CLEOPATRA   O, Charmian,

Where think’st thou he is now? Stands he or sits he?

Or does he walk? Or is he on his horse?

O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!

Do bravely, horse, for wot’st thou whom thou mov’st—

The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm

And burgonet of men.          (1.5.18-24)

Cleopatra’s temporarily exhausted the possibilities of bawdy banter with Mardian, or indeed of genuine enquiry into the sexual and emotional lives of eunuchs, and she’s also forgotten that, a moment ago, she was annoyed with Charmian and ignoring her. So she returns to her theme: Antony. No need to ask who he is. O, Charmian, where think’st thou he is now? But it’s not really about where, it’s what he’s doing, and not even really about what’s Antony’s up to, but how is his very body to be pictured at this moment—utterly unknowable, and yet vital and vivid. Stands he or sits he? Or does he walk? And for every one of those, Cleopatra is picturing her lover, standing, sitting, walking, each one more active. Or is he on his horse? A new possibility, and perhaps a beat to allow this mental image to form, equestrian Antony, dominant, powerful, imperial. A smile has to break into this reverie, though, gleeful and a bit louche: O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony! No doubt at all what kind of riding she’s imagining, and indeed remembering; there could be a shriek or a giggle from Charmian, Iras and Mardian too. A recovery of dignity, or mock dignity, no no, I’m really just thinking about the horse: do bravely, horse, put your best hoof forward and pick up your feet; be mindful, wot’st, know thou whom thou mov’st. For Antony is the demi-Atlas of this earth, holding up half the world (that is, with Caesar; Cleopatra doesn’t rate Lepidus either), massive, muscly, monumental. (Antony holds up more than half Cleopatra’s own world, for all that she’d be reluctant to admit it, not least to him.) And he is also the arm and burgonet of men, literally their armour and their helmet, their sword and shield. Antony’s not just Cleopatra’s hero, he’s everyone’s hero.