A side-by-side translation of Act 4, Scene 2 of The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra from the original Shakespeare into modern English.
Original Text |
Translated Text |
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Source: Folger Shakespeare Library | |
Enter Antony, Cleopatra, Enobarbus, Charmian, Iras, ANTONY ENOBARBUS No. ANTONY Why should he not? ENOBARBUS | Antony receives news that Caesar won’t fight him man-to-man. Enobarbus proposes it’s because Caesar thinks his fortunes are about twenty times better than Antony’s, making it an unfair fight. |
ANTONY Tomorrow, soldier, ENOBARBUS | Antony promises to throw himself into the next day’s battle whole-heartedly. |
ANTONY Well said. Come on. Enter three or four Servitors. Let’s tonight CLEOPATRA, aside to Enobarbus What means this? ENOBARBUS, aside to Cleopatra ANTONY, to another Servitor And thou art honest too. ALL THE SERVITORS The gods forbid! ANTONY | Antony gathers all of his men and praises them in a way that makes it seem like he’s saying goodbye to them once and for all. |
CLEOPATRA, aside to Enobarbus What does he mean? ENOBARBUS, aside to Cleopatra | Enobarbus and Cleopatra speak to each other in whispers, wondering what the dickens Antony is doing. The way Antony thanks his soldiers for their good fight (and wishes them farewell) makes it seem like he expects death and defeat in the next day’s battle. Not much of a morale booster. |
ANTONY, to the Servitors Tend me tonight; ENOBARBUS What mean you, sir, ANTONY Ho, ho, ho! They exit. | Eventually, all the soldiers, including Enobarbus, are in tears. Antony chides them, claiming he didn’t mean to be a drama queen. He just wanted to comfort them and convince them they should make this night a great one. He even says he expects victory he next day, not death. Still, it's pretty clear Antony is in a bad way, and like many men in a bad way, he instructs them all feast so they can drown their dark thoughts with drinking. |