Original: If that thy father live, let him repent
Modern: If your father is still alive, let him be sorry

Original: Thou wast not made his daughter; and be thou sorry
Modern: That you were not born his daughter; and you should be sorry

Original: To follow Caesar in his triumph, since
Modern: For following Caesar in his victory parade, since

Original: Thou hast been whipp’d for following him: henceforth
Modern: You have been whipped for following him: from now on

Original: The white hand of a lady fever thee,
Modern: Let the soft white hand of a lady make you tremble with fever,

Original: Shake thou to look on ‘t. Get thee back to Caesar,
Modern: Make you shake just to look at it. Go back to Caesar,

Original: Tell him thy entertainment: look, thou say
Modern: Tell him how you were received here: listen, make sure you say

Original: He makes me angry with him; for he seems
Modern: He makes me furious with him; because he seems

Original: Proud and disdainful, harping on what I am,
Modern: Arrogant and scornful, constantly reminding me of what I am now,

Original: Not what he knew I was: he makes me angry;
Modern: Not what he knew I used to be: he makes me angry;

Original: And at this time most easy ‘tis to do’t,
Modern: And right now it’s very easy to make me angry,

Original: When my good stars, that were my former guides,
Modern: When my good fortune, that used to guide me,

Original: Have empty left their orbs, and shot their fires
Modern: Has abandoned its place in the heavens, and cast its light

Original: Into the abysm of hell. If he mislike
Modern: Into the depths of hell. If he doesn’t like

Original: My speech and what is done, tell him he has
Modern: My words and what I’ve done, tell him he has

Original: Hipparchus, my enfranched bondman, whom
Modern: Hipparchus, my freed slave, whom

Original: He may at pleasure whip, or hang, or torture,
Modern: He can whip, or hang, or torture as he pleases,

Original: As he shall like, to quit me: urge it thou:
Modern: However he wants, to get even with me: press this point:

Original: Hence with thy stripes, begone!
Modern: Now get out of here with your whip marks, be gone!

In Act III, Scene 13 (sometimes numbered as Scene 11 in other editions) of “Antony and Cleopatra,” Cleopatra’s court in Alexandria becomes the setting for a tense confrontation following Antony’s defeat at Actium. Caesar’s ambassador, Thidias, arrives to negotiate with Cleopatra, suggesting that she can win Caesar’s favor by abandoning Antony. Cleopatra appears to entertain these overtures, allowing Thidias to kiss her hand as a gesture of submission to Caesar. When Antony enters and witnesses this scene, he erupts in fury, ordering his servants to seize Thidias and have him whipped. Antony berates both the ambassador and Cleopatra, expressing his rage at what he perceives as her betrayal and questioning her loyalty after all they have shared together.

After Thidias is taken away to be punished, Cleopatra defends herself against Antony’s accusations, swearing her continued devotion to him. Her protestations gradually mollify Antony’s anger, and he recovers his spirits, declaring his intention to fight Caesar once more. Antony resolves to challenge Caesar to one final battle, asserting that despite his recent losses, he still possesses the will and courage to face his enemy. The scene concludes with Antony calling for a night of feasting and revelry, as he and Cleopatra prepare to meet whatever fate awaits them, with Antony determined to prove his worth as a warrior one last time before potentially meeting death on the battlefield.

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.