Biopolitics in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra: Power, Sovereignty, and the Regulation of Life

The study explores how the Shakespearean tragedy Antony and Cleopatra reflects various structures of power through Michel Foucault’s theory of biopolitics. The shift from sovereign power over death to the regulation of life in modern biopolitics is vividly illustrated in the final scenes of the play. Drawing on Foucault’s concept of biopower, Giorgio Agamben’s idea of the “state of exception,” and the notion of Empire by Hardt and Negri, this research highlights the struggle over the control and resistance of bodies—both physical and symbolic. Key scenes and quotations are analyzed to show how political structures seek to direct individuals’ bodies and identities. Rather than serving as simple romantic gestures, the suicides of Antony and Cleopatra are interpreted as acts of resistance against biopolitical domination. Finally, the study argues that Antony and Cleopatra questions the boundaries of state authority and individual agency, aligning itself with broader political discourses in literature and contemporary thought.