Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1606 or 1607 and based on the true story of the Roman general Mark Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII. Shakespeare took most of his material from Plutarch’s account of Antony’s life, and he turned it into one of the most poetic love tragedies in English. This page explains where the play comes from, when it was written, what history it uses and how it fits into Shakespeare’s career. For the story itself, read the plot summary.

When Was Antony and Cleopatra Written?

Scholars believe Shakespeare wrote the play around 1606 or 1607, during the reign of King James I. In 1608, a publisher recorded his claim to print the play, but no edition appeared at that time. The earliest printed text comes from the First Folio of 1623, which collected Shakespeare’s plays seven years after his death. Because of this, the First Folio is the basis for most modern editions.

By this time, Shakespeare was at the height of his career. He had already written great tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, and he wrote Macbeth around the same period. His company, which became known as the King’s Men after James took the throne, performed at the Globe Theatre in London.

The Source of the Play

Shakespeare found his story in Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, a Greek work from the first century AD. He read it in Sir Thomas North’s English translation, first published in 1579. The play follows Plutarch’s account closely, and in some scenes it echoes North’s wording. The most famous example is Enobarbus’s description of Cleopatra on her barge, which Shakespeare turned from plain prose into rich poetry.

Shakespeare also changed the material. He shortened the timeline, joined events together and gave the lovers a grandeur that Plutarch does not stress. He also added or enlarged some characters, and Enobarbus is the best example. His desertion and death give the play much of its emotion.

The Historical Background

The play covers about ten years of Roman history. After Julius Caesar’s murder in 44 BC, three men took control of the Roman world: Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar (Julius Caesar’s adopted heir) and Lepidus. This group is called the second triumvirate. Antony met Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, and they began a political and romantic alliance.

Relations between Antony and Octavius grew worse, and war broke out. Octavius defeated Antony’s fleet at the battle of Actium in 31 BC. Antony and Cleopatra both died in 30 BC, and Egypt became part of the Roman empire. Octavius later became Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Shakespeare keeps these events but compresses them into a tight dramatic story.

Antony and Cleopatra Among Shakespeare’s Roman Plays

Shakespeare wrote several plays set in ancient Rome. The best known are Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus. Julius Caesar ends with the deaths of Brutus and Cassius, and the story of Antony and Octavius continues in Antony and Cleopatra. Readers often study the two plays together because Antony and Octavius appear in both.

Unlike the earlier tragedies, this play moves freely between many places, including Alexandria, Rome, Athens and the sea. It has over forty short scenes, and the action switches quickly between Egypt and Rome. You can read more about this pattern on the setting and structure pages.

The Jacobean Context

When Shakespeare wrote the play, England had a new king. James I came to the throne in 1603 and joined the crowns of England and Scotland. Rulers and writers of the time often compared a king to a Roman emperor, and some critics link the play’s interest in empire and rule to this atmosphere. The comparison is a scholar’s suggestion and not a proven fact, but it helps explain why Shakespeare turned to Roman history at this time.

How the Play Was First Staged

Women did not act on the English stage in Shakespeare’s day, so boy actors played the female roles. A young actor therefore played Cleopatra, one of the longest and hardest parts in the play. Shakespeare even makes Cleopatra joke about this in Act 5, when she fears that a boy will mimic her greatness on stage in Rome. The theatre had little scenery, so the language had to paint Egypt, Rome and the sea for the audience.

Key Terms to Know

• Triumvirate: a group of three men who share power, here Antony, Octavius and Lepidus
• Plutarch: the Greek writer whose biography of Antony is Shakespeare’s main source
• Actium: the sea battle in 31 BC where Antony and Cleopatra lost to Octavius
• First Folio: the 1623 collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays that first printed this one
• Asp: the poisonous snake Cleopatra uses to end her life

History and the Play Compared

Shakespeare stayed close to the main events of history, but he changed the way they feel on stage. These are the key differences:

• Time: History spreads the story over about ten years, while the play makes events follow each other quickly.
• Characters: Enobarbus appears in Plutarch, but Shakespeare gives him a much larger and more emotional role.
• Tone: Plutarch treats the lovers as a warning about weakness, while Shakespeare also shows their love as grand and moving.
• Ending: The play ends on Cleopatra’s dignified death and Caesar’s respect for her, which gives the tragedy a noble close.

Why the Play Matters

Many critics admire the play for its poetry and for its two central characters. Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare’s most complex women, and Antony is a hero whose greatness and weakness are shown together. The play asks whether love or duty should guide a person’s life, and it does not give an easy answer. These questions appear in the themes page, and the people who carry them appear in the characters page.

Students in Nigeria meet the play in Literature in English courses for WAEC and NECO, so understanding its background helps with context questions. When an examiner asks about Shakespeare’s source, the date of the play or the history behind it, the details above will give you the answer. To learn about the author himself, read the background of the playwright.

Continue Reading

• Background of the Playwright: William Shakespeare
• Antony and Cleopatra Plot Summary
• Antony and Cleopatra Themes
• Antony and Cleopatra Study Guide and Essay Questions