What happens in Act II of Antony and Cleopatra?
Act II opens with the political machinery of Rome clashing with personal interests. Pompey, feeling confident in his naval power and the unrest he believes Antony's absence has caused, gets ready to challenge the triumvirate. However, his expectations are dashed when news comes that Antony has returned to Rome. The heart of the act lies in the uneasy reconciliation at Misenum: Antony, Octavius Caesar, and Lepidus negotiate a fragile peace, sealed by the arranged marriage between Antony and Octavia, Caesar's sister. Meanwhile, Enobarbus shares his famous description of Cleopatra on her barge at Cydnus with the Roman Agrippa and Maecenas—a speech that makes the marriage agreement feel empty before it's even finalized. The act concludes with Pompey accepting terms on his galley, where a banquet turns wild, and Menas quietly suggests that Pompey could seize control of the world by eliminating the triumvirs—a proposal Pompey declines, citing a point of honor. Soothsayer and servant scenes weave omens throughout the political dealings, and Antony confides that he will return to Egypt despite his commitments to Rome.
Analysis
Act II is where Shakespeare sharply highlights the disparity between public appearances and private realities. The marriage to Octavia is presented as a strategic move—a "hoop" to keep the triumvirs united—yet Enobarbus's speech about Cydnus immediately undermines this notion. Shakespeare bestows the most enchanting lines of the play not upon a lover but a straightforward soldier, effectively making Cleopatra's influence palpable even in her absence. The structure of the speech mirrors excess: clauses accumulate and spill over, and the senses blur ("she did lie / In her pavilion, cloth-of-gold of tissue, / O'erpicturing that Venus"), reflecting the sensory allure that Antony finds irresistible.
The exchange between Menas and Pompey serves as a concise exploration of honor as a self-defeating act. Pompey rejects the assassination plot simply because it was verbalized—had Menas acted without informing him, he would have felt grateful. Here, honor is purely performative: it demands an audience and a degree of plausible deniability.
Shakespeare also uses the Soothsayer as a pivotal element in the structure. His warning to Antony—that Caesar's "lustre thickens" whenever Antony is close—functions more as a psychological insight than a supernatural prediction. Antony hears it, believes it, and still opts for Rome over Egypt in the immediate sense, illustrating self-awareness that ultimately fails to change his actions. The tonal contrasts between the chaotic revelry of the banquet and the stark formality of the treaty table maintain a productive tension throughout the act.
Key quotes from Act II
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety.”
Enobarbus speaks to Agrippa and Maecenas in Rome, explaining why Antony will never truly leave Cleopatra despite his new Roman marriage.
“I will to Egypt; / And though I make this marriage for my peace, / I' th' East my pleasure lies.”
Antony confesses in soliloquy immediately after the treaty is sealed, making explicit the doomed contradiction at the heart of the act's political settlement.
“Thy lustre thickens / When he shines by. I say again, thy spirit / Is all afraid to govern thee near him.”
The Soothsayer warns Antony that his fortune is always eclipsed in Caesar's presence, urging him to return to Egypt.