All For Love

Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Epistle Dedicatory
Preface
Prologue
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5
Epilogue
Themes
All Themes
Honor vs. Love
Continuity and Change
Passion vs. Reason
Authority vs. Freedom
Quotes
Characters
All Characters
Antony
Cleopatra
Ventidius
Dollabella
Alexas
Octavius
Octavia
Charmion
Serapion
Symbols
All Symbols
Cleopatra’s Ruby Bracelet
Water
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All For Love

by

John Dryden

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Introduction
Plot Summary
Summary & Analysis

Epistle Dedicatory
Preface
Prologue
Act 1
 Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5
Epilogue

Themes

All Themes

Honor vs. Love

Continuity and Change

Passion vs. Reason

Authority vs. Freedom

Quotes
Characters

All Characters
Antony
Cleopatra
Ventidius
Dollabella
Alexas
Octavius
Octavia
Charmion
Serapion

Symbols

All Symbols

Cleopatra’s Ruby Bracelet

Water

Theme Wheel
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Prologue All For Love:
Act 1
Summary & Analysis Act 2

Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in All For Love, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.

Honor vs. Love

Continuity and Change

Passion vs. Reason

Authority vs. Freedom

Summary
Analysis
Two priests of the Temple of Isis, Serapion and Myris, observe that there have been several frightening omens in Egypt recently. The water of the Nile
overflowed and then suddenly retreated, leaving behind “monstrous” seals and sea-horses. When Serapion was walking in the temple of the Ptolemys,
the dynasty that ruled Egypt for thousands of years, a great wind suddenly rushed in, broke open the tombs, and released the bodies of the old
pharaohs. The last pharaoh, the “boy-king,” cried out that “Egypt is no more!”
The play begins with omens that seem to presage a great change. Egypt was ruled by a powerful dynasty, the Ptolemys, for a thousand years.
However, these omens suggest that their rule will soon come to an end. The rising waters of the Nile, for instance, symbolize the tide of fate, while the
Ptolemy ancestors who rise from their graves foresee that their supremacy in Egypt will soon cease.
Active
Themes

Suddenly Alexas, Queen Cleopatra’s eunuch, appears and accuses Serapion of making up stories and drinking too much at the feasts. He says that
Egypt can’t bear for these stories to be true, given the current desperate state of affairs: Antony and Cleopatra have lost the Battle of Actium, and the
palace is surrounded by a Roman army led by Octavius. Myris asks why Antony doesn’t take action, and Alexas explains that Antony thinks all is lost.
However, he also points out that neither side has been doing anything, although Antony’s wife, Octavia, has come to take her revenge.
Alexas explains that Antony and Cleopatra are in dire straits. They’ve lost a decisive sea battle against Octavius, meaning that their only option now is
to make peace with him. However, the fact that both Antony and Cleopatra have failed to take any action suggests that they are still allowing their
passion for each other to rule them, rather than their reason. Making peace with Octavius requires giving each other up, and they don’t seem ready to
do that yet.
Active
Themes

Meanwhile, Antony has locked himself in the temple and refuses to see Cleopatra, hoping to cure himself of his love for her. Serapion and Myris fear
for Egypt’s future as a Roman province if they are defeated and hope that Cleopatra might betray Antony to Octavius and thus save her country.
However, they all know that Cleopatra still loves him.
Serapion and Myris know that Cleopatra faces a choice: she can betray Antony to Octavius and save her country, or she can remain loyal to Antony.
Her impossible choice between her lover and her royal duty introduces the conflict between love and honor that will be central to the play.
Active
Themes

Just then, Alexas, Serapion, and Myris witness the approach of Ventidius, one of Antony’s top lieutenants. Alexas assures them that Ventidius is an
impeccably honorable man, although he has been an enemy of Egypt’s in the past. Ventidius demands that Antony’s gentleman (i.e. servant) let him in
to see Antony, claiming that he has news that will raise his spirits. The gentleman protests that Antony is in a bad state and won’t see anyone. He
swings wildly between cursing Octavius and seeming to contemplate suicide. Ventidius assures him that this is just Antony’s nature, which tends to
move between extremes.
Antony’s extreme temperament provides another example of his lapse from reason into passion. Ventidius represents the rationality and discipline
expected of a military commander, and he tries to see Antony in order to persuade him to take up arms as a soldier once again and fight for his honor.
Antony, however, is emotionally extreme, swerving between depression and excessive passion for Cleopatra.
Active
Themes

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Alexas proclaims a birthday celebration for Antony, and the servants begin to prepare a feast. Ventidius protests at the Egyptians taking a holiday at
this dire moment. Alexas protests that Cleopatra loves Antony and that Antony loves her in return. Ventidius agrees but compares Cleopatra to
Antony’s executioner who has led him into his death with “golden bonds,” making his captivity seem pleasurable. He laments that Antony, a great
general, has left his military post and become a “woman’s toy.” Ventidius thinks that Antony is now unrecognizable to his fellow Romans.
Ventidius has known Antony in his role as a military leader and commander of men. Thus, the version of Antony that he meets at Cleopatra’s court is
unrecognizable to him. He blames Cleopatra for this disastrous change in Antony, implying that she has turned him into a “woman’s toy.” By this
Ventidius means that Antony now cares only for “feminine” pursuits and has neglected his military and political duties.
Active
Themes

Related Quotes
with Explanations
Antony comes out of his room and demands that everyone leave him alone. Ventidius hides in a corner to listen to his master speak. Pacing with a
“disturbed motion,” Antony speaks in despair about the decline of his fortunes since he came to Egypt, where he has become only “the shadow of an
emperor.” He predicts a future in which he will be soon be dead and comforts himself wishing that he could live as a simple countryman in the forest.
He imagines himself leaning against a tree while the water of a “murmuring” brook runs at his feet, leading a peaceful and uncomplicated life. At this,
Ventidius appears from his hiding place and demands “art thou Antony?” Antony tells him to leave, but Ventidius weeps and says that he wishes to
stay, as his friend.
Antony seems to share Ventidius’s fears about his transformation, remarking that he is now only a “shadow” of the emperor he once was and is
unrecognizable even to himself. But whereas Ventidius plots to restore Antony to the emperor he was before, Antony begins imagining a different kind
of metamorphosis. Having given up the role of emperor and commander, he imagines himself in another kind of life entirely: as a simple shepherd
with no concerns except his flock. The softly murmuring waters in Antony’s dream suggest his desire for the peace that such a transformation would
ideally bring.
Active
Themes

Moved by Ventidius’s tears, Antony begins to share his grief at his loss at the Battle of Actium. Ventidius points out that Julius Caesar also lost
battles, but Antony confesses that he is ashamed that he fled like a “coward” from the battlefield. Antony begins reproaching himself for losing his
good name as a soldier and conqueror by spending his time instead in “inglorious ease.” Ventidius refuses to join in, saying that Antony has already
punished himself enough.
Antony’s despair at the loss of a single battle suggests that honor is extremely important to his sense of self and his confidence in his place in the
world. For Antony, a single action—retreat from the Battle of Actium—marks him as a “coward,” associating military defeat with the loss of his good
name as an upright person.
Active
Themes

Related Quotes
with Explanations
Ventidius tries to rouse Antony’s spirits by telling him that there is still hope that they can win against Octavius, since Ventidius has an army in Lower
Syria that is loyal to Antony’s cause. However, the army will only fight for Antony if he comes to them. They do not want to fight for Cleopatra in Egypt,
since they think that Antony is her “slave.” Ventidius criticizes Antony for throwing away his kingdom on a “light, worthless woman.”
Antony’s army in Lower Syria presents a stark conflict between love and honor. If Antony goes to lead them, he has a chance to defeat Octavius and
regain his honor on the battlefield. However, he would regain that honor at the cost of love, since the army won’t follow Cleopatra—in order to
command the army, he has to leave her.
Active
Themes

Antony angrily calls Ventidius a traitor and threatens to kill him, but quickly apologizes. Ventidius says he would not be bold with any other ruler, but
that Antony is virtuous enough to be able to hear these hard truths. Ventidius repeats that Antony must leave Cleopatra, and Antony agrees—although
he says he loves her above all else, “all but honour.” Although greatly pained at having to leave her, he agrees to leave with Ventidius to lead the army.
At this point in the play, although Antony professes his great love for Cleopatra, he claims that he still values his honor as a soldier and a leader above
her. His seemingly counterintuitive statement that he would die for Cleopatra but would not dishonor himself for her suggests the high premium
placed on honor in Roman culture, which Antony claims should outweigh even love.
Active
Themes
Related Quotes
with Explanations
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