Antony & Cleopatra — Act IV, Scene xii

In this scene, Antony receives word that his fleet has surrendered to Caesar without a fight, and he is convinced that Cleopatra has betrayed him by arranging this capitulation. Enraged and grief-stricken, he storms and rages against her, calling down curses and threatening violence. He declares that the treachery has undone him entirely, stripping away his identity as a soldier and a leader, and he vows that Cleopatra will pay dearly for what he believes to be her treachery. When Cleopatra herself approaches, Antony’s fury is so terrifying that she flees from him in fear for her life.

Cleopatra retreats to her monument, and her attendant Charmian advises her to lock herself inside and send word to Antony that she is dead. Recognizing that Antony’s rage makes him genuinely dangerous, Cleopatra agrees to this plan and sends the messenger Mardian to deliver the false news of her death to Antony. The scene ends with the deception set in motion, leaving Antony to receive the false report that the woman he both loves and blames for his ruin has already died, which will have devastating consequences for his actions in the scenes that follow.

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.