Original: Where think’st thou he is now? Stands he, or sits he?
Modern: Where do you think he is right now? Is he standing or sitting?

Original: Or does he walk? or is he on his horse?
Modern: Or is he walking? Or is he riding his horse?

Original: O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!
Modern: Oh, lucky horse, to carry Antony on your back!

Original: Do bravely, horse! for wot’st thou whom thou movest?
Modern: Be strong, horse! Do you know who you’re carrying?

Original: The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm
Modern: He’s like half of the god Atlas who holds up the world, the strength

Original: And burgonet of men. He’s speaking now,
Modern: And protector of all men. He’s talking right now,

Original: Or murmuring ‘Where’s my serpent of old Nile?’
Modern: Or whispering “Where’s my snake of the Nile River?”

Original: For so he calls me: now I feed myself
Modern: That’s what he calls me, and now I’m nourishing myself

Original: With most delicious poison. Think on me,
Modern: With the most sweet poison. Does he think about me,

Original: That am with Phoebus’ amorous pinches black,
Modern: Now that I’m darkened by the sun’s loving touch,

Original: And wrinkled deep in time? Broad-fronted Caesar,
Modern: And deeply wrinkled with age? When mighty Caesar

Original: When thou wast here above the ground, I was
Modern: Was here alive on earth, I was

Original: A morsel for a monarch: and great Pompey
Modern: A tasty treat fit for a king, and great Pompey

Original: Would stand and make his eyes grow in my brow;
Modern: Would stand there staring so hard his eyes seemed to grow into my forehead;

Original: There would he anchor his aspect and die
Modern: He would fix his gaze on me and nearly die

Original: With looking on his life.
Modern: From the intensity of staring at what gave his life meaning.

In Act I, Scene 5 of “Antony and Cleopatra,” Cleopatra appears in her palace in Alexandria with her attendants Charmian, Iras, and Alexas, along with the eunuch Mardian. The scene opens with Cleopatra asking Charmian for mandragora so she might sleep away the time while Antony is absent. She muses obsessively about what Antony might be doing at that very moment—whether he is thinking of her, speaking, or engaged in other activities. When Charmian attempts to redirect her thoughts, Cleopatra reminisces about her past relationships with Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, recalling her youth and comparing those former loves to her current passion for Antony.

A messenger arrives from Antony in Italy, and Cleopatra’s volatile mood swings between hope and fear about the news he brings. She promises the messenger gold if his news is good, but threatens him with punishment if it is not. Before allowing him to speak, she repeatedly interrupts him, anxiously imagining various possibilities of what Antony might have written. When the messenger finally reveals that Antony is well and that he sends greetings to “his queen,” Cleopatra is overjoyed. She showers the messenger with praise and gold, then calls for ink and paper so she may write back to Antony, declaring that she will send messages to him every day. The scene concludes with Cleopatra exiting to compose her letter.

Antony and Cleopatra follows the tragic downfall of Mark Antony, one of Rome’s three ruling triumvirs, who becomes consumed by his passionate love affair with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. The play opens with Antony already established in Alexandria, neglecting his Roman duties while reveling in the exotic pleasures of Cleopatra’s court. When news arrives that his wife Fulvia has died and that Pompey threatens Roman territories, Antony reluctantly returns to Rome, where he reconciles with Octavius Caesar and marries Caesar’s sister Octavia to strengthen their political alliance, temporarily abandoning Cleopatra.

Despite his marriage to Octavia, Antony cannot resist returning to Egypt and Cleopatra, effectively declaring war on Rome and Caesar. The political and personal tensions culminate in the naval Battle of Actium, where Cleopatra’s fleet flees mid-battle, and Antony, following her, seals both their military defeat and political doom. Back in Egypt, as Caesar’s forces close in, the lovers face their inevitable destruction with a series of miscommunications and desperate acts.

The tragedy reaches its climax when Cleopatra, fearing Antony’s rage, sends word that she has died. Devastated, Antony falls on his sword but survives long enough to be carried to Cleopatra’s monument, where he dies in her arms. Rather than face the humiliation of being paraded through Rome as Caesar’s prisoner, Cleopatra takes her own life by allowing an asp (cobra) to bite her. The play ends with Caesar’s arrival to find both lovers dead, and his recognition of their tragic grandeur, ordering them to be buried together with full honors.