Cleopatra and Elizabeth

Shakespeare was smart—he knew writing Antony and Cleopatra during the first half of his career would have been interpreted as critical of Elizabeth’s rule. The number of similarities between the two monarchs is almost staggering: both were rulers, both spoke many, many languages, both were intelligent writers, both fought in the military, and both used their sexuality for the benefit of their nation. Cleopatra used sex (and marriage) to form an alliance with Rome to maintain Egypt’s freedom, while Elizabeth used her virginity to compare herself to the Virgin Mary and England itself.

The correlation could be seen as unfavorable because of Shakespeare’s stance on Egypt as a whole: Cleopatra represents Egypt, and Egypt represents the epitome of civitas. Egypt is the home of excess materialism, of partying on Cleopatra’s barge, and feasting and drinking all night. Had the play been written while Elizabeth ruled, the obvious (though not necessarily correct) assumption would have been that England was the new home of civitas. Shakespeare would have had to write the play differently had he written it earlier, but the fact that he steered clear of Cleopatra altogether speaks volumes of his sense of timing.

Zack Balthaser
Waldo, Dis 1A