...tide of times. Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood. . . A curse shall light upon the limbs of men: Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall...behold Their infants quartered with the hands of war. (3.1.254-58, 262-68) Shakespeare's dramatic representation of Antony's speech is a significant elaboration...

...ope their ruby lips To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue) A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; 290 Blood and destruction shall be so in use And dreadful objects so familiar That mothers shall but...

...ope their ruby lips, To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue) A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; 265 Blood and destruction shall be so in use And dreadful objects so familiar, That mothers shall but...

...what are the consequences as they are depicted in the play? They are adumbrated in Antony's prophecy: 'Domestic fury and fierce civil strife / Shall cumber all the parts of Italy. . . . All pity chok'd with custom of fell deeds . . .' (3.1.264 ff.). It is a grim, ironic comment...

...their ruby lips, To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue, — A curse shall light upon the limbs which was strange, the one so like the other As could...distinguish'd but by names. That very hour, and in the self-sa 596 And dreadful objects so familiar, That mothers shall but smile when they behold Their infants quarter...

...prophesying a civil war in which the normal significations of laughing and weeping will break down: "Mothers shall but smile when they behold / Their...with the hands of war, / All pity choked with custom ..." (3.1.269-71). And when he finally does start to weep, it is weeping at the sight of his servant...