Antony and Cleopatra, Act 2
883Lines
7Scenes
19Speakers
86% / 14%Male / Female Lines
Act 2 of Antony and Cleopatra runs 883 lines across 7 scenes with 19 speaking characters — about 24.8% of the full play.
Opens (Scene 1) — Pompey: “If the great gods be just, they shall assist”
Closes (Scene 7) — Menas: “To these great fellows: sound and be hang'd, sound out!”
The 7 scenes of Act 2
| Scene | Lines | Speakers | Share of act |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | 62 | 4 | 7.0% |
| Scene 2 | 290 | 6 | 32.8% |
| Scene 3 | 48 | 4 | 5.4% |
| Scene 4 | 15 | 3 | 1.7% |
| Scene 5 | 146 | 5 | 16.5% |
| Scene 6 | 161 | 6 | 18.2% |
| Scene 7 | 161 | 8 | 18.2% |
Who speaks in Act 2
Leading voice: Mark Antony with 18% of Act 2’s dialogue (157 lines).
| Character | Lines in act | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Antony ♂ | 157 | 17.8% |
| Pompey ♂ | 140 | 15.9% |
| Domitius Enobarbus ♂ | 138 | 15.6% |
| Cleopatra ♀ | 109 | 12.3% |
| Octavius Caesar ♂ | 88 | 10.0% |
| Menas ♂ | 64 | 7.2% |
| Lepidus ♂ | 51 | 5.8% |
Characters first heard in Act 2
| Character | Lines in play |
|---|---|
| Pompey ♂ | 140 |
| Menas ♂ | 64 |
| Agrippa ♂ | 61 |
| Mecaenas ♂ | 37 |
| Octavia ♀ | 36 |
| First Servant ♂ | 9 |
| Second Servant ♂ | 7 |
| Menecrates ♂ | 6 |
Pacing across the 7 scenes
Scene lengths in Act 2 range from Scene 4 (15 lines, the shortest) to Scene 2 (290 lines, the longest), averaging about 126 lines per scene.
Who carries the voice in Act 2
Act 2 is male-dominant even by the play’s standards — female share drops to 14%, compared to 24% overall.
Act 2
Male 761 · Female 122
How Act 2 of Antony and Cleopatra compares to other tragedies
| Play | Act 2 lines | Scenes |
|---|---|---|
| Antony and Cleopatra (this act) | 883 | 7 |
| Coriolanus | 762 | 3 |
| Hamlet | 748 | 2 |
| Othello | 735 | 3 |
| Romeo and Juliet | 685 | 7 |
| King Lear | 678 | 4 |
| Julius Caesar | 552 | 4 |
| Titus Andronicus | 538 | 4 |
| Macbeth | 396 | 4 |
| Timon of Athens | 291 | 2 |
About Act 2 of Antony and Cleopatra
How many lines are in Act 2 of Antony and Cleopatra?
883 lines spread across 7 scenes.
Which scene is the heaviest in Act 2?
Scene 2, at 290 lines — well above the act’s scene average.