Antony and Cleopatra, Act 5 Scene 1 runs 91 lines of dialogue, spoken by 8 speakers. That is longer than the play’s average scene length of about 85 lines. This scene is part of Act 5 of Antony and Cleopatra.
Full Dialogue
Octavius Caesar ♂
Go to him, Dolabella, bid him yield;
Being so frustrate, tell him he mocks
The pauses that he makes.
Being so frustrate, tell him he mocks
The pauses that he makes.
Dolabella ♂
Caesar, I shall.
Octavius Caesar ♂
Wherefore is that? and what art thou that darest
Appear thus to us?
Appear thus to us?
Dercetas ♂
I am call'd Dercetas;
Mark Antony I served, who best was worthy
Best to be served: whilst he stood up and spoke,
He was my master; and I wore my life
To spend upon his haters. If thou please
To take me to thee, as I was to him
I'll be to Caesar; if thou pleasest not,
I yield thee up my life.
Mark Antony I served, who best was worthy
Best to be served: whilst he stood up and spoke,
He was my master; and I wore my life
To spend upon his haters. If thou please
To take me to thee, as I was to him
I'll be to Caesar; if thou pleasest not,
I yield thee up my life.
Octavius Caesar ♂
What is't thou say'st?
Dercetas ♂
I say, O Caesar, Antony is dead.
Octavius Caesar ♂
The breaking of so great a thing should make
A greater crack: the round world
Should have shook lions into civil streets,
And citizens to their dens: the death of Antony
Is not a single doom; in the name lay
A moiety of the world.
A greater crack: the round world
Should have shook lions into civil streets,
And citizens to their dens: the death of Antony
Is not a single doom; in the name lay
A moiety of the world.
Dercetas ♂
He is dead, Caesar:
Not by a public minister of justice,
Nor by a hired knife; but that self hand,
Which writ his honour in the acts it did,
Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it,
Splitted the heart. This is his sword;
I robb'd his wound of it; behold it stain'd
With his most noble blood.
Not by a public minister of justice,
Nor by a hired knife; but that self hand,
Which writ his honour in the acts it did,
Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it,
Splitted the heart. This is his sword;
I robb'd his wound of it; behold it stain'd
With his most noble blood.
Octavius Caesar ♂
Look you sad, friends?
The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings
To wash the eyes of kings.
The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings
To wash the eyes of kings.
Agrippa ♂
And strange it is,
That nature must compel us to lament
Our most persisted deeds.
That nature must compel us to lament
Our most persisted deeds.
Mecaenas ♂
His taints and honours
Waged equal with him.
Waged equal with him.
Agrippa ♂
A rarer spirit never
Did steer humanity: but you, gods, will give us
Some faults to make us men. Caesar is touch'd.
Did steer humanity: but you, gods, will give us
Some faults to make us men. Caesar is touch'd.
Mecaenas ♂
When such a spacious mirror's set before him,
He needs must see himself.
He needs must see himself.
Octavius Caesar ♂
O Antony!
I have follow'd thee to this; but we do lance
Diseases in our bodies: I must perforce
Have shown to thee such a declining day,
Or look on thine; we could not stall together
In the whole world: but yet let me lament,
With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts,
That thou, my brother, my competitor
In top of all design, my mate in empire,
Friend and companion in the front of war,
The arm of mine own body, and the heart
Where mine his thoughts did kindle,–that our stars,
Unreconciliable, should divide
Our equalness to this. Hear me, good friends–
But I will tell you at some meeter season:
The business of this man looks out of him;
We'll hear him what he says. Whence are you?
I have follow'd thee to this; but we do lance
Diseases in our bodies: I must perforce
Have shown to thee such a declining day,
Or look on thine; we could not stall together
In the whole world: but yet let me lament,
With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts,
That thou, my brother, my competitor
In top of all design, my mate in empire,
Friend and companion in the front of war,
The arm of mine own body, and the heart
Where mine his thoughts did kindle,–that our stars,
Unreconciliable, should divide
Our equalness to this. Hear me, good friends–
But I will tell you at some meeter season:
The business of this man looks out of him;
We'll hear him what he says. Whence are you?
Egyptian ♂
A poor Egyptian yet. The queen my mistress,
Confined in all she has, her monument,
Of thy intents desires instruction,
That she preparedly may frame herself
To the way she's forced to.
Confined in all she has, her monument,
Of thy intents desires instruction,
That she preparedly may frame herself
To the way she's forced to.
Octavius Caesar ♂
Bid her have good heart:
She soon shall know of us, by some of ours,
How honourable and how kindly we
Determine for her; for Caesar cannot live
To be ungentle.
She soon shall know of us, by some of ours,
How honourable and how kindly we
Determine for her; for Caesar cannot live
To be ungentle.
Egyptian ♂
So the gods preserve thee!
Octavius Caesar ♂
Come hither, Proculeius. Go and say,
We purpose her no shame: give her what comforts
The quality of her passion shall require,
Lest, in her greatness, by some mortal stroke
She do defeat us; for her life in Rome
Would be eternal in our triumph: go,
And with your speediest bring us what she says,
And how you find of her.
We purpose her no shame: give her what comforts
The quality of her passion shall require,
Lest, in her greatness, by some mortal stroke
She do defeat us; for her life in Rome
Would be eternal in our triumph: go,
And with your speediest bring us what she says,
And how you find of her.
Proculeius ♂
Caesar, I shall.
Octavius Caesar ♂
Gallus, go you along.
Where's Dolabella,
To second Proculeius?
Where's Dolabella,
To second Proculeius?
All ♂
Dolabella!
Octavius Caesar ♂
Let him alone, for I remember now
How he's employ'd: he shall in time be ready.
Go with me to my tent; where you shall see
How hardly I was drawn into this war;
How calm and gentle I proceeded still
In all my writings: go with me, and see
What I can show in this.
How he's employ'd: he shall in time be ready.
Go with me to my tent; where you shall see
How hardly I was drawn into this war;
How calm and gentle I proceeded still
In all my writings: go with me, and see
What I can show in this.
91 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Octavius Caesar | 55 | 60.4% |
| Dercetas | 17 | 18.7% |
| Agrippa | 6 | 6.6% |
| Egyptian | 6 | 6.6% |
| Mecaenas | 4 | 4.4% |
| Proculeius | 1 | 1.1% |
| Dolabella | 1 | 1.1% |
| All | 1 | 1.1% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 55 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 11 lines.
Total speakers on stage
8 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 5
This is Scene 1 of 2 in Act 5 of Antony and Cleopatra.
Scene length vs. play average
At 91 lines, this scene is longer than the Antony and Cleopatra average scene in Antony and Cleopatra (~85 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 4 Scene 15 · Next: Act 5 Scene 2
About Act 5 Scene 1 of Antony and Cleopatra
Who carries Act 5 Scene 1 of Antony and Cleopatra?
Octavius Caesar, with 55 lines — about 60% of the scene.
Is the scene a dialogue or a solo?
With 8 speakers and the lead holding 60% of the lines, this scene is a showcase for the lead voice.