The Triumvir
In the first act of the play, Roman generals discuss Antony's transgressions in Egypt. Philo calls Antony the "triple pillar of the world" who will eventually be "transformed / Into a strumpet's fool" (1.1). In this metaphor, Philo equates Antony with an architectural structure responsible for the weight of the entire world. He here refers to the Roman Triumvirate, the three-person political alliance in charge of Rome of which Antony was a part. To Philo and most of the Roman characters, the Triumvirate is a force that governs not just Rome, but the whole world, as Rome's empire was vast and expanding and they saw themselves as the center of culture and progress. This early description of Antony establishes the stakes of the play, as the Roman generals perceive that the power of Rome and the Triumvirate will be threatened by Antony's attachment to Cleopatra.
Antony and Cleopatra's Love
Cleopatra uses a metaphor when she says of her relationship with Antony, "Eternity was in our lips and in our eyes, / Bliss in our brows' bent" (1.3). Cleopatra's dream-like figurative assertion that eternity existed within her and Antony's body parts underscores both the extent to which they are drawn together and the reality that their love is often a fantasy enjoyed only by them. The metaphor of time collapsing between to lovers' bodies was a common one in early modern English poetry, and is most often associated with the metaphysical movement that attempted to wed large spiritual ideas with bodily phenomena.
Ship Love
In Act three, Antony says to Cleopatra, "Egypt, thou knew'st too well / My heart was to thy rudder tied by th'strings / And thou shouldst tow me after" (3.1). This assertion comes after Cleopatra fleas the Battle of Actium and Antony breaks through the enemy line to follow her. Here, he compares himself to an object being pulled by a ship, and Cleopatra to the ship itself. This metaphor underscores the passivity and devotion Antony has toward Cleopatra, which the Roman generals were wary of in the first act of the play.
Morsel
Throughout the play, Cleopatra is referred to as a "morsel" for Roman generals. While readers might interpret this language as derogatory and misogynistic, it is at one point Cleopatra herself to delights in having been "a morsel for a monarch" in her younger days with Julius Caesar (1.5). This metaphor helps further the association of Cleopatra with pleasure and hedonism while also ironically comparing her to something small and insignificant. In reality, Cleopatra is perceived as overflowing with sensuality and power.
Cleopatra's Throne
In Act 2, Enobarbus recalls seeing Cleopatra on a barge floating down the Nile. In a passage lifted almost verbatim from Shakespeare's source material, Plutarch's Lives, Enobarbus says, "The barged she sat in, like a burnish'd throne, / Burned on the water" (2.2). In this simile, Enobarbus compares the barge to a grand throne fit for a queen, suggesting that Cleopatra's presence is so powerful it can transform ordinary objects and places into extraordinary and majestic settings.
