Read Antony and Cleopatra Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
Antony and Cleopatra (32 page)
The collaborations with Fletcher suggest that Shakespeare’s career ended with a slow fade rather than the sudden retirement supposed by the nineteenth-century Romantic critics who read Prospero’s epilogue to
The Tempest
as Shakespeare’s personal farewell to his art. In the last few years of his life Shakespeare certainly spent more of his time in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he became further involved in property dealing and litigation. But his London life also continued. In 1613 he made his first major London property purchase: a freehold house in the Blackfriars district, close to his company’s indoor theater.
The Two Noble Kinsmen
may have been written as late as 1614, and Shakespeare was in London on business a little over a year before he died of an unknown cause at home in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616, probably on his fifty-second birthday.
About half the sum of his works were published in his lifetime, in texts of variable quality. A few years after his death, his fellow actors began putting together an authorized edition of his complete
Comedies, Histories and Tragedies
. It appeared in 1623, in large “Folio” format. This collection of thirty-six plays gave Shakespeare his immortality. In the words of his fellow dramatist Ben Jonson, who contributed two poems of praise at the start of the Folio, the body of his work made him “a monument without a tomb”:
And art alive still while thy book doth live And we have wits to read and praise to give… He was not of an age, but for all time!
A CHRONOLOGY
| 1589–91 | ? Arden of Faversham (possible part authorship) |
| 1589–92 | The Taming of the Shrew |
| 1589–92 | ? Edward the Third (possible part authorship) |
| 1591 | The Second Part of Henry the Sixth , originally called The First Part of the Contention Betwixt the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster (element of coauthorship possible) |
| 1591 | The Third Part of Henry the Sixth , originally called The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York (element of co-authorship probable) |
| 1591–92 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| 1591–92; perhaps revised 1594 | The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus (probably cowritten with, or revising an earlier version by, George Peele) |
| 1592 | The First Part of Henry the Sixth , probably with Thomas Nashe and others |
| 1592/94 | King Richard the Third |
| 1593 | Venus and Adonis (poem) |
| 1593–94 | The Rape of Lucrece (poem) |
| 1593–1608 | Sonnets (154 poems, published 1609 with A Lover’s Complaint , a poem of disputed authorship) |
| 1592–94/ 1600–03 | Sir Thomas More (a single scene for a play originally by Anthony Munday, with other revisions by Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, and Thomas Heywood) |
| 1594 | The Comedy of Errors |
| 1595 | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| 1595–97 | Love’s Labour’s Won (a lost play, unless the original title for another comedy) |
| 1595–96 | A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
| 1595–96 | The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet |
| 1595–96 | King Richard the Second |
| 1595–97 | The Life and Death of King John (possibly earlier) |
| 1596–97 | The Merchant of Venice |
| 1596–97 | The First Part of Henry the Fourth |
| 1597–98 | The Second Part of Henry the Fourth |
| 1598 | Much Ado About Nothing |
| 1598–99 | The Passionate Pilgrim (20 poems, some not by Shakespeare) |
| 1599 | The Life of Henry the Fifth |
| 1599 | “To the Queen” (epilogue for a court performance) |
| 1599 | As You Like It |
| 1599 | The Tragedy of Julius Caesar |
| 1600–01 | The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (perhaps revising an earlier version) |
| 1600–01 | The Merry Wives of Windsor (perhaps revising version of 1597–99) |
| 1601 | “Let the Bird of Loudest Lay” (poem, known since 1807 as “The Phoenix and Turtle” [turtle-dove]) |
| 1601 | Twelfth Night, or What You Will |
| 1601–02 | The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida |
| 1604 | The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice |
| 1604 | Measure for Measure |
| 1605 | All’s Well That Ends Well |
| 1605 | The Life of Timon of Athens , with Thomas Middleton |
| 1605–06 | The Tragedy of King Lear |
| 1605–08 | ? contribution to The Four Plays in One (lost, except for A Yorkshire Tragedy , mostly by Thomas Middleton) |
| 1606 | The Tragedy of Macbeth (surviving text has additional scenes by Thomas Middleton) |
| 1606–07 | The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra |
| 1608 | The Tragedy of Coriolanus |
| 1608 | Pericles, Prince of Tyre , with George Wilkins |
| 1610 | The Tragedy of Cymbeline |
| 1611 | The Winter’s Tale |
| 1611 | The Tempest |
| 1612–13 | Cardenio , with John Fletcher (survives only in later adaptation called Double Falsehood by Lewis Theobald) |
| 1613 | Henry VIII (All Is True) , with John Fletcher |
| 1613–14 | The Two Noble Kinsmen , with John Fletcher |
TRAGEDIES: A CHRONOLOGY
AND VIEWING
CRITICAL APPROACHES
Adelman, Janet,
The Common Liar: An Essay on “Antony and Cleopatra”
(1973). Full-scale study, with much psychological insight.
Brower, Reuben,
Hero and Saint: Shakespeare and the Graeco-Roman Heroic Tradition
(1971), pp. 317–53. Powerful placing in terms of cultural tradition.
Brown, John Russell, ed.,
Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra: A Casebook
(1969, rev. ed. 1991). Excellent anthology of older critical essays.
Charney, Maurice,
Shakespeare’s Roman Plays: The Function of Imagery in the Drama
(1961), pp. 79–141. Close attention to language.
Dusinberre, Juliet, “Squeaking Cleopatras: Gender and Performance in
Antony and Cleopatra
,” in
Shakespeare, Theory, and Performance
, ed. James C. Bulman (1996), pp. 46–67. Interesting on boy actors.
Jones, Emrys,
Scenic Form in Shakespeare
(1971), pp. 225–65. On dramatic shape.
Knight, G. Wilson, “The Transcendental Humanism of
Antony and Cleopatra
,” in his
The Imperial Theme
(1931, rev. ed. 1951), pp. 199–262. Expansive, gloriously hyperbolic reading of the play’s imagery.
Loomba, Ania, “The Colour of Patriarchy: Critical Difference, Cultural Difference and Renaissance Drama,” in
Shakespeare, Feminism and Gender
, ed. Kate Chedgzoy (2001), pp. 235–55. Reading informed by postcolonial thinking.
Miles, Geoffrey,
Shakespeare and the Constant Romans
(1996). Excellent account of Shakespeare’s critique of “Stoic” values.
Miola, Robert,
Shakespeare’s Rome
(1983). Lucid survey of the Roman plays.
Brooke, Michael, “
Antony and Cleopatra
on Screen,”
www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/592136/
. Overview of film and television productions.
Escolme, Bridget,
The Shakespeare Handbooks: Antony and Cleopatra
(2006). Student guide with particularly good insight into theatrical issues.
Madeleine, Richard,
Shakespeare in Production: Antony and Cleopatra
(1998). Excellent stage history.
Rosenberg, Marvin,
The Masks of Anthony and Cleopatra
(2006). Scene-by-scene survey with reference to performances through the ages.
RSC, “Exploring Shakespeare:
Antony and Cleopatra
,”
www.rsc.org.uk/explore/plays/antony.htm
. Interviews and other Web resources drawing on Gregory Doran’s 2006 production.
Rutter, Carol Chillington,
Enter the Body: Women and Representation on Shakespeare’s Stage
(2001). Attentive to text as well as performance.
Worthen, W. B., “‘The Weight of Antony’: Staging ‘Character’ in
Antony and Cleopatra
,”
Studies in English Literature
26 (1986), pp. 295–308. Sophisticated consideration of dramaturgical questions.
Antony and Cleopatra
, directed for television by Jon Scoffield from Trevor Nunn’s 1972 RSC stage production (TV 1974, DVD 2004). With Janet Suzman as Cleopatra and Richard Johnson as Antony. Brilliantly acted, with strong use of close-up.
Antony and Cleopatra
, directed by Jonathan Miller (BBC Television Shakespeare, 1981, DVD 2001). With Jane Lapotaire as Cleopatra and Colin Blakely as Antony. Ponderous, though Ian Charleson is interesting as a sternly moralistic Octavius.
Cleopatra
, directed by Joseph Mankiewicz (1963, DVD 2006). Iconic performance by Elizabeth Taylor in a big screen epic: not Shakespeare’s version of the story, but central to the modern perception of it.
1
. See Richard Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production: Antony and Cleopatra
(1998), p. 22.
2
. Thomas Davies, “Antony and Cleopatra,” in his
Dramatic Miscellanies
(vol. 2, 1783, repr. 1973), pp. 333–70.
3
. J. Doran, “Love for, and the Lovers of, Shakspere [
sic
],”
The Gentleman’s Magazine
, February 1856, p. 123.
4
. Doran, “Love for, and the Lovers of, Shakspere,” p. 123.
5
. Charles H. Shattuck,
Shakespeare on the American Stage
(vol. 1, 1976), p. 105.
6
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 45.
7
. London
Times
review, 24 October 1849.
8
. London
Times
review, 24 October 1849.
9
. London
Times
review, 24 October 1849.
10
.
The Athenaeum
, 27 September 1873.
11
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 61.
12
. London
Times
, 4 January 1970, reprinted in
Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra: A Casebook
, ed. John Russell Brown (1969, rev. ed. 1991), p. 53.
13
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 59.
14
. James Agate, quoted in Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 86.
15
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 87.
16
. Ivor Brown,
Observer
, 22 December 1946.
17
. London
Times
, 21 December 1946.
18
. Eric Bentley,
In Search of Theater
(1953), p. 28.
19
. Felix Barker, “Tradition at the St. James’s, 1948–1953,” in his
The Oliviers: A Biography
(1953), pp. 334–60.
20
. Brooks Atkinson,
New York Times
, 21 December 1951.
21
. Walter Kerr, “Cleopatra and Friends,”
The Commonweal
, 11 January 1952, p. 349.
22
. George Rylands, “Festival Shakespeare in the West End,”
Shakespeare Survey
6 (1953), pp. 140–46.
23
. Rylands, “Festival Shakespeare in the West End,” p. 146.
24
.
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
, 3 May 1953.
25
. T. C. Worsley, “Love for Love,”
New Statesman
, 9 May 1953.
26
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 93.
27
.
Worsley, “Love for Love.”
28
. Kenneth Tynan,
Evening Standard
, 1 May 1953.
29
. Peter Fleming,
The Spectator
, 8 May 1953.
30
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 99.
31
. London
Times
, 6 March 1957.
32
. London
Times
, 29 March 1957.
33
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 100.
34
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 101.
35
. Dan Sullivan,
New York Times
, 2 August 1967.
36
. Sullivan,
New York Times
, 2 August 1967.
37
. Tony Richardson,
Time
magazine, 20 August 1973.
38
. Madeleine,
Shakespeare in Production
, p. 110.
39
. John Peter, London
Sunday Times
, 12 April 1987.
40
. Roger Warren,
Shakespeare Quarterly
, 38 (1987), pp. 359–65.
41
. Bridget Escolme,
The Shakespeare Handbooks: Antony and Cleopatra
(2006), p. 120.
42
. Michael Billington,
Guardian
, 22 October 1998.
43
. Lois Potter, “Shakespeare Performed: Roman Actors and Egyptian Transvestites,”
Shakespeare Quarterly
, 50 (1999), pp. 508–17.
44
. Kristin E. Gandrow,
Theatre Journal
, 52 (2000), pp. 123–5.
45
. Gandrow,
Theatre Journal
, p. 125.
46
. Escolme,
Shakespeare Handbooks
, p. 148.
47
. Charles Lewsen, London
Times
, 16 August 1972.
48
. Don Chapman,
Oxford Mail
, 16 August 1972.
49
.
Shakespeare Survey
26 (1972), p. 141.
50
.
Spectator
, 19 August 1972.
51
. London
Times
, 16 August 1972.
52
.
Guardian
, 16 August 1972.
53
.
Birmingham Post
, 11 October 1978.
54
. Ray Seaton,
Express & Star
, 11 October 1978.
55
. B. A. Young,
Financial Times
, 12 October 1978.
56
.
Oxford Mail
, 11 October 1978.
57
.
Guardian
, 11 October 1978.
58
.
Guardian
, 11 October 1978.
59
. London
Times
, 15 October 1982.
60
.
Shakespeare Survey
37 (1984), p. 173.
61
.
Shakespeare Survey
46 (1994), p. 183.
62
.
Financial Times
, 7 November 1992.
63
. London
Times
, 7 November 1992.
64
.
Daily Telegraph
, 9 November 1992.
65
.
Guardian
, 9 November 1992.
66
. Robert Smallwood,
Shakespeare Survey
53 (2000), p. 247.
67
.
Financial Times
, 25 June 1999.
68
.
Evening Standard
, 24 June 1999.
69
. Paul Taylor,
Independent
, 26 June 1999.
70
. Ibid.
71
.
Times Literary Supplement
, 6 August 1999.
72
.
Glasgow Herald
, 30 June 1999.
73
.
Guardian
, 25 June 1999.
74
.
Shakespeare Survey
56 (2003), p. 282.
75
.
Independent
, 25 April 2002.
76
.
Daily Telegraph
, 25 April 2002.
77
. London
Sunday Times
, 28 April 2002.
78
. Charles Spencer,
Daily Telegraph
, 25 April 2002.
79
. London
Times
, 25 April 2002.
80
.
Guardian
, 25 April 2002.
81
.
Daily Telegraph
, 25 April 2002.
82
.
Independent
, 29 April 2002.
83
.
Observer
, 23 April 2006.
84
. Nicholas de Jongh,
Evening Standard
, 20 April 2006.
85
.
Daily Express
, 21 April 2006.
86
. London
Times
, 21 April 2006.
87
.
Evening Standard
, 20 April 2006.
88
.
Evening Standard
, 20 April 2006.
89
.
Daily Telegraph
, 20 April 2006.
90
.
Mail on Sunday
, 23 April 2006.