ANTONY         Caesar sits down in Alexandria, where

I will oppose his fate. Our force by land

Hath nobly held; our severed navy too

Have knit again, and fleet, threat’ning most sea-like.

Where hast thou been, my heart? Dost thou hear, lady?

If from the field I shall return once more

To kiss these lips, I will appear in blood.

I and my sword will earn our chronicle.

There’s hope in’t yet.

CLEOPATRA   That’s my brave lord.           (3.13.170-178)

Antony’s rallied, and he’s ready to fight another day; enough self-pity, it’s time for action. Caesar sits down in Alexandria—he’s encamped there, perhaps even besieged it—and there Antony will oppose his fate, he’ll take the fight back to him, and change his fortunes, pursue a different outcome; he’s not going to settle for defeat. He bolsters morale, looks on the bright side: our force by land hath nobly held; we’ve still got our army, and they’ve held the line, they’re still battle-ready. And our severed navy too have knit again, and fleet, threat’ning, most sea-like: even though they were scattered by that disastrous fight at sea, they’ve regrouped, they’re afloat, sea-worthy, and they’re battle ready again too. Let’s do this, let’s give it another go; we can do it!

And, where hast thou been, my heart? He’s probably addressing Cleopatra, back to the familiar thou: have you come back to me? Are we OK, the two of us, against the world, once again? Dost thou hear, lady? What I just said then, about rallying the troops, not accepting defeat, taking the fight back to Caesar once more? I’m going to do it. And, if from the field I shall return once more to kiss these lips—if I make it back alive—and surely he kisses her, or is about to—I will appear in blood. I’m going out there to win, and I’m not taking any prisoners; I’ll come back full of passion and high spirits. A glance forward to Coriolanus there, sort of: it sounds as if Antony’s promising that he’ll come back covered in blood—which may well be the case—but actually he’s saying that he’ll come back full of manly vigour, desire, potency, and sexual energy. War is a turn-on, and for Cleopatra too, he knows: this is a threat and a promise. I and my sword—he means both his weapon and his sexual potency—will earn our chronicle. I’ll be the great general of the histories once more—and the great lover too. There’s hope in’t yet—while there’s life, and there’s certainly life in the old dog yet.

There’s my brave lord! Cleopatra knows exactly what he’s saying.