The Tragedie of Cleopatra 1
The Tragedie of Cleopatra
characters
Cleopatra
Octavius Caesar
Caesario
Dolabella
Proculeius
Arius
Philostratus
Seleucus
Rhodon
Dircetus
Diomedes
Charmion
o Handmaid to Cleopatra
Eras
o Handmaid to Cleopatra
quick plot overview
After Antonius dies, Octavius Caesar tries to convince Cleopatra to come to Rome. He sends
Proculeius to convince her, who manages to access her through a window. Cleopatra, in order to get
rid of him, falsely says she will go. Octavius visits her, and Cleopatra excuses her lies by saying that
she fears Antonius. Dolabella, the favourite of Octavius, sends her a message as she is sacrificing to
the ghost of Antonius, warning her of Octavius’ plan. Cleopatra sends a letter to Octavius asking to
be buried alongside Antonius. She has a basket of figs smuggled in, containing a snake by which she
commits suicide. Caesario, the son she has gotten by Julius Caesar, is murdered by Rodes, causing
the race of Ptolomies to be extinct1 and Egypt to be overthrown.
about
The play is written in a classical style: alternating rhyming heroic verse with choral interludes. Daniel
was friends with Shakespeare, Marlowe, Chapman and Selden, and he was made a gentleman-
extraordinary and groom of the chamber to Queen Anne. Cleopatra was commissioned by a woman
named Mary Sidney Herbert
actual play
Act 1 Scene 1
Cleopatra orders Rodon to bring her son Caesario to India and hide him there so that once fortunes
are better he can return and reconcile Egypt’s peace. She hopes she will be able to put a limit to the
‘boundless pride’ of Octavius. She sees Caesar in the face of her son and hopes he will turn into as
great of an emperor as his father was. Cleopatra is worried for him, but forbids herself from
worrying, since she believes that in time his fortune will regain his state. She as a mother does not
want to say goodbye to her son, but he encourages her and says that they will prevail and the sun
will shine on them again he will one day return to sack Rome. He and Rodon leave, and Cleopatra
laments how Antony died that day and how she now has to say goodbye to their son.
1
Even though Cleopatra had multiple children, but hey.
, The Tragedie of Cleopatra 2
Act 1 Scene 2
Directus tells Octavius that Antony is dead, though suicide. He reports the following: When Antony
saw how his men on land had all died and how his ships looked compared to Octavius’, he cried out
that Cleopatra betrayed his trust, hasted to the tomb that she had erected and after hearing that
Cleopatra had died he killed himself. Cleopatra then sent for his body to be brought into her tomb,
and she tried to heal him, but it was too late. Octavius says he grieves to hear this, and also says it’s
not his fault. He sends Gallus and Proculeius to Cleopatra, to console her grief.
Chorus
Cleopatra sees that the way she took is dangerous. Because of her lust her state, herself and the
chorus is undone. It was not good that she took that course.
Act 2 Scene 1
Cleopatra has a Hamlet-like speech about how she is still alive, even though her honour, wonder,
glory, pompe and all of her is dead. As her speech continues, Charmion asks Eras if they should
interrupt this stream of moaning. Eras says no, and tells her that they should let Cleopatra alone to
her grief: if you bottle it up it will only swell up more. Cleopatra wonders if Rome will now see her
with her hands bound and her eyes in tears as a war-triumph. She says that if she is now made the
means of misery, should she not make her death her praise? Charmion tells her not to think of those
things, and says she is sure she will find a way to live and hold her state. Cleopatra does not believe
this. Eros mentions that Caesar has offered her a way to keep her state before, one she refused
because that would be a betrayal of Antony, so why not accept it now, now Antony is dead?
Cleopatra refuses, it would still be betraying Antony. She has her mind set: she is unwise to live, and
has the wit to die.
Act 2 Scene 2
Octavius is annoyed. He has won kingdoms, conquered climates, but he cannot vanquish hearts or
force obedience. Even though Cleopatra has lost everything except her mind, he has not yet won her
heart. Proculeius says that when he and Gallus arrived into her arched vault, Gallus managed to
persuade Cleopatra to leave that place. He tells Octavius that Cleopatra wants to die. He managed to
stop her from stabbing herself in her breast, telling her that she should not injure herself and Caesar,
for if she dies, she bars him the honour of the victory. She should instead live and rely on Caesar’s
mercy. Proculeius also reports Cleopatra’s answer: she wonders what Caesar has to do with her life.
He already stole her land, gold and crown, must he also tyrannize her body? She asks her children to
be safe, that is all she wants. Proculeius calmed Cleopatra down until she agrees to stay alive and
accept what favour Caesar will give. Octavius orders a troupe to guard her and watch the place and
keep an eye on her conversations. He will visit her shortly.
Chorus
Nemesis gives all doom which none can know before it comes. The powers of heaven play with
mortals, and when glorious people fall, they extinguish people, state and all. But it is unfair that the
chorus, the innocent poor multitude, must be punished for the faults of great men.
Act 3 Scene 1
Philostratus and Arius are talking. Philostratus says how grateful he is for Arius, for he has saved his
life. They discuss the state of their land, where there used to be filled with mirth and music but now
is only filled with horror. Arius says that Augustus will definitely extinguish the race of Antony and
Cleopatra. Antillus is already dead and Caesario will surely soon be killed. Philostratus says it is
