When Cleopatra ‘Became a Woman’ A Brief Comparative Analysis of Antony and Cleopatra and All for Love
Author(s)
Date Issued
2026
Type
bookPart
Start Page
38
End Page
49
Abstract
With the return of the Stuarts, female roles in the theatre were no longer played by young actors, but by actresses. The innovation was presented as a choice of refinement: 'in this reforming age / We have intentions to civilise the stage', as we can read in the Prologue to 'Othello' written by Thomas Jordan. Certainly, the advent of actresses during the Restoration led to mimetic precision from a naturalistic point of view, but what was lost on a symbolic level? This essay attempts to answer the question through a comparative analysis of 'Antony and Cleopatra' and 'All for Love'.