Antony and Cleopatra: A Classic Shakespeare Tragedy of Love, Power, and Empire

William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra is a great tragedy of love, empire, political calculation, and divided allegiance. Mark Antony, one of the rulers of Rome, is drawn between his public duty as a soldier and statesman and his consuming passion for Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Around them, Rome and Egypt become more than rival powers: they are opposing worlds of discipline and splendour, strategy and sensuality, imperial ambition and private desire.

The play gives Cleopatra one of Shake...