Editing Antony and Cleopatra (section)

==== Power dynamics ====
[[File:M Antonius.jpg|thumb|A [[Roman sculpture|Roman bust]] of the [[Roman consul|consul]] and [[triumvir]] [[Mark Antony]], [[Vatican Museums]]]]

As a play concerning the relationship between two empires, the dynamics of power 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.<ref name="Hall" /> As an imperialist power, Rome takes its power in the ability to change the world.<ref name="Crane" /> 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:
<blockquote><poem>
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.<ref>''Antony and Cleopatra'' I.1.2–10</ref>
</poem></blockquote>

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".<ref name="Crane" /> Critic Lisa Starks says that "Cleopatra [comes] to signify the double-image of the "temptress/goddess".<ref name="Starks" /> She is continually described in unearthly terms, extending to her description as the goddess Venus.

<blockquote><poem>
...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.<ref>''Antony and Cleopatra'' II.2.203–207</ref>
</poem></blockquote>

This mysteriousness connected with the supernatural not only captures the audience and Antony, but also draws all other characters' focus. As a subject of conversation even when not present in the scene, Cleopatra is continually a central point, therefore demanding control of the stage.<ref name="Pal" />{{rp|p.605}} As an object of sexual desire, she is connected to the Roman need to conquer.<ref name="Starks" /> Her mixture of sexual prowess with political power is a threat to Roman politics. She retains her deep 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."<ref>''Antony and Cleopatra'' III.7.37–38</ref> 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 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."<ref>''Antony and Cleopatra'' III.11.65–68</ref>