Clown (Antony and Cleopatra)
A clown was a character in William Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra.
In Act V Scene II, it was he who delivered "the pretty worm of Nilus" to Cleopatra in a basket, with which she intended to kill herself. In an early draft of the play, the clown did not leave when Cleopatra told him to, instead uncovering the basket and revealing the serpent to be the Mara. He stated "my snake gives me power" and claimed to "serve it well". He attempted to offer a similar arrangement to Cleopatra, telling her the snake was offering her its hand but she rejected it as she was "in thrall to no one", elaborating that she feared not the asp's bite but its promise when asked by the clown why she would not "ride with a snake to generation" having saddled to countless Emperors. He tried again to convince her to take his hand by telling her all was not lost and that she would be Egypt's queen once more but Cleopatra replied to this by saying she had "won enough fortunes to not count the losing of them" and that it was impossible to restore what she most wished, the life of her lover Mark Antony. The clown admitted that it was indeed too late for that, leading Cleopatra to tell him "no snake can charm his place". The clown attempted one last time to persuade her to "reach into the basket and find time's jaw" but she simply told him to begone, a request with which he finally complied, wishing her "joy o'th' worm" as he left. (PROSE: Antony and Cleopatra [+]Loading...["Antony and Cleopatra (short story)"])
