Cleopatra Monologues

Cleopatra prepares for her ritualistic suicide to avoid being paraded through Rome as Caesar's captive. She dons her royal robes and crown, envisioning a reunion with Antony in the afterlife while applying a venomous asp to her breast. The scene captures her final transition from a defeated queen to a figure of 'fire and air.'

Caesar encounters a young, superstitious Cleopatra hiding at a Sphinx and begins mentoring her on how to face the Roman conqueror with courage.

Cleopatra taunts Antony about his duties to Rome and his wife Fulvia, while Antony rejects his political responsibilities in favor of his passion for the Egyptian Queen.

Cleopatra pines for Mark Antony while he is away in Rome, reflecting on her past lovers and her current obsession with the Roman general.