ANTONY                                             Betrayed I am.

O this false soul of Egypt! This grave charm,

Whose eye becked forth my wars and called them home,

Whose bosom was my crownet, my chief end,

Like a right gipsy hath at fast and loose

Beguiled me to the very heart of loss.

What, Eros, Eros!

Enter Cleopatra

Ah, thou spell! Avaunt.          (4.13.24-30)

Betrayed I am: that’s what Antony is insisting; this isn’t about the gradual trickle of desertions or the long, drawn-out process of attrition. This is betrayal, so far as he’s concerned, and betrayal specifically by Cleopatra, this false—unfaithful as well as deceptive—soul of Egypt. This grave charm, powerful and deadly (he’s still thinking of Cleopatra as an enchantress, but also, here, as a kind of totem, a lucky charm) whose eye becked forth my wars and called them home—becked is beckoned, but also the idea of total control, being at Cleopatra’s beck and call; Antony made war at her command, looking for her favour—gazing on her, and aware of her gaze following him; Cleopatra had mesmerised him. And her bosom was his crownet; he did it all for her, her heart, her love, her embraces—her breasts, too—were his greatest prize; being in her arms was his reward, his crown of victory. I did it all for her! Antony cries; she was my motive, and she kept me going, kept me winning. That’s who’s betrayed me! Like a right gipsy, she’s cheated me, deceived me, played at fast and loose with her favours and my fortunes and, rather than clasping me to her bosom in triumph (and there’s a sense of safety and security there too; Antony’s lost and been betrayed by his safe haven, as he thinks) she has beguiled me to the very heart of loss, deceived me and betrayed me to devastation, utter perdition. What, Eros, Eros! Not only is he calling for his loyal servant, one of the few remaining to him, but Eros’s name (as is so often the case) is also about Antony reproaching himself for his own fondness, rebuking love itself. Eros! And it’s not Eros who enters at Antony’s summons, but rather Cleopatra. Ah, thou spell! Avaunt! Witch! Get away from me! Begone!