1. Antony & Cleopatra
Act III: Scenes

2. A Brief Summary
•Rome and Egypt in the midst of battle, with Camidius (Antony) on one side and Tawrus (Caesar’s lieutenant)
•Antony fled the battle due to Cleopatra because he followed her running away from the battle.
•Scarrus will follow the them to Greece while Camidius will not, instead he surrenders to Caesar along with the six kings.
•Anto is mad with grief and urges his attendants to take his treasures and flee, but they refuse.
•Next scene, he speaks how Caesar won despite the odds were against him.
•Blames Cleo for fleeing because she knows that he will follow him.
•Cleo begs for forgiveness and they both reconcile.
•They feast despite the impending doom that awaits them.

3. Significance Of The Scenes
•Antony is defeated for the first time. [We will take more about this later]
•Reason: He underestimated Caesar – an error that he, as an experienced soldier should have anticipated.
•Lots of character developments in Enorbarbus, Antony, and Cleopatra.
•Same goes for key themes.
•Romance between the two is not wavered.

4. Development Of The Key Themes & Characters
•Conflict between public duties and private desires
–In Scene 11, he abandoned his duty as an important soldier for love (Cleopatra)
–Antony prided himself in being a rational general. His love for Cleopatra has changed that, and in the next few scenes, at times he will seem to be petty, over-critical, and often too eager to make excuses for himself.
•Transcendent love between two lovers
–Even though they argued, they made up very quickly.
–They even had a feast in the midst of chaos, not caring about it.
–Shows how important their love is even when the situation is bad.

5. Characters •Enorbarbus •Antony
–“Naught, naught, all naught!” & “Alack, alack!”
–Panicked a lot.
–Uses repetition, increasing emotional intensity.
–“I’ll yet follow the wounded chance of Antony, though my reason sits in the midst against me.”
–However, he stayed by Antony side at the end of Scene 10 even though it brings no benefit to him.
–Showing how loyal he is to Antony.
•Antony
–Refer to Act 3, Scene 11, Line 7 – 25
–Showed signs of frustration, confusion and self pity for the first time.

6. Characters
•Antony
–In that highlighted passage, he shows lots of shame.
–Uses a combination of verses and hyphens to emphasize this emotions.
–Verses shows how angry he is at himself and Cleopatra.
–Also showed his vulnerabilities for the first time. He was one of the darkest and weakest moment for him.
–His ego is affected due to his poor judgements.
–All these adds character depth, making the audience to show signs of sympathy.
•Cleopatra
–Feels guilty as she is one of the reasons why Antony lost in the battle.
–“Pardon, pardon!.”
–Prays for forgiveness.
–Shows how manipulative she is when it comes to dealing with his emotions, but at the same time she genuinely feels remorse.
–Makes her a very complex character.

7. Opening And Closing Of The Acts
–The opening starts off in the midst of war.
–Also starts with Enobarbus an Scarrus panicking but they have resolved decisions at the end
•Act 11
–Begins dealing with the aftermath of the war.
–Also starts with Antony blaming himself.
–But ends with him moving on from his troubles.

8. How Does This Affect The Rest Of The Play?
•Antony showing deep signs of vulnerability is very significant.
•This marks his actual beginning on his downfall.
•But his noticeable change begins here.
•Hence, shows forebodings here he commits suicide at the end of the play.