The Tragedy of Cymbeline

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1. ACT I.

   Two gentlemen explain that Princess Imogen has secretly wed the poor but worthy Posthumus, defying her father and the queen, who wanted her for the queen's son Cloten. Posthumus is banished; in Rome, Iachimo wagers he can seduce Imogen, and the queen procures what she believes is poison.

   1. Scene 1 — Britain. The garden of Cymbeline's palace.

      At court, two gentlemen recount that Imogen has married the orphan Posthumus rather than the queen's loutish son Cloten, and that the angry king has banished him. The lovers part with vows and gifts — Imogen's diamond ring, Posthumus's bracelet — while the queen feigns sympathy.

   2. Scene 2 — The same. A public place.

      Cloten, who has scuffled with the departing Posthumus, is flattered to his face and mocked behind his back by two attending lords.

   3. Scene 3 — A room in Cymbeline's palace.

      Imogen questions Pisanio about how Posthumus looked as his ship pulled away, grieving that she could not watch him out of sight.

   4. Scene 4 — Rome. Philario's house.

      In Rome, at Philario's house, the boastful Iachimo wagers ten thousand ducats against Posthumus's diamond ring that he can seduce the supposedly peerless Imogen. Posthumus accepts the bet on his wife's honor.

   5. Scene 5 — Britain. A room in Cymbeline's palace.

      The queen obtains a box of drugs from the physician Cornelius, who distrusts her and has secretly replaced the poison with a harmless sleeping potion. She passes the box to Pisanio as a supposed cordial.

   6. Scene 6 — The same. Another room in the palace.

      Iachimo arrives and tries to seduce Imogen by slandering Posthumus as faithless in Rome; rebuffed, he pretends he was only testing her, regains her trust, and persuades her to guard a trunk of 'jewels' in her bedchamber overnight.

2. ACT II.

   Iachimo, hidden in the trunk, steals from Imogen's bedchamber the proof he needs. Cloten woos her crudely and is scorned. In Rome the false evidence convinces Posthumus of her guilt, and he breaks into a bitter rage against all women.

   1. Scene 1 — Britain. Before Cymbeline's palace.

      Cloten rages over losing at bowls; the lords learn that a stranger (Iachimo) has arrived at court.

   2. Scene 2 — Imogen's bedchamber in Cymbeline's palace: a trunk in one corner of it.

      As Imogen sleeps, Iachimo climbs from the trunk, memorizes the room, slips the bracelet from her arm, and notes a mole on her breast — likening himself to Tarquin approaching Lucrece — then hides again as the clock strikes.

   3. Scene 3 — An ante-chamber adjoining Imogen's apartments.

      Cloten serenades Imogen with the dawn-song 'Hark, hark! the lark'; backed by the king and queen, he presses his suit, but she declares Posthumus's 'meanest garment' dearer than all of Cloten. She discovers her bracelet is gone.

   4. Scene 4 — Rome. Philario's house.

      Back in Rome, Iachimo produces the bracelet and a description of the bedchamber and Imogen's body as 'proof.' Despite Philario's doubts, Posthumus believes him, surrenders the ring, and is consumed by jealous fury.

   5. Scene 5 — Another room in Philario's house.

      Alone, Posthumus rails against women in a savage soliloquy, blaming 'the woman's part' for every vice and vowing to write against the whole sex.

3. ACT III.

   Cymbeline refuses Rome's tribute, and war looms. Ordered by Posthumus to kill Imogen, Pisanio instead disguises her as a boy and sends her toward Milford-Haven. In the Welsh hills she stumbles on the cave of Belarius and her unknown royal brothers, while Cloten pursues her in Posthumus's clothes.

   1. Scene 1 — Britain. A hall in Cymbeline's palace.

      The Roman ambassador Caius Lucius demands the tribute Britain has owed since Julius Caesar. Urged on by the queen and Cloten, Cymbeline refuses, and Lucius declares war.

   2. Scene 2 — Another room in the palace.

      Pisanio is horrified by Posthumus's letter ordering Imogen's death for adultery; unable to obey, he reads her a second, loving letter that summons her to Milford-Haven to meet her husband, and she sets out joyfully.

   3. Scene 3 — Wales: a mountainous country with a cave.

      In a mountain cave, the banished lord Belarius and the two youths he calls his sons — Guiderius and Arviragus — live a hard, honest life. Alone, Belarius reveals that the boys are in truth Cymbeline's kidnapped sons, stolen in revenge for his unjust banishment.

   4. Scene 4 — Country near Milford-Haven.

      Near Milford, Pisanio shows Imogen the order to kill her. Stunned, she bids him strike; instead he reveals Iachimo's likely treachery, disguises her as the page 'Fidele' to seek service with the Roman Lucius, and gives her the queen's box as a restorative.

   5. Scene 5 — A room in Cymbeline's palace.

      The Romans depart in defiance; Imogen is found missing. Cloten bullies Pisanio into revealing she has gone to Milford and resolves to follow in Posthumus's very clothes, to kill him and ravish her.

   6. Scene 6 — Wales. Before the cave of Belarius.

      Exhausted and lost, the disguised Imogen finds the cave and, half-starved, takes food; Belarius and the brothers return and are drawn by a strange, instinctive love to the gentle 'boy' Fidele.

   7. Scene 7 — Rome. A public place.

      At Rome, senators and tribunes order a levy of gentry to reinforce Lucius for the British war.

4. ACT IV.

   Cloten reaches Wales and is killed and beheaded by Guiderius. The sick Fidele takes the potion and seems to die; the brothers sing a dirge, and Imogen wakes beside Cloten's headless body in Posthumus's clothes, mistaking it for her husband. The Roman Lucius takes the grieving 'page' into service.

   1. Scene 1 — Wales: near the cave of Belarius.

      Cloten, dressed in Posthumus's garments, gloats over the revenge and rape he means to commit at Milford.

   2. Scene 2 — Before the cave of Belarius.

      Fidele, sick, swallows the queen's potion and seems to die; Guiderius beheads the insolent Cloten in a quarrel. The brothers sing 'Fear no more the heat o' the sun' over the 'dead' Fidele. Imogen wakes beside the headless body in Posthumus's clothes, takes it for her husband, and is found by Lucius, who makes her his page.

   3. Scene 3 — A room in Cymbeline's palace.

      At court, Cymbeline is troubled: the queen has fallen ill in despair at Cloten's absence, and Imogen is gone, as the Roman invasion nears.

   4. Scene 4 — Wales: before the cave of Belarius.

      Belarius and the brothers, stirred by the war, resolve to leave the cave and fight for Britain against Rome.

5. ACT V.

   Repentant and longing for death, Posthumus fights for Britain disguised as a peasant; with Belarius and the princes he turns the battle. Imprisoned, he is visited in a dream by the god Jupiter, who descends on an eagle and leaves a prophecy. In a final scene of cascading revelations, every secret is told and the family and the kingdoms are reconciled.

   1. Scene 1 — Britain. The Roman camp.

      Posthumus, now believing Imogen wrongly killed and carrying the bloody cloth Pisanio sent as proof, repents and resolves to die fighting for Britain, disguised as a poor soldier.

   2. Scene 2 — Field of battle between the British and Roman camps.

      In the battle, the guilt-stricken Iachimo is disarmed; the Britons flee and Cymbeline is captured, but Belarius, Guiderius, Arviragus, and the disguised Posthumus rescue the king and rout the Roman army.

   3. Scene 3 — Another part of the field.

      Posthumus describes to a cowardly fleeing lord how an old man and two boys held a narrow lane and saved the day; still craving death, he declares himself a Roman and lets himself be taken prisoner.

   4. Scene 4 — A British prison.

      In prison and in chains, Posthumus welcomes death. As he sleeps, the ghosts of his father Sicilius, his mother, and his brothers beg Jupiter to relieve him; the god descends on an eagle amid thunder and leaves a prophetic tablet on his breast. Waking, Posthumus puzzles over it; the jesting gaolers lead him out.

   5. Scene 5 — Cymbeline's tent.

      In Cymbeline's tent the knots untie: the queen's deathbed confession of her crimes is reported; Iachimo confesses the wager; Posthumus reveals himself; the page is known for Imogen; Belarius restores the lost princes; the soothsayer reads Jupiter's tablet. Cymbeline pardons all and freely renews the peace with Rome.

Characters

• Imogen protagonist

  Daughter of King Cymbeline by his first queen and heir to Britain. She secretly marries the worthy but low-born Posthumus against her father's will; when her husband, deceived by Iachimo's slander, orders her death, she flees toward Milford-Haven disguised as the page 'Fidele,' is taken in by the cave-dwelling Belarius and her unknown brothers, drinks a potion that counterfeits death, and wakes beside a headless body she takes for her husband. Constant and resourceful, she is the play's moral centre.

• Posthumus deuteragonist

  Posthumus Leonatus, an orphaned gentleman raised at court, husband to Imogen. Banished for the secret marriage, he goes to Rome, where Iachimo's false 'proof' of Imogen's infidelity goads him into ordering her murder and into a bitter rage against all women. Repenting, he returns disguised as a British peasant, fights bravely, seeks death as a Roman prisoner, and is granted a vision of Jupiter and his dead family before the final reconciliation.

• Iachimo antagonist

  A subtle Italian who wagers with Posthumus that he can seduce the faithful Imogen. Failing honestly, he hides in a trunk carried into her bedchamber, steals her bracelet and notes intimate details of her body and room while she sleeps, and uses this counterfeit evidence to ruin the marriage. Conscience-stricken, he is defeated in battle and confesses all in the final scene.

• Cymbeline major

  The legendary king of Britain, ruled in his judgement by his manipulative second queen. He banishes Posthumus, loses both his daughter Imogen and (long before) his two infant sons, and refuses the tribute demanded by Rome, provoking war. By the end, his children are restored, the Queen's villainy exposed, and he freely renews peace with Rome.

• Cloten supporting

  The Queen's loutish son by a former husband, whom she schemes to marry to Imogen and set on the throne. Vain, brutal, and stupid, he pursues the fled Imogen toward Wales dressed in Posthumus's clothes, meaning to rape her; he is killed and beheaded by Guiderius, and his headless body is mistaken by Imogen for her husband's.

• Queen antagonist

  Cymbeline's second wife, a poisoner and schemer who dominates the King, plots to marry her son Cloten to Imogen, and procures from the doctor Cornelius what she believes is a deadly drug. Her hypocrisy and her hatred of Imogen drive much of the play's danger; she dies in despair, her crimes confessed, off-stage.

• Belarius supporting

  A British lord wrongly banished by Cymbeline years ago, living in a Welsh cave under the name Morgan. In revenge he stole the King's two infant sons and has raised them as his own ('Polydore' and 'Cadwal'). Noble and plain-living, he shelters the disguised Imogen, leads the boys to victory in the battle, and finally restores the lost princes to their father.

• Guiderius supporting

  Elder lost son of Cymbeline, raised in the Welsh cave by Belarius under the name Polydore, ignorant of his royal birth. Bold and martial, he kills and beheads the insolent Cloten and helps rout the Roman army; he is revealed as the King's heir in the final scene.

• Arviragus supporting

  Younger lost son of Cymbeline, raised in the Welsh cave by Belarius under the name Cadwal. Tender and eager for honour, he grieves over the 'dead' page Fidele (the disguised Imogen, his unknown sister) and joins his brother in the battle that saves Britain.

• Pisanio supporting

  Posthumus's loyal servant, left in Britain to attend Imogen. Ordered by letter to murder her, he instead reveals the plot, helps disguise her as the page Fidele, and works quietly throughout to keep faith with both master and mistress until the truth comes out.

• Cornelius minor

  A court physician who distrusts the Queen. Suspecting her purpose, he gives her not poison but a drug that only counterfeits death for a time, and later reports her dying confession to the King.

• Philario minor

  An Italian gentleman in Rome, friend of Posthumus's late father and his host abroad. In his house the fatal wager between Posthumus and Iachimo is made.

• Caius Lucius minor

  The Roman general and ambassador who demands Britain's overdue tribute and, refused, leads the invading army. Courteous even as a conqueror's agent, he takes the disguised Imogen into his service as a page.

• Jupiter minor

  The king of the Roman gods, who descends in thunder and lightning seated on an eagle during Posthumus's prison sleep. He rebukes the complaining ghosts, promises that Posthumus's sufferings will end in joy, and leaves a prophetic tablet on his breast — the play's emblem of providence shaping the action.

• Sicilius Leonatus minor

  The ghost of Posthumus's father, a warrior who died before his son was born. With the other apparitions he appeals to Jupiter to end Posthumus's undeserved miseries.

• Mother minor

  The ghost of Posthumus's mother, who died giving him birth ('from me was Posthumus ript'). She joins the Leonati spirits pleading with Jupiter on her son's behalf.

• First Brother minor

  The ghost of one of Posthumus's elder brothers, slain in war in Britain's cause; with the Leonati he appeals to Jupiter to relieve Posthumus.

• Second Brother minor

  The ghost of the other of Posthumus's brothers, killed fighting for Britain; one of the apparitions that surround the sleeping Posthumus.

• First and Second Brother ensemble

  Posthumus's two dead brothers speaking together in the apparition, crying to Jupiter for help.

• Guiderius and Arviragus ensemble

  Cymbeline's lost sons answering as one.

• Cloten and Lords ensemble

  Cloten and the attending lords speaking together.

• First Gentleman minor

  A courtier whose conversation with another gentleman opens the play, explaining Imogen's secret marriage and the King's anger.

• Second Gentleman minor

  A courtier to whom the first gentleman recounts the play's background in the opening scene.

• First Lord minor

  A lord attending Cloten who flatters him to his face.

• Second Lord minor

  A lord attending Cloten who mocks his folly in cutting asides to the audience.

• Lord minor

  A British lord — including the cowardly soldier whom Posthumus rebukes for fleeing the battle in Act 5.

• Lady minor

  A lady-in-waiting attending Imogen (called Helen) or the Queen.

• Frenchman minor

  A French gentleman at Philario's house in Rome who recalls an earlier quarrel of Posthumus's, prompting the wager.

• Soothsayer minor

  Philarmonus, the Roman soothsayer who reads omens for the invading army and finally interprets Jupiter's prophetic tablet and the play's reconciliations.

• Captain minor

  A captain in the field during the British-Roman war.

• First Captain minor

  A British captain reporting in the battle of Act 5.

• Second Captain minor

  A British captain in the battle of Act 5.

• First Senator minor

  A Roman senator who reports the Senate's decree raising forces against rebellious Britain.

• Second Senator minor

  A Roman senator in the scene at Rome.

• First Tribune minor

  A Roman tribune charged with mustering the gentry for the war on Britain.

• First Gaoler minor

  The talkative jailer who guards the imprisoned Posthumus and jests grimly about hanging and death.

• Second Gaoler minor

  A jailer assisting in the prison in Act 5.

• Messenger minor

  A messenger who brings news at court and in the camp.

• Attendant minor

  An attendant at Cymbeline's court.

• All ensemble

  Several speakers answering together — notably the apparitions thanking Jupiter.

Cross-references

• Folger Shakespeare
• MIT plain text
• Wikipedia