Antony and Cleopatra

In this essay I will explore the transformations of two signs that structure Antony and Cleopatra: performance and writing. As each circulates in the diverse dramatic contexts of the play, they articulate its thematic elements into a series of varying relations which operate at different levels of abstraction; from interactions between principles of flow and constraint, through the construction of characters' honour, virtue, or reputation, to what might be the perceived meaning of the physical …

…my helmet to My countryman: a Roman by a Roman Valiantly vanquish'd. (4.15.52-58) After a series of scenes in which the performances of Antony and Cleopatra have failed to live up to their reputations, Cleopatra--admitting her theatricality via the meta-theatrical device above--stages a self-conscious performance that will assure their reputations are perpetuated beyond the limits of Caesar's newly-established imperial power: Give me my robe, put on my crown, I have Immortal longings in me. (5.2.279-280)