As a play concerning the relationship between two empires, the presence of a power dynamic is apparent and becomes a recurring theme.
Antony and Cleopatra battle over this dynamic as heads of state, yet the theme of power also resonates in their romantic relationship.
The Roman ideal of power lies in a political nature taking a base in economical control.
As an imperialist power, Rome takes its power in the ability to change the world.
As a Roman man, Antony is expected to fulfill certain qualities pertaining to his Roman masculine power, especially in the war arena and in his duty as a soldier:
Those his goodly eyes,

That o'er the files and musters of the war

Have glowed like plated mars, now bend, now turn

The office and devotion of their view

Upon a tawny front.
His captain's heart,

Which in the scuffles of greatness hath burst

The buckles on his breast, reneges all tempers,

And is becomes the bellows and the fan

To cool a gipsy's lust.

Cleopatra's character is slightly unpindown-able, as her character identity retains a certain aspect of mystery.
She embodies the mystical, exotic, and dangerous nature of Egypt as the "serpent of old Nile".
Critic Lisa Starks says that "Cleopatra [comes] to signify the double-image of the "temptress/goddess".
She is continually described in an unearthly nature which extends to her description as the goddess Venus.

...For her own person,

It beggared all description.
She did lie

In her pavilion—cloth of gold, of tissue—

O'er-picturing that Venus where we see

The fancy outwork nature.

This mysteriousness attached with the supernatural not only captures the audience and Antony, but also, draws all other characters' focus.
As a center of conversation when not present in the scene, Cleopatra is continually a central point, therefore demanding the control of the stage.
As an object of sexual desire, she is attached to the Roman need to conquer.
Her mix of sexual prowess with the political power is a threat to Roman politics.
She retains her heavy involvement in the military aspect of her rule, especially when she asserts herself as "the president of [her] kingdom will/ Appear there for a man."
Where the dominating power lies is up for interpretation, yet there are several mentions of the power exchange in their relationship in the text.
Antony remarks on Cleopatra's power over him multiple times throughout the play, the most obvious being attached to sexual innuendo: "You did know / How much you were my conqueror, and that / My sword, made weak by my affection, would / Obey it on all cause."
As a play concerning the relationship between two empires, the presence of a power dynamic is apparent and becomes a recurring theme. Antony and Cleopatra battle over this dynamic as heads of state, yet the theme of power also resonates in their romantic relationship. The Roman ideal of power lies in a political nature taking a base in economical control. As an imperialist power, Rome takes its power in the ability to change the world. As a Roman man, Antony is expected to fulfill certain qualities pertaining to his Roman masculine power, especially in the war arena and in his duty as a soldier:
Those his goodly eyes,

That o'er the files and musters of the war

Have glowed like plated mars, now bend, now turn

The office and devotion of their view

Upon a tawny front. His captain's heart,

Which in the scuffles of greatness hath burst

The buckles on his breast, reneges all tempers,

And is becomes the bellows and the fan

To cool a gipsy's lust.
Cleopatra's character is slightly unpindown-able, as her character identity retains a certain aspect of mystery. She embodies the mystical, exotic, and dangerous nature of Egypt as the "serpent of old Nile". Critic Lisa Starks says that "Cleopatra [comes] to signify the double-image of the "temptress/goddess". She is continually described in an unearthly nature which extends to her description as the goddess Venus.
...For her own person,

It beggared all description. She did lie

In her pavilion—cloth of gold, of tissue—

O'er-picturing that Venus where we see

The fancy outwork nature.
This mysteriousness attached with the supernatural not only captures the audience and Antony, but also, draws all other characters' focus. As a center of conversation when not present in the scene, Cleopatra is continually a central point, therefore demanding the control of the stage. As an object of sexual desire, she is attached to the Roman need to conquer. Her mix of sexual prowess with the political power is a threat to Roman politics. She retains her heavy involvement in the military aspect of her rule, especially when she asserts herself as "the president of [her] kingdom will/ Appear there for a man." Where the dominating power lies is up for interpretation, yet there are several mentions of the power exchange in their relationship in the text. Antony remarks on Cleopatra's power over him multiple times throughout the play, the most obvious being attached to sexual innuendo: "You did know / How much you were my conqueror, and that / My sword, made weak by my affection, would / Obey it on all cause."
Antony and Cleopatra