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Act 4, Scene 7 Summary of Antony and Cleopatra
Act 4, Scene 7 of Antony and Cleopatra is a brief, action-packed scene that takes place on the battlefield between the two camps. It depicts a rare fleeting moment of military triumph for Antony’s land forces. The scene opens in the midst of battle with Caesar’s commander, Agrippa, ordering his troops to retreat. He realises that they have overextended their lines, stating, “Retire, we have engaged ourselves too far,” and notes that the resistance (“our oppression”) is much stronger than they anticipated.
As Agrippa’s men fall back, Mark Antony enters alongside his soldier Scarus, who is bleeding heavily. Despite his injuries, Scarus is exhilarated by the fight, crying out, “O my brave emperor, this is fought indeed!” He remarks that if they had fought this fiercely from the start, they would have easily driven the enemy home “with clouts about their heads.” Antony points out that Scarus is bleeding profusely, to which Scarus casually and brutally jokes that a wound that formerly looked like a “T” has now been made into an “H”.
Antony observes that Caesar’s troops are retreating. An invigorated Scarus eagerly wants to pursue them; he boasts that he will “beat ‘em into bench-holes” and still has room to take “six scotches more” (six more cuts or gashes). Eros then enters, confirming that Caesar’s men are beaten and that the momentum has shifted towards a “fair victory” for Antony’s side. Scarus urges the men to chase the retreating Romans and “snatch ‘em up, as we take hares, behind”. He declares enthusiastically that “‘tis sport to maul a runner.” Deeply moved by the soldier’s fierce spirit, Antony promises to reward Scarus “ten-fold” for his “spritely comfort” and his “good valour” before they charge back into the fray.
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Analysis of Act 4, Scene 7
After scenes of despair, shame, and emotional manipulation, this scene briefly restores Antony to his legendary status as a military titan. Here, he is not the “doting mallard” who fled at Actium, but a commanding general leading from the front. He successfully overpowers Caesar’s disciplined troops and forces Agrippa to retreat.
Notably, Scarus serves as a foil to the recently defected Enobarbus. While Enobarbus let his “reason” convince him to abandon Antony, Scarus represents the raw, passionate, and bloodthirsty loyalty of Antony’s veterans. Even while bleeding “apace,” Scarus treats the deadly battle as a joyful hunt. He compares their fleeing enemies to “hares” and calls the slaughter a “sport”. His dark humour about his “T” and “H” shaped wounds underscores the tough, resilient nature of the men who still follow Antony.
Scarus’s triumphant exclamation—“Had we done so at first, we had droven them home / With clouts about their heads”—is steeped in tragic irony. It reminds the audience of Antony’s catastrophic error in Act 3. Had Antony originally trusted his superior land forces instead of indulging Cleopatra’s vanity by fighting at sea, he likely would have won the war. This late victory proves that Antony’s martial prowess was always intact. In fact, it makes his earlier failures all the more tragic.
Related:
- Act 4, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 5 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 6 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 8 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 9 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 10 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 11 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 12 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 13 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 14 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
- Act 4, Scene 15 Summary and Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra
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