The Politics of Antony and Cleopatra By Shakespeare
Antony and Cleopatra deals ambiguously with the politics of imperialism and colonization. Critics have long been invested in untangling the web of political implications that characterise the play. Interpretations of the work often rely on an understanding of Egypt and Rome as they respectively signify Elizabethan ideals of East and West, contributing to a long-standing conversation about the play’s representation of the relationship between imperializing western countries and colonised eastern cultures.[55] Despite Octavius Caesar’s concluding victory and the absorption of Egypt into Rome, Antony and Cleopatra resists clear-cut alignment with Western values. Indeed, Cleopatra’s suicide has been interpreted as suggesting an indomitable quality in Egypt, and reaffirming Eastern culture as a timeless contender to the West.[28] However, particularly in earlier criticism, the narrative trajectory of Rome’s triumph and Cleopatra’s perceived weakness as a ruler have allowed readings t