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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—A Woman's Toy:
During their initial reunion in Act 1, Ventidius uses metaphors to emphasize to Antony how dangerous his relationship with Cleopatra has become:
Oh, she has decked his ruin with her love,
Led him in golden bands to gaudy slaughter,
And made perdition pleasing: she has left him
The blank of what he was.
I tell thee, eunuch, she has quite unmanned him.
Related Themes:
Act 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Jewel's Gone:
Heartbroken by the false news of Cleopatra’s death in Act 5, Antony uses a sequence of metaphors to express the depth of his devastation:
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What should I fight for now? My Queen is dead.
I was but great for her; my power, my empire
Were but my merchandise to buy her love,
And conquered kings, my factors. Now she’s dead,
Let Caesar take the world—
An empty circle, since the jewel’s gone
Which made it worth my strife; my being’s nauseous,
For all the bribes of life are gone away.
Related Themes:
