Antony and Cleopatra: A tragedy by William Shakespeare on the relationships between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatra's suicide

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was performed first circa 1607 at the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre by the Kings Men. Its first appearance in print was in the Folio of 1623.The plot is based on Thomas Norths translation of Plutarchs Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatras suicide during the Final War of the Roman Republic. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar one of Antonys fellow triumvirs of the Second Triumvirate and the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The tragedy is mainly set in Rome and 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.Many consider Shakespeares Cleopatra whom Enobarbus describes as having infinite variety as one of the most complex and fully developed female characters in the playwrights body of work. 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. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses.It is difficult to classify Antony and Cleopatra as belonging to a single genre. 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. All that can be said with certainty is that it is a Roman play and perhaps even a sequel to another of Shakespeares tragedies Julius Caesar.Antony and Cleopatra dramatizes a major event in world history: the founding of the Roman Empire. The future first emperor Octavius Caesar (later called Augustus Caesar) cold-bloodedly manipulates other characters and exercises iron control over himself. At first he shares power with Mark Antony Romes preeminent military leader and the weaker Lepidus. Caesar needs Antony to fend off other Roman strongmen like Pompey he even offers his sister Octavia to him as a bride despite Antonys reputation as a libertine and his past rivalry with Caesar. Once Caesar defeats Pompey however he needs no allies. He brings charges against Lepidus denies Antony his spoils from Pompeys defeat and seizes cities in the eastern Roman colonies that Antony rules. The plays emphasis however is on those whom Caesar defeats: Antony and his wealthy Egyptian ally Queen Cleopatra. The play does not sugarcoat Antony and Cleopatras famous love affair including her calculated attempts to seduce Antony from his duties and his rage when he thinks she has betrayed him to Caesar. Nonetheless the lovers find such sensual and emotional satisfaction that Caesars world conquest seems smaller than what they find in each other.