Chapter Act II of Antony and Cleopatra - Study Guide by William Shakespeare

Aboard Pompey's galley, servants prepare for the feast, observing the tensions between the triumvirs, and the fact that Lepidus is already half-drunk, having been bullied into drinking by the others. The emperors, Pompey and various attendants enter, Antony regaling them with tales of Egypt. Although the scene appears jovial, Menas insists he talk secretly to Pompey, and his urgency alerts us to the fact that all is not as it seems. Menas says to him in an aside "Let me cut the cable, / And when we are put off, fall to their throats. / All then is thine." Pompey cannot agree to this betrayal. The drinking continues, and, ironically, Enobarbus is quick to drink to Menas. Caesar does not enjoy the alcohol, which makes him stilted of speech, yet Antony is in his element, and particularly eloquent. Pompey and Antony intend to continue their revels on shore, but Caesar retires to bed.