Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra 4.13 - Cleopatra tells Charmian to tell Antony she is dead

Antony and Cleopatra

Please see the bottom of this page for explanatory notes and resources.

ACT IV SCENE XIII	Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace.
[Enter CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, IRAS, and MARDIAN]
CLEOPATRA	Help me, my women! O, he is more mad
	Than Telamon for his shield; the boar of Thessaly
	Was never so emboss'd.
CHARMIAN	To the monument!
	There lock yourself, and send him word you are dead.	5
	The soul and body rive not more in parting
	Than greatness going off.
CLEOPATRA	To the monument!
	Mardian, go tell him I have slain myself;
	Say, that the last I spoke was 'Antony,'	10
	And word it, prithee, piteously: hence, Mardian,
	And bring me how he takes my death.
	To the monument!
[Exeunt]

Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4, Scene 14
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Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 13
From Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company.
(Line numbers have been altered.)
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2. Telamon. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, had promised a suit of armor to the bravest of the Greeks who were besieging Troy. In the contest for it, Ajax, son of Telamon, was defeated by Ulysses, and slew himself in a fit of madness; caused by his disappointment.

2. Thessaly. A reference to the story of Meleager, a Greek hero who slew a savage boar, sent by Artemis to ravage the kingdom of Calydon.

3. Emboss'd. Foaming at the mouth.

6. Rive. The severing (rive) of soul and body is not more dreadful than the departure of greatness from the proud man.

11. Piteously. That is, full of pathos.

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How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company, 1908. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/antony_4_13.html >.

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