EXPLICATING “AH, SOLDIER!”

EXPLICATING “AH, SOLDIER!” I too am moved by the two words “Ah, Soldier!”, but I have no simple explanation for why. Frank Kermode points out that the scene represents ” a critical moment in world history.” He also points out that another word in the Charmain’s final speech makes the effect possible—the word “royal.” Kermode calls it a “splendid redundance.” The redundancy emphasizes that a dynasty is ending. In the comments to the Kermode article, Duncan Bush says: “The extraordinary resonance of Charmian’s expostulation, ‘Ah, soldier!’ lies, surely, in the pause, the single beat, that follows it before Charmian herself dies: an instant in which Cleopatra seems to come back as an echo, while Charmian wordlessly recalls her life, vivacity and nobility of spirit.” I agree that the pause is important. It creates an enormous hush at the end of a play filled with passion, conquest and great poetry.