Summary
Act 5. Cleopatra, Charmion, and Iras enter, and Cleopatra bemoans how hard it has been to keep Antony. She pulls out a dagger, but Charmion and Iras prevent her from killing herself. When Alexas enters, Cleopatra is angry at him, and he admits that he deserves this treatment. They discuss the fact that Octavia has left and Antony has banished Dolabella.
Alexas tries to tell Cleopatra that Antony never left her and that they are still together and in love. He then tells her that Antony is preparing to fight with Caesar's army. Suddenly, Serapion enters and tells Cleopatra that the Egyptian army did not fight because Antony's army greeted Caesar's army as old friends, before joining together to turn on Egypt. When Serapion details how upset Antony is, Cleopatra's attendants urge her to hide from him, but she insists that she will stay. Alexas offers to go to Caesar and ensure that Antony perishes, but Cleopatra forbids him from doing so.
Cleopatra remains confident that Antony will be just with her, saying, "I know him noble: when he banished me,/And thought me false, he scorned to take my life;/But I'll be justified, and then die with him." Alexas begs for mercy, but Cleopatra leaves with her attendants. Left alone, Alexas tries to plot how he might save his own life. When he hears Antony and Ventidius coming, he flees the room.
Ventidius and Antony enter and prepare to fight, worried about their fate. When Alexas comes back in, he begs for mercy. Then, when Antony goes to kill him, he lies that Cleopatra has killed herself. Antony is, predictably, devastated, and bemoans the loss. He dismisses Alexas, who suspects that he has saved not only himself, but also Cleopatra, whom Antony will be overjoyed to find is actually alive. He flees, fearing getting killed by the Romans.
Ventidius tries to encourage Antony to fight Caesar, but Antony is completely unmotivated. "What should I fight for now?—my queen is dead," he says. He tells Ventidius he wants to kill himself before Caesar has a chance to kill him. Ventidius says that he too wants to die, but Antony tries to convince him to live. "Wilt thou not live, to speak some good of me?" Antony asks, to which Ventidius replies, "If we die well, our deaths will speak themselves/And need no living witness."
They both wish each other goodbye and plan to die. Ventidius goes to stab Antony, but then kills himself instead. Antony then falls on his sword, missing his heart.
Cleopatra enters with Charmion and Iras. Antony is surprised to see her alive, and she tells him that Alexas lied about her death and she ran to find him. They express their love for one another and Antony dies. Charmion urges Cleopatra not to kill herself, telling her that Caesar will be merciful, but Cleopatra would rather die with dignity than live in disgrace.
Cleopatra tells Charmion and Iras to bring aspics, poisonous snakes. As Serapion comes in to announce the arrival of Caesar, Cleopatra lets one of the aspics bite her arm. Charmion and Iras follow suit to show their loyalty to their queen. They all die, as Serapion, various priests, and Alexas (who is in chains) all enter. They discuss the fact that Cleopatra died happy to be reunited with her lover.
Analysis
The chaos that results from Alexas' meddling in the previous act only continues in the fifth act, as Antony's army goes to fight with Caesar and then refuses to fight. Antony's disloyalty to Rome renders him completely ineffectual as a general, which then puts Egypt in grave danger. With her country at risk of invasion, Cleopatra has no choice but to denounce her relationship with Antony and try and save herself from the consequences.
While the plot in the previous acts has been upheld through lies, deceit, and plotting, this final act shows each of the characters in a state of desperation. Even the ever-scheming Alexas is at a loss for how to spare his own life, and comes to grips with his deceptive ways. Dryden presents him as uncharacteristically sympathetic in this moment, as Alexas bemoans his fate: "My gift of lying's gone;/And this court−devil, which I so oft have raised,/Forsakes me at my need. I dare not stay;/Yet cannot far go hence." In this moment, he speaks about the fact that all of his deceptions were for the sake of his country, and that now he will be punished for that.
Alexas' redemption narrative, and his lost gift for lying, do not last long, however. As soon as Antony and Ventidius arrive, he is back to his scheming ways. Once again manipulating the volatility of the love between Antony and Cleopatra, Alexas devises a lie that Cleopatra has killed herself. Knowing that this will devastate Antony, Alexas is able to save himself in a hopeless moment.
An interesting dimension of Antony and Cleopatra's relationship emerges in this section when—after hearing the false news that Cleopatra is dead—Antony tells Ventidius that all his motivation as a political and military leader came from his desire for her. He says, "I was but great for her; my power, my empire,/Were but my merchandise to buy her love;/And conquered kings, my factors." In this, he entwines sexuality and politics even more than other characters have, suggesting that not only is his love for Cleopatra caught up in their political positions, but that she is the origin of any power he has achieved. In other words, their relationship is not a symptom of political machinations in Antony's eyes; rather, it is what has enabled and created any political success that Antony found.
The play, as was to be expected, ends tragically, with both Antony and Cleopatra killing themselves as a result of some devastating dramatic irony. Alexas lies to Antony that Cleopatra is dead in order to save himself, without realizing that Antony will so hastily kill himself as a result. Just as Antony is dying, Cleopatra runs in and reveals that she is in fact alive. When Antony dies, she resolves that she would rather die than face Caesar, and so kills herself with a poisonous snake.
