Antony and Cleopatra vs The Ballad of Reading Gaol: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Antony and Cleopatra
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A magnificent drama of love and war, this riveting tragedy presents one of Shakespeare's greatest female characters--the seductive, cunning Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The Roman leader Mark Antony, a virtual prisoner of…
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
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The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand and Naples, after his release from HM Prison Reading on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Ballad of Reading Gaol highest: The Ballad of Reading Gaol 4.3 · Antony and Cleopatra 3.7.
- The Ballad of Reading Gaol is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 3 for Antony and Cleopatra.
- Antony and Cleopatra has the widest readership — 45165 ratings behind its score.
- The Ballad of Reading Gaol runs the darker storyline; Antony and Cleopatra stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Antony and Cleopatra | The Ballad of Reading Gaol | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.7 (45165) | 4.3 (7984) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (67) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (5) | 4.5 (14) |
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Reception
| Antony and Cleopatra | The Ballad of Reading Gaol | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 45165 | 7984 |
| Editions | 949 | 241 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 35852 | 7377 |
| Reading it now | — | 255 |
| Written reviews | 2724 | 760 |
| Wikipedia attention | 12473 | 3158 |
| Pages | 173 | 49 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Antony and Cleopatra or The Ballad of Reading Gaol?
The Ballad of Reading Gaol has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Ballad of Reading Gaol 4.3/5, Antony and Cleopatra 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Antony and Cleopatra or The Ballad of Reading Gaol?
The Ballad of Reading Gaol is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Ballad of Reading Gaol (49 pages, ≈ 54 min); Antony and Cleopatra (173 pages, ≈ 3 h 12 m).
Which is harder to read: Antony and Cleopatra or The Ballad of Reading Gaol?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Antony and Cleopatra: Challenging; The Ballad of Reading Gaol: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Antony and Cleopatra: 4 film adaptations; The Ballad of Reading Gaol: no film adaptation on record.