This scene in situated at thievery end of the play following Antony’s suicide and before

Cleopatra’s. The depiction of Antony in this scene is similar to previous ones in the
sense that Antony is portrayed as a mythical being that is otherworldly and above
mere mortals. This is something both he and Cleopatra have been described as in the
past by other characters such as Enobarbus, thus by having Cleopatra describe
present Antony in this deific manner it almost adds legitimacy to the idea of Antony
being an external, unreachable figure as even Cleopatra herself cannot reach him at
this time. Therefore Shakespeare uses Cleopatra to accentuate the transcendent
nature of Antony’s character by portraying him metaphysically as something that is
unreachable but is carried throughout history.

Cleopatra initial restores Antony’s deity status, which had been destroyed through his
humiliation in battle, by associating him with the gods. Cleopatra describes Antony as
‘dolphin-like’, the significance of this being that dolphins were also known as
messengers to the gods and considered to be regal creatures. By comparing Antony to
a dolphin, Cleopatra returns him to his former glory in which he was considered to be
like a Demi god among men. This is corroborated where Cleopatra metaphorically
states ‘in his livery// walk’d crowns and crownets’. In the same way as kings and
royalty would be undermined by the higher power of the gods, here they are but
servants to the great figure that is Antony, further portraying Antony as closer to the
gods than to men. Contextually, this line is also interesting as the Romans did not
practise a monarchical regime until Caesar became an emperor, thus suggesting that
through his noble death, Antony was able to reclaim a form of dominance over Caesar
who held power on earth. Overall, Antony is presented in this scene as a powerful
demi-god.

Antony is also presented through this scene as an otherworldly, mythical figure with
control over the elements. Previously there have been connotations between Antony
and the sun and moon, but through Cleopatra’s speech ‘There was no winter in't; an
autumn ’twas //That grew the more by reaping’ Antony is given control over the
seasons and time itself. The imagery behind an unchanging autumn links to the motif
of overabundance and flowing pleasure as Antony seems to bring about an unchaining
fruitful season that is not hindered by the harshness of winter. Through this Antony is
presented as a mythical figure with the ability to stop time at his will, a quality that is
usually associated with the timelessness of Egypt. Through this Cleopatra almost
Egyptianises Antony by associating him with the fertile autumn and its timelessness.
Similarly ‘realms and islands were as plates dropp’d from his pocket’, alluding to
Antony being a figure that is greater even than the clay kingdoms that surround him,
another motif that is resonant through ought the play. This counterplay between the
‘dungy earthy’ and the extraordinary characters that are not constrained by it such as
Antony and Cleopatra is further highlighted through ‘his voice was propertied as all
the tuned spheres’ but ‘when he meant to quail and shake the orb, //He was as rattling
thunder’. The contrast between Antony’s melodic voice and his shouts of thunder is
just one example of the battling contrasts within Antony that accentuate his
otherworldly and mythical side.

Finally, Cleopatra presents Antony as a character who is beyond a deific status and a
mythical status through the metaphysical world that he touches. There is a comedic
deflation and bathos through the brevity of Dolabella’s lines which add to the idea
that Cleopatra and Antony are ‘peerless’ in the sense that they are the only ones who
can begin to make sense of the other whilst the rest of the earth remains unable to
transcend to their level. Where Cleopatra says ‘Think you there was, or might be, such
a man As this I dream'd of?’, the audience are reminded that this fanciful story was
nothing more than a dream Cleopatra concocted of Antony, furthering his mythical
status. However, there is an element of the meta in play here as Cleopatra describes
this image as ‘s past the size of dreaming’, stating that it defies nature itself, alluding
to the idea that an image so great could only be concocted, in the same way the play
was created and is the work of the imagination entwining with reality. Thus by
describing Antony as ‘nature's piece 'gainst fancy’ Cleopatra is highlighting the
artificial nature of the image of Antony that is portrayed throughout the play.

To conclude, Antony is presented in this scene as an otherworldly character which is

beyond the imagination. Through this depiction, Shakespeare dances between reality
and the fanciful, allowing his audience to discern what is real about the portrayal of
Antony and what is concocted by the imagination.