Student Question

What offer does Octavius make to Cleopatra in All for Love?

Expert Answers

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Octavius sends Cleopatra a letter or "writing" offering her all of Syria and Egypt if she will join forces with him.

When Antony is accusing Cleopatra of treachery, she hands him the letter, and he cries out,

See, see, Ventidius! here he [Octavius] offers Egypt,

And joins all Syria to it, as a present ...

This convinces Antony that Cleopatra has betrayed him until she says to him that she refused Octavius's generous offer. She calls it a mere "trifle," or nothing, compared to the love she holds for Antony. She says,

Indeed I do: I have refused a kingdom;
That is a trifle;
For I could part with life, with anything,
But only you. Oh, let me die but with you!

This dramatic utterance "melts" Antony, who falls back under her spell. We see in this scene Cleopatra's power: she knows just when to reveal startling information to Antony so that he is overwhelmed and can't resist her. He is so stunned by what she has refused Octavius for his sake that he is willing to do whatever she wants.

Cleopatra presses her advantage, telling Antony to go on to battle and forsake her. She calls herself a "weak" woman who should be left to die. Of course, Cleopatra is anything but weak. She is using her advantage over Antony to raise his protective instincts to the highest pitch so that she can tighten her hold over him.

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