following statements:When she first met Mark Antony, she pursed up his heart, upon the river of Cydnus.(II.ii.188-189)The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,Burned on the water: the poop was beaten gold;Purple the sails, and so perfumed thatThe winds were lovesick with them; the oars weresilver,(II.ii.193-197)And, for his ordinary, pays his heartFor what his eyes eat only.(II.ii.227-228)Age cannot wither her, nor custom staleHer infinite variety....(II.ii.237-238) In these passages, Enobarbus turns Antony's and Cleopatra's meeting into a fairy tale and leads the audience into believing thetwo are inseparable. His speeches in Act II are absolutely vital to the play in that this is what Shakespeare wants the audience to view Antony and Cleopatra. Also, in these passages, Cleopatra is described as irresistible and beautiful beyond belief -- another view that is necessary for us to believe in order to buy the fact that a man with so much to lose would be willing to risk it all in order to win her love. Quite possibly, these passages may hint that Enobarbus is himself in love with Cleopatra. After all, it would be hard to come up with such flowery language if a person were not inspired. Enobarbus may be lamenting his own passions vicariously through the eyes of Antony. This would be convenient in questioning Enobarbus' loyalty, which becomes very important later on in the play (considering he kills himself over grief from fearing he betrayed his leader). The loyalty of Enobarbus is indeed questionable. Even though we never hear him utter a single disparaging remark against Antony, he doesadmit to Menas that he "will praise any man that will praise me" (II.iii.88), suggesting that his honor and loyalty may just besimple brown-nosing. Shakespeare probably fashioned Enobarbus as a means of relaying information to the audience that would otherwise be difficult or awkward to bring forth from other characters (such as Cleopatra's beauty...
