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Antony and Cleopatra is an historical tragedy by William Shakespeare, first performed in 1607 or 1608 and printed in the First Folio, 1623.
The source for the story is Plutarch's "Life of Marcus Antonius" from "Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Compared Together" in the translations made by Sir Thomas North in 1579. Shakespeare worked closely from this translation, and an astonishing number of phrases within Shakespeare's play are taken directly from North's prose, including Enobarbus's famous description of Cleopatra's barge, "the poop whereof was of beaten gold, the oars of silver."
Though modern editions divide the play into the conventional five acts, Shakespeare articulated his drama in thirty-six separate scenes, more than he used for any other play. These scene divisions, however, were made by later editors, as the original printed versions never broke the plays into scenes. So many scenes are necessitated in part because the action frequently switches between Egypt, Syria and Rome. The play contains thirty-four speaking characters, fairly typical for a Shakespeare play on such an epic scale.
The play follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumvirs and the future first emperor of Rome.
The role of Cleopatra in this play is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare's greatest female roles and one of the greatest female roles in world theatre.
Films of the play
- Antony & Cleopatra 1974, performed by London's Royal Shakespeare Company. It stars Janet Suzman (Cleopatra), Richard Johnson (Antony), and Patrick Stewart (Enobarbus).
External links
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The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra
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Antony and Cleopatra
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