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Horace's Influence on Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Perry D. Westbrook*
Affiliation:
New York State College for Teachers, Albany

Extract

However closely Shakespeare in writing Antony and Cleopatra may have followed North's Plutarch, he did not find in the biography a ready-made tragic heroine. Though Plutarch's Cleopatra is admittedly vivid and fascinating during her days of prosperity, she falls far below the demands of tragedy when her fortune changes. For the Cleopatra of the last two acts of his play, Shakespeare had to look elsewhere. It is my belief that he found what he wanted in Horace's Cleopatra Ode.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1947

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