Antony and Cleopatra

Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman world, has lost himself in Egypt and in his love for its queen, Cleopatra. Rome pulls him back toward duty, a political marriage, and the rising power of young Octavius Caesar, while Egypt draws him toward pleasure and ruin. Shakespeare wrote this sweeping tragedy around 1606, following the pair from feast to battlefield as their passion collides with empire. The defeat at Actium and the lovers’ separate suicides give the play its famous grandeur, and Cleopatra ranks among the richest roles he ever wrote. Its poetry moves restlessly between Rome and Alexandria, weighing love against power and finding no easy winner. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.