Condition
ACCEPTABLE: The book shows the signs of having been read, but the pages are free of marks and highlights. There is some scuffing on a small portion of the outside page edges, while the back cover has a small tear. The pages are tanning with age (1961).
The CliffsNotes book is in
VERY GOOD condition. The spine shows no damage. The pages are clear of writing and highlights. There is no yellowing of the pages.
Product Details
Antony and Cleopatra
This book is part of the Folger Library Collections and is edited by Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. There are black-and-white, pen-and-ink drawings throughout.
Every fifth line of each scene is numbered for easy reference. Each scene is preceded by a brief glossary (indexed by line number) and a brief summary. At the end of the book, there is a key to famous lines and phrases.
Other features of the The Folger Library Shakespeare editions include:
- reliable text with modernized spelling and punctuation
- scene-by-scene plot summaries
- explanatory notes that clarify obscure and obsolete expressions
- interpretative essay
- accounts of Shakespeare's life and theater
- list of references for further reading
"Historically the narrative covers the ten years from Fulvia's death in 40 B.C. to Cleopatra's death on August 29, 30 B.C. On the stage, the action covers twelve days. Thus Shakespeare telescoped history for dramatic effect and produced a play that gave the illusion of compactness. The fact that incidents in the play actually spread over a decade went unnoticed by the spectators." — From "Egyptian Enchantress" (page ix).
CliffsNotes
From “A Note to the Reader”—”These notes present a clear discussion of the actions and thought of the work under consideration and a concise interpretation of the artistic merits and significant.
“THE NOTES ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TEXT ITSELF OR FOR THE CLASSROOM DISCUSSION OF THE TEXT, AND THE STUDENT WHO SO ATTEMPTS TO USE THEM IS DENYING HIMSELF THE VERY EDUCATION THAT HE IS PRESUMABLY GIVING HIS MOST VITAL YEARS TO ACHIEVE.”
Take love, tragedy and suicide mixed in with a bit of war, conspiracy and guilt and you have Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Set in ancient Egypt and Rome, the play is about the infatuation and love of Antony, one of Caesar’s most trusted Generals, and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, with whom Caesar is in love. It begins with Antony and Cleopatra falling in love inn Egypt, Antony’s return to Rome, mixes in some war and ends with Antony returning to Egypt and his and Cleopatra’s suicides.
