In this passage from Act 2, Scene 3, Antony soliloquizes, speaking openly about his thoughts on Caesar and their rivalry:
He shall to Parthia. Be it art or hap,
He hath spoken true. The very dice obey him,
And in our sports my better cunning faints
Under his chance. If we draw lots, he speeds;
His cocks do win the battle still of mine
When it is all to naught, and his quails ever
Beat mine, inhooped, at odds. I will to Egypt.
And though I make this marriage for my peace,
I’ th’ East my pleasure lies.
This particular soliloquy alerts the audience members to Antony's personal thoughts about Caesar, as opposed to the filtered opinions he communicates to those around him. Antony believes Caesar is remarkably lucky—after all, the soothsayers have told him as much—but he does not believe that Caesar is his equal in intellectual or strategic capacity. Given Caesar's penchant for winning in situations that require luck, however, Antony does not trust his own chances. This juxtaposition of Caesar's luck and Antony's innate ability features heavily throughout the play, contributing to the general air of foreboding surrounding the fate of Antony. Audience members cannot help but feel that, as a tragic character, Antony is destined for an unlucky end.
