For almost four centuries, critical controversy has seethed around every aspect of Antony and Cleopatra - its value, its ethos, its genre, its structure, and its characters. This collection of
thirteen original essays examines the performance, textual history, critical reception and analysis of Shakespeare's play from a broad range of contemporary approaches. The contributors cover a
wide range of topics and utilize a diversity of scholarly methodologies, including textual and performance approaches, intertextual studies, and essays employing contemporary critical models,
including feminism, psychoanalysis, new historicism, and postcolonialism. A substantial introductory essay provides important historical context and surveys major critical approaches to the
play over the centuries. Reflecting major developments in Shakespeare studies over 400 years of critical reaction to Antony and Cleopatra, this volume will be essential reading for all serious
students of Shakespeare.
