“Fie, wrangling queen, Whom everything becomes—to chide, to laugh, To weep; whose every passion fully strives To make itself, in thee, fair and admired!” This line is from Act I, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra". Mark Anthony is frustrated, and in this outburst directed at Cleopatra, is essentially saying, "Shame on you, manipulative queen, who can effortlessly switch between anger, laughter, and tears, making even your most intense emotions seem beautiful and captivating.". "Fie" is an expression of disgust, and "wrangling" implies that Cleopatra is argumentative and manipulative. But no matter what emotion she displays, it appears flattering on her. And then he lists the different emotional states Cleopatra can easily transition between. Yet her every emotion seems to be deliberately crafted to make her appear beautiful and admired by others. This line is likely spoken by Mark Antony in a moment of anger or frustration with Cleopatra's behavior, highlighting her powerful and captivating nature, that can be both alluring and frustrating. Mark Antony says moments before in the play to Cleopatra “Let Rome in Tiber melt and the wide arch Of the ranged empire fall. Here is my space. Kingdoms are clay. Our dungy earth alike Feeds beast as man. The nobleness of life Is to do thus; when such a mutual pair And such a twain can do ’t, in which I bind.” which means that Antony is declaring his complete devotion to Cleopatra, rejecting the power and grandeur of the Roman Empire, with his willingness to see Rome, the capital of the empire, sink into the Tiber River, signifying his complete disregard for his political obligations in favor of their passionate love, which he considers the true "nobleness of life". In "Kingdoms are clay. Our dungy earth alike Feeds beast as man" he is comparing the might of empires to mere clay, equally consumed by both humans and animals. His focus is now solely on his love for Cleopatra, representing his "space" or personal domain, emphasizing the insignificance of empires compared to the intensity of his love, as clay is easily molded and considered worthless. Kingdoms are only dirt. The soil feeds animals as well as people, so how does having a kingdom separate humans from beasts. The noblest thing is to do what they're doing, particularly when the couple is as well matched as they are. But Mark Anthony finally says in the penultimate act of the play, Act IV, "This foul Egyptian hath betrayèd me" meaning that now Mark Antony believes that the Egyptian queen Cleopatra has betrayed him by siding with his enemy Octavius, essentially causing his downfall in the battle.
