Source: "Antonyand Cleopatra," in All ofShakespeare,
Columbia University Press, 1993, pp. 289-98.
[Charney discusses Cleopatra from the pomt of view of other characters in the play. He asserts that E nobarbus, fur example, sees her in "objective" but flamboyant term, while Antony who knows her personally- does not use exaggerated language to describe her. Charney also notes that Cleopatra is character. ized via food metaphors and sensual images; her depiction can be contrasted with that of Antony's new Roman wife, Octavia, who is presented coldly via "building imagery. "]
The most puzzling figure in Antony and Cleopatra is Cleopatra herself, Shakespeare's most complex representation of a woman. As Enobarbus explains her charms (and the reason that Antony, though newly married to Octavia, will return to Egypt), "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her.....
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