ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The plot is based on Thomas North’s 1579 English translation of Plutarch’s Lives (in Ancient Greek) and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatra’s suicide during the War of Actium.

Detailed explanation-2: -Shakespeare’s primary source for Antony and Cleopatra was the Life of Marcus Antonius contained in Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, which was translated into English by Sir Thomas North in 1579 .

Detailed explanation-3: -Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra was inspired by Plutarch, who was writing in the 2nd C AD – almost 200 years after the death of the famous couple. His Cleopatra was the consummate manipulator who loved not Antony but power and pulled his puppet strings to make him dance to her tune.

Detailed explanation-4: -Plutarch’s Lives was the preeminent influence on Shakespeare’s classical plays (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and others) and the source for numerous passages in other of his dramatic works such as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Merchant of Venice.