William Shakespeare’s great Roman tragedy of adultery amid political conflict is now available in a richly documented and illustrated Norton Critical Edition. This Norton Critical Edition of Antony and Cleopatra is based on the First Folio (1623), the only authoritative text of the play. The edition includes a preface, detailed explanatory annotations, two maps, and visuals ranging from a silver tetradrachm (34 B.C.E.) to an Egyptian Queen Barbie. “Sources, Analogues, and Contexts,” a rich selection of historical and literary writing, gives readers an understanding of Antony and Cleopatra’s origins, from the earlier texts that inspired Shakespeare, especially those by Herodotus, Plutarch, and Virgil, to later works by Chaucer, Mary Sidney (Countess of Pembroke), and Samuel Daniel.
