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Antony and Cleopatra

Please see the bottom of this page for explanatory notes and resources.
ACT IV SCENE IX Octavius Caesar's camp. 
[Sentinels at their post]
First SoldierIf we be not relieved within this hour,
We must return to the court of guard: the night
Is shiny; and they say we shall embattle
By the second hour i' the morn.
Second SoldierThis last day was5
A shrewd one to's.
[Enter DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS]
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUSO, bear me witness, night,--
Third SoldierWhat man is this?
Second SoldierStand close, and list him.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUSBe witness to me, O thou blessed moon,10
When men revolted shall upon record
Bear hateful memory, poor Enobarbus did
Before thy face repent!
First SoldierEnobarbus!
Third SoldierPeace!15
Hark further.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUSO sovereign mistress of true melancholy,
The poisonous damp of night disponge upon me,
That life, a very rebel to my will,
May hang no longer on me: throw my heart20
Against the flint and hardness of my fault:
Which, being dried with grief, will break to powder,
And finish all foul thoughts. O Antony,
Nobler than my revolt is infamous,
Forgive me in thine own particular;25
But let the world rank me in register
A master-leaver and a fugitive:
O Antony! O Antony!
[Dies]
Second SoldierLet's speak To him.
First SoldierLet's hear him, for the things he speaks30
May concern Caesar.
Third SoldierLet's do so. But he sleeps.
First SoldierSwoons rather; for so bad a prayer as his
Was never yet for sleep.
Second SoldierGo we to him.35
Third SoldierAwake, sir, awake; speak to us.
Second SoldierHear you, sir?
First SoldierThe hand of death hath raught him.
[Drums afar off]
Hark! the drums
Demurely wake the sleepers. Let us bear him40
To the court of guard; he is of note: our hour
Is fully out.
Third SoldierCome on, then;
He may recover yet.
[Exeunt with the body]


Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4, Scene 10
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Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 9
From Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company.
(Line numbers have been altered.)
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2. Court of guard. The guard room where the sentinels muster.

3. Shiny. Clear.

3. Embattle. Muster for battle.

6. Shrewd. Bad, unfortunate.

9. List. Listen to him.

11. Revolted. Who have revolted, been traitors.

17. Melancholy. The influence of the moon was supposed to produce madness.

18. Disponge. Shed like a sponge.

20. Throw my heart. Johnson regards this line as a conceit unworthy of Shakespeare.

25. Particular. That is, as far as you yourself are concerned, but let the world call me a traitor.

38. Raught. Reached him.

40. Demurely. That is, gravely, with measured beat of drums, as befits so serious a day as the one before us.

41. Note. Importance, rank.

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How to cite the explanatory notes:

Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company, 1908. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/antony_4_9.html >.

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