Caesar and Cleopatra Themes

Caesar and Cleopatra is George Bernard Shaw’s fictionalized account of the relationship between historical figures Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, who met when Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 B.C.E. The play reimagines this initial meeting and follows Caesar as he restores Cleopatra to power after Caesar’s rival, Pompey, deposed Cleopatra in 49 B.C.E. and granted control of the throne to Cleopatra’s younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. Caesar and Cleopatra are familiar historical figures…

One of  Caesar and Cleopatra’s chief concerns is what constitutes an effective leader. In particular, the play grapples with how best to maintain order, control, and a sense of justice among one’s subjects. To do this, the play presents two radically different approaches to discipline and governance. On one side of the spectrum is Julius Caesar, a merciful leader who grants clemency liberally and indiscriminately, regardless of whether he’s dealing with an ally…

Caesar and Cleopatra premiered in 1899, at the tail end of a century during which the British Empire’s most significant expansion of power took place in Africa. At its height in 1922, the Empire spanned a quarter of the world and ruled over 450 million people. George Bernard Shaw belonged to a leftist organization called the Fabian Society. While Fabians advocated for the protection of the human rights of people who lived in colonies under…

Caesar and Cleopatra depicts Cleopatra as a stereotypically naive 16-year-old prone to impulsivity, irrationality, and selfishness, and it suggests that her youth hinders her ability to gain and hold onto power. Cleopatra’s feud with Ptolemy over the Egyptian throne is less a political conflict than a senseless spat between siblings who don’t like to share. In Act II, for instance, Cleopatra has to physically resist the impulse to stick her tongue out at Ptolemy when…