Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra

Please see the bottom of this page for explanatory notes and resources.

ACT IV SCENE VII	Field of battle between the two camps.
[ Alarum. Drums and trumpets. Enter AGRIPPA and others ]
AGRIPPA	Retire, we have engaged ourselves too far:
	Caesar himself has work, and our oppression
	Exceeds what we expected.
[Exeunt]
[Alarums. Enter MARK ANTONY and SCARUS wounded]
SCARUS	O my brave emperor, this is fought indeed!
	Had we done so at first, we had droven them home	5
	With clouts about their heads.
MARK ANTONY	Thou bleed'st apace.
SCARUS	I had a wound here that was like a T,
	But now 'tis made an H.
MARK ANTONY	They do retire.	10
SCARUS	We'll beat 'em into bench-holes: I have yet
	Room for six scotches more.
[Enter EROS]
EROS	They are beaten, sir, and our advantage serves
	For a fair victory.
SCARUS	Let us score their backs,	15
	And snatch 'em up, as we take hares, behind:
	'Tis sport to maul a runner.
MARK ANTONY	I will reward thee
	Once for thy spritely comfort, and ten-fold
	For thy good valour. Come thee on.	20
SCARUS	I'll halt after.
[Exeunt]

Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4, Scene 8
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Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 7
From Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company.
(Line numbers have been altered.)
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2. Oppression. That is, we have ventured too far and met more opposition than we expected.

5. Droven. An old form of "driven."

6. Clouts. That is, with their heads tied up in bandages.

8. T. Shaped like a T.

9. H. A pun is intended here on the word "ache," which was formerly pronounced like the letter H.

16. Snatch. Catch them by the neck as dogs catch hares.

19. Spritely. Spirited, encouraging.

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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_7.html >.

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