Monologue

Cleopatra Monologue from Antony and Cleopatra

From Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

female · anguished · 2:07 min

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See, Caesar! O, behold, How pomp is followed! Mine will now be yours And should we shift estates, yours would be mine. The ingratitude of this Seleucus does Even make me wild. O slave, of no more trust Than love that’s hired! What, goest thou back? Thou shalt Go back, I warrant thee! But I’ll catch thine eyes Though they had wings. Slave, soulless villain, dog! O rarely base! (CAESAR: Good queen, let us entreat you.) O Caesar, what a wounding shame is this, That thou vouchsafing here to visit me, Doing the honour of thy lordliness To one so meek, that mine own servant should Parcel the sum of my disgraces by Addition of his envy! Say, good Caesar, That I some lady trifles have reserved, Immoment toys, things of such dignity As we greet modern friends withal; and say Some nobler token I have kept apart For Livia and Octavia, to induce Their mediation, must I be unfolded With one that I have bred? The gods! It smites me Beneath the fall I have. (To Seleucus.) Prithee go hence, Or I shall show the cinders of my spirits Through th’ ashes of my chance. Wert thou a man, Thou wouldst have mercy on me. (CAESAR: Forbear, Seleucus.) Be it known that we, the greatest, are misthought For things that others do; and when we fall, We answer others’ merits in our name, Are therefore to be pitied.

About this piece

Cleopatra expresses her deep shame and vulnerability in front of Caesar, feeling the weight of her disgrace and the envy of her servant, revealing her emotional turmoil and desire for mercy.

30s · sadness · power · betrayal · identity · isolation

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