It is fitting that a battle of words should open the final act of the play. The previous four acts have been largely about words, persuasion, the (mis)use and (mis)interpretation of words, and the power of language. It is no surprise, then, that a power struggle opens the scene as (the younger) Octavius refuses to follow (the older) Antony's orders. The real battle of words, however, occurs between the triumvirate and the conspirators. For example,
* "They . . . would have parley."
* "We must out and talk."
* "The generals would have some words."
* "Words before blows."
* "Not that we love words better."
* "Good words are better than bad strokes."
These passages are taken from just eight lines and are only a small sampling.
Why does Shakespeare so purposefully draw the reader's attention to language? He does so because the question of language and its power were important issues in Elizabethan times. During that period, the ultimate, the most authoritative Word was God's. Human use of language, according to the Elizabethan way of thinking, derived from that authority and thus had within it the potential for a tremendous power — one that human beings both desired and feared. The characters and the action of this play express this desire and fear.
