Antony and Cleopatra

Name: Antony and Cleopatra
Rating: 3.71 (45151 reviews)

by Shakespeare

First published 1623

Amazon

3.7(45,151)

Mark Antony divides his life between Roman power and his relationship with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Recalled to political duty after unrest in the Roman world, he attempts to preserve the uneasy triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus, even marrying Octavian’s sister. The settlement collapses as Antony returns to Cleopatra and the rivalry with Octavian becomes open war.

The drama moves from Alexandria to the naval struggle at Actium and the final defeat in Egypt. Shakespeare presents public history through private loyalty, jealousy, spectacle and political calculation, turning the end of the Roman Republic into a tragedy about two rulers whose identities become inseparable from the empires competing around them.