Original: No more, but e’en a woman, and commanded
Modern: I’m nothing more than just a woman, controlled

Original: By such poor passion as the maid that milks
Modern: By the same weak emotions as a servant girl who milks cows

Original: And does the meanest chares. It were for me
Modern: And does the lowest household work. I should

Original: To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods;
Modern: Throw my crown at the cruel gods;

Original: To tell them that this world did equal theirs
Modern: Tell them that our earthly world was as good as theirs

Original: Till they had stol’n our jewel. All’s but naught;
Modern: Until they stole our precious treasure. Everything is worthless now;

Original: Patience is scottish, and impatience does
Modern: Patience is foolish, and losing control

Original: Become a dog that’s mad: then is it sin
Modern: Makes you like a rabid dog: so is it wrong

Original: To rush into the secret house of death,
Modern: To hurry into death’s hidden chamber,

Original: Ere death dare come to us? How do you, women?
Modern: Before death dares to come for us? How are you doing, ladies?

Original: What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, Charmian!
Modern: Come on, come on! Be brave! What’s wrong, Charmian?

Original: My noble girls! Ah, women, women, look,
Modern: My faithful servants! Oh, ladies, ladies, look,

Original: Our lamp is spent, it’s out! Good sirs, take heart:
Modern: Our light has burned out, it’s gone! Good friends, be brave:

Original: We’ll bury him; and then, what’s brave, what’s noble,
Modern: We’ll give him a proper burial; and then, whatever is courageous and honorable,

Original: Let’s do it after the high Roman fashion,
Modern: Let’s do it in the noble Roman way,

Original: And make death proud to take us. Come, away:
Modern: And make death feel honored to claim us. Come, let’s go:

Original: This case of that huge spirit now is cold:
Modern: The body that held his great soul is now lifeless:

Original: Ah, women, women! come; we have no friend
Modern: Oh, ladies, ladies! Come; we have no ally

Original: But resolution, and the briefest end.
Modern: Except our determination, and the quickest death.

In Act IV, Scene xiii of Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra flees to her monument and sends word to Antony that she has died by suicide, hoping to gauge his reaction and possibly end his rage against her. Her servant Mardian delivers this false message to Antony, who is devastated by the news. Believing that Cleopatra has taken her own life and that he has lost everything worth living for, Antony decides he must follow her example and die by his own hand.

Antony asks his faithful servant Eros to kill him, as he cannot bear to live without Cleopatra. When Eros refuses and instead kills himself rather than strike down his master, Antony attempts to fall upon his own sword. However, his suicide attempt is botched—he wounds himself mortally but does not die immediately. His guards and followers discover him bleeding and in agony, and they inform him that Cleopatra is actually still alive. Realizing he has been deceived but still dying from his self-inflicted wound, Antony asks to be carried to Cleopatra’s monument so he can see her one final time before his death.

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.