Reading Antony and Cleopatra is particularly challenging because of
Shakespeare's masterful embodiment of Rome and Egypt's contrasting
worlds in language, structure, and characterization.
Instead of seeing the interaction of Roman and Egyptian perspectives in
Antony and Cleopatra as a type of double image of reality that changes
as one moves from one location to another, students often find
themselves compelled to pick sides. The more romantic opt for Cleopatra
as the most sympathetic character, while the pragmatists dismiss her
lifestyle as self-indulgent. The central challenge in reading this play,
in other words, is to resist the compulsion to take sides and, instead,
to adopt a 'both-and' point of view rather than an 'either-or' choice.
The play's central binary - Rome vs. Egypt - is deeply embedded in its
language and structure, yet the play consistently complicates our view
of either side. The book encourages students to think outside the binary
box, to understand, and to celebrate, Shakespeare's exploitation of the
multivalent nature of language.
As well as helping students to analyse the intricacy of Shakespeare's
language in Antony and Cleopatra, each chapter's 'Writing matters'
section enables students to develop their own writing strategies in
coursework and examinations.