Antony and Cleopatra Study Guide

Shakespeare's father was a glove-maker, and Shakespeare received no more than a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His theater troupe was adopted by King James as the King's Men in 1603. Shakespeare retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613, and died three years later.

In the late 1st century BCE, the republic of Rome was crumbling. In 44 BCE, the dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated, and then his assassins were killed in revenge. Power became divided among Lepidus, Octavius Caesar (Julius Caesar’s adoptive son), and Mark Antony in an arrangement known as the second triumvirate. The weak Lepidus was easily squeezed out of the picture, and as Antony and Octavius amassed more and more power they moved toward a civil war against each other. Antony’s power was centered in the east and in Egypt (where he was with Cleopatra), while Octavius’ power was more centered at Rome. The two fought a climactic battle near Actium in 33 BCE, at which the forces of Antony and Cleopatra were decisively defeated. Soon after, Octavius gained sole control over Rome, and gradually established a form of government called the Principate, commonly known as the Roman Empire. All of these historical events form an important background to Shakespeare’s play, but his tragedy creates an inventive, original story from these raw ingredients of historical fact.