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Act 4
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Caesar and Cleopatra, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Romanticization of History
Vengeance vs. Mercy
Pragmatism vs. Sentimentality
Empire, Civilization, and Progress
Age, Experience, and Power
Summary
Analysis
Six months have passed since Bel Affris announced Caesar’s arrival at the old palace on the Syrian border. Today, a military pageant is in full force outside the palace at Alexandria. In the east harbor, Caesar’s ship waits to take him back to Rome and Roman soldiers line up to keep the townsfolk under control. Other soldiers mill about, chatting casually. Belzanor, the Persian, and the centurion are among their ranks. Apollodorus comes forward, and the centurion lets him pass through. The soldiers hound Apollodorus for updates about Caesar. Apollodorus informs them that Caesar is still in the market with the Egyptian priests, whose lives he has spared. He also reveals that Ptolemy drowned in the Nile when Caesar’s men sank his barge.
Act V functions as an epilogue to the main content of the play. It provides closure by giving the audience a brief glimpse at the state of Alexandria following Caesar’s defeat of the Egyptian army and the civic uprising that followed Pothinus’s assassination. Apollodorus’s update that Caesar has spared the lives of the Egyptian priests reflects his continued advocation of clemency over vengeance. Ptolemy’s drowning (which really did happen—he likely died on January 13, 47 B.C.E.) leaves Cleopatra the sole ruler of Egypt.
Active
Themes
Caesar, Rufio, and Britannus arrive. Everyone cheers. Rufio reminds Caesar that they have yet to appoint a Roman governor. Caesar suggests Mithridates of Pergamos, the soldier whose troops came to Caesar’s aid. When Rufio argues that they might need Mithridates’s help elsewhere, Caesar appoints Rufio governor. Rufio is shocked, since he doesn’t have any noble lineage, but Caesar reminds him that considers Rufio his son.
Mithridates of Pergamos was a nobleman from Anatolia, or Asia Minor, which encapsulated much of modern-day Turkey. Caesar’s decision to appoint Rufio governor despite his common lineage reflects Caesar’s progressive values. Caesar doesn’t believe that Rufio’s humble upbringing has any impact on his future as a leader.
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Next, Caesar turns to Britannus, praising the bravery he exhibited in battle and declaring that Britannus has more than earned his freedom. Britannus protests, vowing that “only as Caesar’s slave [has he] found real freedom.” Britannus’s declaration moves Caesar, and he realizes that he can longer bear to part with Britannus.
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Next, Caesar turns to Apollodorus and informs him that he will leave Egypt’s art in his hands. Apollodorus gratefully accepts the responsibility. While Rome produces no art of its own, Apollodorus states, it is known to “buy up and take away whatever the other nations produce.” Apollodorus’s remark leaves Caesar aghast. “Is peace not an art? is war not an art? is government not an art? is civilization not an art?” he asks.
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Caesar knows that he’s forgetting something but can’t place his finger on what it could be. Suddenly, Cleopatra approaches him. She’s dressed in black and has a grave, tragic expression on her face, which sets her apart from the joyous crowd. Caesar incorrectly assumes that Cleopatra is in mourning for Ptolemy. Cleopatra tells him he should talk to Rufio.
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Caesar turns to Rufio, who presents Caesar with a hypothetical dilemma. What would Caesar do, asks Rufio, if he were faced with a lion that wanted to eat him? Caesar replies that he would kill the lion. Rufio explains that Cleopatra had a “tigress” that killed men for her, and that he showed the tigress mercy by “only cut[ting] its throat.” Rufio’s explanation enrages Cleopatra. She informs Caesar that Rufio killed Ftatateeta. She’s further enraged when Caesar replies that Ftatateeta’s murder was not an act of vengeance, but a “natural slaying” about which he “feel[s] no horror.”
Cleopatra threatens to expose Caesar for the “unjust and corrupt” hypocrite that he is, but Caesar merely laughs at her childish behavior. Initially, Cleopatra is too upset to say goodbye to Caesar. However, she comes around when Caesar promises to send over Mark Antony to be her husband. Caesar says goodbye to Cleopatra and kisses her on the forehead before he boards the ship. Cleopatra weeps and waves her handkerchief at his ship as it sails through the harbor.
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Literary Devices
