3 h 3 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 3 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can love demand from a general whose duty belongs to Rome and whose heart belongs to Egypt?
In William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Mark Antony stays in Alexandria while Rome watches with alarm. A great commander and one of Rome's three rulers, he is drawn to Cleopatra, Egypt's clever, proud queen. She wants both his love and her throne. Neither can keep politics outside their bond.
In Rome, the cool, patient Octavius Caesar wants to rule alone. His sister Octavia marries Antony to hold a fragile peace, but duty and desire pull in opposite directions. The play races between Rome and Alexandria, setting feasts beside armies and private feelings against public power. Love, comedy and grief share the stage.
What you’ll discover
- A queen of contrasts Meet Cleopatra in her changing moods, where pride, wit and fear crowd together.
- Love against duty Follow Antony as his bond with Cleopatra strains his place in Rome.
- Peace aboard a galley Enter Pompey's loud, drunken feast, where a treaty brings no sense of safety.
- A friend's clear eye Hear Enobarbus speak bluntly about the people and powers that claim Antony's loyalty.
- An empire on stage Move through swift scenes across the Mediterranean, where intimate choices carry vast political stakes.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love famous lovers, rulers at war and betrayed friendships, who enjoy rich language and sharp wit, and who want to see politics and passion collide.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Antony sets Rome aside for Cleopatra's court
- Caesar scorns Antony while Rome needs him
- A political marriage promises peace and plants trouble
- Enobarbus describes the queen on her barge
- A drunken feast shows how honor and power differ
- The peace breaks and Antony chooses the sea
- Love and empire pull the same people apart
- Loyalty bends with fortune and luck
- Two worlds, two voices, and a play of short scenes
Who’s who
- Mark AntonyA Roman general and one of three rulers of the empire, he is pulled between his duty in Rome and his love for Cleopatra.
- CleopatraThe queen of Egypt, witty, jealous and proud, she wants to keep Antony and keep her kingdom free.
- Octavius CaesarThe young, cool ruler of Rome, he wants the whole empire for himself and cannot forgive Antony's neglect.
- EnobarbusAntony's blunt, funny friend, he sees clearly what the lovers are doing, but deserts Antony and dies full of remorse.
- OctaviaCaesar's gentle sister, she marries Antony to bring peace and finds herself caught between husband and brother.
- LepidusThe weakest of the three rulers, he tries to keep the peace and flatters both sides.
- Sextus PompeiusThe son of Pompey the Great, he commands the sea and wants to avenge his father's loss.
- CharmianCleopatra's lively attendant, she jokes about fortune and love and stays close to her queen.
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Antonio e Cleopatra
by William Shakespeare · 1623
A soldier who rules a third of the world trades Rome for a queen's palace, and young Caesar waits.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
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In short
What does it cost a man to love someone the whole world is watching? Mark Antony shares rule of the Roman world with two other men, yet in the first scene he tells the messengers from Rome to wait.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Antony sets Rome aside for Cleopatra's court
The play opens in Cleopatra's palace, but the first voice is Roman. Philo, a soldier, complains that his general has gone too far. Antony's eyes once blazed like the war god Mars over his army. Now they turn away from duty to gaze at one dark-skinned queen.
Then Antony and Cleopatra walk in. She asks how much he loves her. He answers that love which can be measured is poor. A messenger arrives from Rome and Antony brushes him off. He says kingdoms are only clay and that real greatness is what the two of them do together. Shakespeare lets both views stand. The soldiers see a great man turned into a fool. The lovers see a world well lost.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1623
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 1 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/antony-and-cleopatra.
Shakespeare, W. (2026). Antony and Cleopatra. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/antony-and-cleopatra (Original work published 1623)
Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/antony-and-cleopatra.
@book{shakespeare2026antony,
author = {Shakespeare, William},
title = {Antony and Cleopatra},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/antony-and-cleopatra},
note = {First published 1623}
}
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What is Antony and Cleopatra about?
It follows the Roman general Mark Antony, torn between his duty as one of three rulers of Rome and his love for Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, as rivalry with Octavius Caesar moves toward open war.
Is Antony and Cleopatra a true story?
It is based on real people and events from the first century before the common era, which Shakespeare found in Plutarch's Lives. He shaped the history into a play, written in the early 1600s.
Who are Enobarbus and Octavia in the play?
Enobarbus is Antony's plain-spoken friend and officer, who comments on the action with wit. Octavia is Caesar's sister, who marries Antony to bring peace between the two rulers.
The author
William Shakespeare
1564–1616 · English playwright and poet
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. He worked in London as an actor and playwright. He wrote plays, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth, and published sonnets in 1609. He died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.
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