quietly. He sits down on a bench outside. His wife — who he married partly because investors loved the story of their partnership — comes out and tries to reach him. He says, 'You knew I would follow you. You've always known that.' She asks for forgiveness. He gives it. Then he orders a drink. 'Fortune doesn't get the last word,' he says, though he doesn't entirely believe it.

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