It can be described as a history play (though it does not completely adhere to historical accounts), as a tragedy (though not completely in Aristotelian terms), as a comedy, as a romance, and according to some critics, such as McCarter, a problem play. It is difficult to classify Antony and Cleopatra as belonging to a single genre. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses. : p.45 She is frequently vain and histrionic enough to provoke an audience almost to scorn at the same time, Shakespeare invests her and Antony with tragic grandeur. Many consider Shakespeare's Cleopatra, whom Enobarbus describes as having "infinite variety", as one of the most complex and fully developed female characters in the playwright's body of work. The tragedy is mainly set in the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Egypt and is characterized by swift shifts in geographical location and linguistic register as it alternates between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and a more pragmatic, austere Rome. The main antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumvirs of the Second Triumvirate and the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The plot is based on Thomas North's 1579 English translation of Plutarch's Lives (in Ancient Greek) and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatra's suicide during the War of Actium. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published in 1623, under the title The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.For other uses, see Antony and Cleopatra (disambiguation).Ĭleopatra: "Sooth, la, I'll help: Thus it must be." Antony and Cleopatra 4.4/11 ( Edwin Austin Abbey, 1909)Īntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. With his soldiers deserting him, Mark Antony took his own life and Cleopatra chose the same course, committing suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Octavian pursued them and captured Alexandria in 30 BC. Octavian was victorious and Cleopatra and Mark Antony fled to Egypt. In 31 BC, Mark Antony and Cleopatra combined armies to take on Octavian's forces in a great sea battle at Actium, on the west coast of Greece. They subsequently had three children - two sons and a daughter. In 41 BC, Mark Antony, at that time in dispute with Caesar's adopted son Octavian over the succession to the Roman leadership, began both a political and romantic alliance with Cleopatra. Ptolemy XIV died mysteriously at around this time, and Cleopatra made her son Caesarion co-regent. Cleopatra followed Caesar back to Rome, but after his assassination in 44 BC, she returned to Egypt. In 47 BC, Cleopatra bore Caesar a child - Caesarion - though Caesar never publicly acknowledged him as his son. Ptolemy was killed in the fighting and another brother was created Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra, who had been exiled by her brother, was reinstalled as queen with Roman military support. Caesar followed and he and Cleopatra became lovers. Pompey fled to the Egyptian capital Alexandria, where he was murdered on the orders of Ptolemy. In 48 BC, Egypt became embroiled in the conflict in Rome between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Whether she was as beautiful as was claimed, she was a highly intelligent woman and an astute politician, who brought prosperity and peace to a country that was bankrupt and split by civil war. They were married, in keeping with Egyptian tradition. When her father Ptolemy XII died in 51 BC, Cleopatra became co-regent with her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII. She is celebrated for her beauty and her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.Ĭleopatra was born in 69 BC - 68 BC. © Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC.
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