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.

Anna Maria Montanari studied in Italy (Master degrees in Italian Literature and Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Pavia) and in the UK (PhD, University of Cambridge). She is an Italianist and a comparatist and lectured on both Italian and English Renaissance at the University of Pavia. She is currently collaborating with the Università Cattolica, Milan and she is a member of the Centro Studi M. M. Boiardo, Scandiano. Together with Professor Stoppino (University of Illinois) she is preparing a catalogue of chivalric incunabula.

A Note on the CoverList of IllustrationsList of AbbreviationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction 'A Heart in Egypt' 1 'No Humble Woman She' 1.1 Cleopatra Through the Eyes of Ancient Historians 1.2 The 'Egyptian Wife' 2 'The Subject of Talk the World Over' 2.1 Enchantress and Martyr 2.2 'So lascivious, Cleopatra' 2.3 The Legend of a Bad Woman 3 The Egyptian Queen's Rebirth 3.1 Cleopatra Revised3.3 A Royal 'Model' 3.3 'The Majestic Queen of the Nile'3.4 Seneca, Giraldi Cinthio, and Cleopatra 4 The Great Theatre of Cleopatra 4.1 An 'invincible heart' 4.2 A 'wise and savvy' queen 4.3 'The greatest and most beautiful queen in the world' 5 'The wanton luxurie of Court' 5.1 From Cleopatra to Cléopâtre 5.2 'Or meurs donc Cleopatre' / 'Die Cleopatra then' 5.3 'A glorious Lady, and a mighty Queene' 5.4 'Beautiful, unchaste and evil' 6 'A lass unparalleled' 6.1 Dramatist, Actor and Poet 6.2 A 'world of fluid side and shape' 6.3 'His speech sticks in my heart'6.4 Dramatis Personae 6.5 'The witch shall die' 6.6 The Comi-tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra Conclusion Exeunt omnes BibliographyIndex