Cleopatra in Italian and English Renaissance Drama / / Anna Maria Montanari.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Amsterdam University Press Complete eBook-Package 2019
• VerfasserIn: Montanari, Anna Maria,
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam : : Amsterdam University Press, , [2019]; ©2019
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Renaissance History, Art and Culture ; 4
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (310 p.)

This book considers some of the main adaptations of the character of Cleopatra for the Renaissance stage, travelling from Italy to England to arrive finally to Shakespeare. It shows how each reading of the story of Cleopatra is unique to and expressive of the culture which produced it, even as writers drew from the same sources from Antiquity. For the first time texts belonging to different cultures, rigorously presented, are brought into dialogue on such questions as moral standpoint, gender and the representation of the exotic. Moreover, through the fascinating figure of Cleopatra, the reader is able to explore the development of Renaissance tragedy, in its commercial and non-commercial versions. Ultimately both questions at the heart of this study - concerning Cleopatra's identity and her translation into theatre - converge to be (dis)solved by Shakespeare.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- A Note on the Cover -- List of Abbreviations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. ‘No Humble Woman She' -- 2. ‘The Subject of Talk the World Over’ -- 3. The Egyptian Queen’s Rebirth -- 4. The Great Theatre of Cleopatra -- 5. ‘The wanton luxurie of Court’ -- 6. ‘A lass unparalleled’ -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index