An edition of 'The Tragedie of Cleopatra' by Samuel Daniel

Although highly regarded - and much published - in his lifetime, the poet, literary critic and historian, Samuel Daniel is now overshadowed by his contemporary, William Shakespeare. Interest in this late Elizabethan / early Jacobean writer has been restricted by the lack of a complete critical edition of Daniel's works, a gap which no single thesis could attempt to fill. One problem facing prospective editors has been Daniel's propensity for amending pieces as they went through successive editions. An additional difficulty for an editor is that few of his works were presented in a stand-alone format even in their initial presentation to the reading public. This thesis offers a scholarly edition of one of Daniel's earliest pieces, 'The Tragedie of Cleopatra' . It argues that 'Cleopatra' transcends the label 'closet drama' that is often attached to it which has overshadowed recognition of its literary merits and the political, philosophical and religious concerns of its period which it addresses. In addition, Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra', written more than a decade later, has captured the attention of critics and audiences. Whilst I acknowledge these points, I position 'Cleopatra' as an important work from the late Elizabethan period. By including an overview of related works and paratextual material by Daniel, I provide insight into his life and a context for the play. I consider also the source material available to Daniel and detail how he was influenced by and utilised Plutarch's 'Lives'. It is my intention that through this thesis, 'The Tragedie of Cleopatra' will become available as a resource for both students and scholars. The copytext for my annotated edition of the tragedy is the Blickling Hall copy of 'The works of Samuel Daniel newly augmented' (London, 1601) and I include variants from those editions of the tragedy which were published in the period 1594-1605.