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Similes
Act 4
Explanation and Analysis—Every Man's Cleopatra:
In Act 4, Ventidius and Octavia try to convince Antony that Cleopatra has betrayed him by taking up with Dollabella. However, their attempt is full of dramatic irony, as the audience knows that no such sordid affair has taken place:
Ventidius: [Dollabella] went by your command,
Indeed ’tis probable, with some kind message,
For she received it graciously: she smiled, And then he grew familiar with her hand,
Squeezed it, and worried it with ravenous kisses.
She blushed, and sighed, and smiled, and blushed again;
At last she took occasion to talk softly,
And brought her cheek up close, and leaned on his,
At which he whispered kisses back on hers,
And then she cried aloud that ‘constancy
Should be rewarded.
Related Themes:
Act 5
Explanation and Analysis—Art Thou Dead?:
In Act 5, Alexas tells Antony that Cleopatra has killed herself, leading him to mournfully lament the death of his beloved and, soon after, take his own life. Of course, the audience knows that Cleopatra is not dead at all and is instead hiding inside her monument. Thus, Antony’s heartfelt lament in the passage below is an excellent example of dramatic irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Then art thou innocent, my poor dear love?
And art thou dead?
Oh those two words! Their sound should be divided:
Hadst thou been false, and died; or hadst thou lived,
And hadst been true—but innocence and death!
This shows not well above. Then what am I,
The murderer of this truth, this innocence?
Thoughts cannot form themselves in words so horrid
As can express my guilt!
Related Themes:
