His
face was as the heavens; and therein stuck
A
sun and moon, which kept their course, and lighted
The
little O, the earth.
Antony has just died, a few pages back, and now Dolabella, one of Caesar’s lackeys, has come to talk to Cleopatra. I should say, he’s trying to talk to her, but she’s not listening to him, she’s just talking to herself, musing on her love, Antony. I like this passage and the way she describes Antony. Check it out.
Cleo
I dreamt there was an emperor, Antony:--
O, such another sleep, that I might see
But such another man!
Dol
If it might please ye,-
Cleo
His face was as the heavens; and therein stuck
A sun and moon, which kept their course, and lighted
The little O, the earth.
Dol
Most sovereign creature,--
Cleo
His legs bestrid the ocean: his rear’d arm
Crested the world; his voice was propertied
As all the tuned spheres, and that to friends;
But when he meant to quail and shake the orb,
He was as rattling thunder. For his bounty,
There was no winter in’t; an autumn ‘twas
That grew the more by reaping: his delights
Were dolphin-like; they show’d his back above
That element they lived in: in his livery
Walkt crowns and crownets; realms and islands were
As plates dropt from his pocket.
Dol
Cleopatra,--
Cleo
Think you there was, or might be, such a man
As this I dreamt of?
Dol
Gentle madam, no.
Oh yes there is, or was. At least as far as Cleopatra is concerned, there certainly was such a man.
And who do we have here? Well, it's someone who certainly thinks his face was as the heavens and that realms and islands were as plates dropt from his pockets. But such is not the case. This is Gaston, not Antony. Sorry Gaston.
2 comments:
I found it interesting to see the interruptions shown. I had thought that was more of an attribute of modern writing and text!
There's a lot of stuff in Will's works that is both interesting and surprising, not to mention relevant to today's world (i.e. modern).
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