Furthermore, when Antony himself speaks of his love for Cleopatra the contrast between his former Roman ideals and his new Egyptian way of thinking become clearer, his first line to Cleopatra as he enters the stage is "There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned", implying that his love for her is immeasurable and takes precedence above all, the fact this is powerful and Romantic statement is the very first thing Antony says as he enters the stage magnifies the sentiment behind it.
Further evidence of the greatness of Antony's love for Cleopatra is given when she chides him about the messenger from Rome who may be carrying a message from Caesar or his wife Fulvia, both of whom represent his responsibilities at home and both of whom he dismisses in his grand and dramatic statements that he provides her in response to her teasing ("let Rome in Tiber melt and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall!"), reassuring her that the two of them and their love for each other "stand up peerless." It is Antony's use of imagery here that really encapsulates the depth of his love for Cleopatra, his acknowledgment of the greatness of Rome has a paradoxical quality to it as he confirms the greatness of its "wide arch" in the same breath and sentence as he confirms it.
It is not just through the characters that the theme of love and lust is developed in Act 1, Scene 1; the structure of the scene itself functions in such a way that the audiences' first perspective of the love between Antony and Cleopatra is a disapproving look through the eyes of a Roman soldier. In the microcosm of the first scene we see the negative Roman views of Cleopatra juxtaposed with Antony's insurmountable ("then must though needs find out new heaven, new earth.") love for her.
Shakespeare also uses Cleopatra's character to develop the themes of love, loyalty, lust and responsibility; not only is she a character who is loved greatly but she is also a character who is greatly capable of loving. Although Philo's serious and disparaging descriptions of her in the first act make her out to be a harlot and a temptress, Enobarbus's descriptions of her in Act 1, Scene 2 are much more bawdy, light hearted and sympathetic (Shakespeare conveys this through the use of prose) than the aforementioned pontificating diatribe.
Enobarbus, a Roman, sheds new light on the queen, presenting her as a passionate and loving woman capable of "greater storms and tempests than almanacs can report"; this metaphor relates the relentlessness of Cleopatra's emotions to the harshness of a storm. However as much as she is Antony's lover, she is also the woman who constantly tests his loyalty towards her. She does not understand why Antony takes orders from the "scarce bearded" Caesar and as such manipulates and beguiles him into sending away the messengers that have come from Rome by accusing his romantic advances of being little more than an "excellent falsehood."
Ironically it is Cleopatra herself who is well versed in falsehood, pretending to be sick in order to play with Antony's emotions, using the very nature of their relationship against him and this is made clear when she asks Antony "why should [she] think [he] can be [hers] and true…who have been false to Fulvia" and deliberately ignoring and interrupting him the fact that he has duties to attend to; from this it becomes clear that Cleopatra represents a force pulling Antony away from his duties as a politician.
Consequentially Antony finds himself facing conflicting loyalties since the message of his wife Fulvia's death in the first Act Antony has been becoming far more serious, even in the way he addresses his best friend Enobarbus. Shakespeare has used the plot device of Fulvia's death to develop Antony's sense of responsibility; soon after she dies Antony is taking by "roman thought" and tells Enobarbus that there is no longer time for "light answers."
The themes of duty and responsibility are explored further in Act 2, Scene 2 during Antony's meeting with Caesar in Rome; this meeting signifies his acceptance of his responsibilities and duties as a Roman and as such this change in character can be seen in his speech which becomes far more prosaic and less poetic around Caesar than in his previous conversations with Cleopatra. As both Caesar and Antony enter the stage they confer with their respective entourages, (presumably at opposite ends) a dramatic tension is created, making it clear to the audience that serious matters of the state are at hand. This is emphasized in by the way in which Antony and Caesar address each other; Antony speaks in short punchy sentences to match the graceless and formal tone of Caesar this contrast greatly with the drawn out and poetic way he addressed his lover Cleopatra.
The rapidity in their in speech as they both sit down serves as a way to heighten the tension and is an example of Shakespeare's use of Rome to develop the far more serious themes of duty and responsibility in the play; the first thing Antony says when in front of Caesar is “Were we before our armies, and to fight/I should do thus.” This reference to battle echoes the militaristic and formal tone in which Philo spoke at the beginning of the play, signifying a return to Roman ideals and hints at a realization of his duty as a Triumvir.
This realization of a Roman sense of responsibility and duty is enforced again as Caesar accuses Antony of undermining his power whilst in Egypt; "you there/Did practice of my state” and of "breaking the article of [his] oath" an accusation that Antony as a Roman takes deadly seriously.
During the meeting in Rome, Antony and Caesar reconcile their differences but in order to make sure their decisions are held in "perpetual amity” Antony must agree to marry Octavia, Caesar’s sister; this decision provides an antithesis to Antony’s love for Cleopatra as it is not a marriage of love but a marriage borne out of Antony’s duty to Rome and when looking at the play as a whole this union signifies a conflict in his loyalty to Cleopatra. This moment in the play can be seen as evidence of Antony’s betrayal of Cleopatra, as he goes so far as to make it clear to Caesar that he is “not married” ; the flippant and brash way in which he says this can be seen as a Antony disregarding his love for Cleopatra in the face of duty and responsibility.
In Act 3, Scene 3 the use of Octavia as a way of mending the broken bonds between the two Romans becomes a particularly contentious point for Caesar, as his sister she represents modesty and “piece of virtue” that unlike the indecorous and “wrangling” Cleopatra does not attest Antony’s sense of duty and responsibility; Caesar pleads with Antony not to allow the “cement of [their] love” to be the “ram to batter/ The fortress of it.”
The language that he uses evokes typical roman imagery of war and fortitude whilst alluding to the contradictory theme of private matters of the heart as Caesar does not want his virtuous sister, within whose eyes lie “love’s spring” being something over which the newly renewed bond is broken. Caesar’s uncharacteristic use of romantic language and display of emotion make the dramatic irony in this scene even more potent as later on in the play Antony returns to Cleopatra, betraying Caesar. Shakespeare has used Caesar in this scene to develop the themes of loyalty and duty, at this point in the play, the audience is invited to question whether Antony’s marriage to Octavia is one of love or one of duty, and when looked at in comparison to his relationship with Cleopatra, the latter is confirmed to be true.
In closing, Shakespeare develops the theme of duty, love, loyalty and responsibility in a number of ways as the play progresses, primarily his use of character and language are the tools that Shakespeare uses the most, setting up characters as representations of these themes through the way in which they speak and act; using powerful language and imagery to eloquently evoke these themes through the use of allusions to things greater than themselves. These themes are often put in direct conflict with one another and at other times manifested within characters that they would ordinarily contradict, further adding to the underlying dissonance that relates all these themes back to one another.