Antony & Cleopatra

This Guide provides a critical survey of the responses to this popular play. Chronologically arranged, the book draws on a rich range of critical writings, including Dr Johnson, Coleridge, Bradley and Leavis. This material is linked to more general issues regarding Shakespearean criticism and scholarship, and the development of literary theory. Antony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare's most widely studied and popular of the 'Roman' plays. It is either the world's greatest love story or a sad tale of two middle-aged infatuated people who throw away their power over half the known world; it is about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire; it is Shakespeare's sceptical revision of Virgil; it is about soldiership, loyalty and loss, and much more besides. This Reader's Guide provides a critical survey of the responses to Antony and Cleopatra from the earliest published accounts to the present day. Leading the reader through the material in a chronological fashion, the Guide draws on a rich range of critical writings, including Dr Johnson, Coleridge, Bradley and Leavis. Nicholas Potter carefully relates this material to more general issues regarding Shakespearean criticism and scholarship, and the development of literary history and theory. Also featuring a chapter on the different editions of the play, and a Select Bibliography to aid further study, this book is an indispensable resource for students. This Guide provides a critical survey of the responses to this popular play. Chronologically arranged, the book draws on a rich range of critical writings, including Dr Johnson, Coleridge, Bradley and Leavis. This material is linked to more general issues regarding Shakespearean criticism and scholarship, and the development of literary theory.