Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4 Scene 9 runs 44 lines of dialogue, spoken by 4 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 85 lines. This scene is part of Act 4 of Antony and Cleopatra.
Full Dialogue
First Soldier ♂
If 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.
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 Soldier ♂
This last day was
A shrewd one to's.
A shrewd one to's.
Domitius Enobarbus ♂
O, bear me witness, night,–
Third Soldier ♂
What man is this?
Second Soldier ♂
Stand close, and list him.
Domitius Enobarbus ♂
Be witness to me, O thou blessed moon,
When men revolted shall upon record
Bear hateful memory, poor Enobarbus did
Before thy face repent!
When men revolted shall upon record
Bear hateful memory, poor Enobarbus did
Before thy face repent!
First Soldier ♂
Enobarbus!
Third Soldier ♂
Peace!
Hark further.
Hark further.
Domitius Enobarbus ♂
O 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 heart
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;
But let the world rank me in register
A master-leaver and a fugitive:
O Antony! O Antony!
The poisonous damp of night disponge upon me,
That life, a very rebel to my will,
May hang no longer on me: throw my heart
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;
But let the world rank me in register
A master-leaver and a fugitive:
O Antony! O Antony!
Second Soldier ♂
Let's speak To him.
First Soldier ♂
Let's hear him, for the things he speaks
May concern Caesar.
May concern Caesar.
Third Soldier ♂
Let's do so. But he sleeps.
First Soldier ♂
Swoons rather; for so bad a prayer as his
Was never yet for sleep.
Was never yet for sleep.
Second Soldier ♂
Go we to him.
Third Soldier ♂
Awake, sir, awake; speak to us.
Second Soldier ♂
Hear you, sir?
First Soldier ♂
The hand of death hath raught him.
Hark! the drums
Demurely wake the sleepers. Let us bear him
To the court of guard; he is of note: our hour
Is fully out.
Hark! the drums
Demurely wake the sleepers. Let us bear him
To the court of guard; he is of note: our hour
Is fully out.
Third Soldier ♂
Come on, then;
He may recover yet.
He may recover yet.
44 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Domitius Enobarbus | 17 | 38.6% |
| First Soldier | 14 | 31.8% |
| Third Soldier | 7 | 15.9% |
| Second Soldier | 6 | 13.6% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 17 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 11 lines.
Total speakers on stage
4 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 4
This is Scene 9 of 15 in Act 4 of Antony and Cleopatra.
Scene length vs. play average
At 44 lines, this scene is shorter than the Antony and Cleopatra average scene in Antony and Cleopatra (~85 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 4 Scene 8 · Next: Act 4 Scene 10