Cymbeline ( / ˈ s ɪ m b ɪ l iː n / ), also called The Tragedie of Cymbeline or Cymbeline, King of Britain, is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is set in Ancient Britain, around 10–14 AD, and is based on stories about the early Celtic British king Cunobeline. Although it is labeled as a tragedy in the First Folio, many experts today consider it a romance or even a comedy. Like Othello and The Winter's Tale, the play explores themes of innocence and jealousy. The exact date it was written is not known, but it was performed as early as 1611.

Characters

• Cymbeline – Based on the historical King of Britain, Cunobeline, and father to Imogen
• Queen – Cymbeline's second wife and mother to Cloten
• Imogen / Innogen – Cymbeline's daughter from a previous queen, later pretending to be a page named Fidele
• Posthumus Leonatus – Innogen's husband, who was adopted as an orphan and raised in Cymbeline's family
• Cloten – Queen's son from a former husband and step-brother to Imogen
• Belarius – A lord who was exiled and lived as Morgan, who took King Cymbeline's baby sons as revenge for being exiled
• Guiderius – Cymbeline's son, kidnapped in childhood by Belarius and raised as his son Polydore
• Arvirargus – Cymbeline's son, kidnapped in childhood by Belarius and raised as his son Cadwal
• Pisanio – Posthumus's servant, loyal to both Posthumus and Imogen
• Cornelius – Court physician
• Helen – Lady attending Imogen
• Two Lords attending Cloten
• Two Gentlemen
• Two Captains
• Two Jailers

• Philario – Posthumus's host in Rome
• Iachimo/Giacomo – A Roman lord and friend of Philario
• French Gentleman
• Dutch Gentleman
• Spanish Gentleman
• Caius Lucius – Roman ambassador and later a general
• Two Roman senators
• Roman tribunes
• Roman captain
• Philharmonus – Soothsayer

• Jupiter – King of the gods in Roman mythology
• Sicilius Leonatus – Posthumus's father
• Posthumus's mother
• Posthumus's two brothers

Summary

Cymbeline is the subject king of Britain under the Roman Empire. Twenty years earlier, Cymbeline’s two infant sons, Guiderius and Arvirargus, were kidnapped by Belarius, an exiled traitor. Cymbeline discovers that his daughter, Imogen (also called Innogen), has secretly married Posthumus Leonatus, a member of his court. The couple exchanged jewelry as gifts: Imogen received a bracelet, and Posthumus received a ring. Cymbeline rejects the marriage and banishes Posthumus because Imogen, his only remaining child, must produce a royal heir to inherit the British throne. Meanwhile, Cymbeline’s queen is plotting to have Cloten, her son from a previous marriage, marry Imogen to secure her family’s bloodline. The queen is also planning to kill Imogen and Cymbeline, and she obtains what she believes is poison from the court doctor, Cornelius. Cornelius suspects the poison is fake and replaces it with a harmless sleeping potion. The queen gives the “poison” to Pisanio, Imogen and Posthumus’s servant. Imogen is told it is medicine. Because she cannot be with Posthumus, Imogen isolates herself in her room to avoid Cloten’s advances.

Posthumus must now live in Italy, where he meets Iachimo (also called Giacomo), who challenges Posthumus to a bet. Iachimo claims he can seduce Imogen, whom Posthumus has praised for her purity, and bring proof of her infidelity. If Iachimo wins, he will take Posthumus’s ring. If Posthumus wins, Iachimo must pay him and fight him in a duel. Iachimo travels to Britain and tries to seduce Imogen, who refuses him. Iachimo hides in a chest in her room, steals Posthumus’s bracelet, and notes details about Imogen’s appearance to falsely accuse Posthumus of betrayal. He returns to Italy and convinces Posthumus that he seduced Imogen. Enraged, Posthumus sends two letters: one to Imogen, telling her to meet him at Milford Haven on the Welsh coast, and one to Pisanio, ordering him to kill Imogen there. Pisanio refuses and tells Imogen about the plan. Imogen disguises herself as a boy, takes the “poison” as medicine, and travels to Milford Haven with Pisanio. She adopts the name “Fidele,” meaning “faithful.”

At Cymbeline’s court, Cymbeline refuses to pay his tribute to the Roman ambassador, Caius Lucius. Lucius warns that the Roman Emperor will invade Britain if the tribute is not paid. Meanwhile, Cloten learns of Imogen and Posthumus’s meeting and decides to go to Wales to kill Posthumus and abduct Imogen. Imogen, traveling as Fidele, reaches a cave in the Welsh mountains, where she meets Belarius and his two sons, Polydore and Cadwal. These men are actually Guiderius and Arviragus, Cymbeline’s lost sons, who do not know their true identity. They befriend Fidele. Guiderius fights Cloten, who is wearing Posthumus’s clothes, and kills him. Imogen’s health worsens, and she takes the “poison,” which makes her appear dead. The men mourn and prepare for her burial. Imogen awakens, sees Cloten’s body, and believes it is Posthumus. Roman soldiers arrive in Britain, and Lucius finds Fidele, who pretends to be a grieving servant. Moved by her loyalty, Lucius hires Fidele as a pageboy.

The queen, now dying from guilt over Cloten’s death, is replaced by her confession of betrayal. Posthumus joins the Roman army invading Britain. Belarius, Guiderius, Arviragus, and Posthumus help rescue Cymbeline from the Romans. Cymbeline does not recognize them but notices their bravery. Posthumus and Fidele are captured and imprisoned with the Romans. In jail, Posthumus dreams of his family’s ghosts, who plead with Jupiter for mercy. Jupiter appears and promises happiness for Posthumus and Britain.

Cornelius announces the queen’s death and her confession of treason. Cymbeline prepares to execute the prisoners but recognizes Fidele as someone familiar. Fidele confronts Iachimo, who admits to tricking Posthumus. Posthumus confesses his mistake in wanting Imogen killed. Imogen, believing Pisanio conspired with the queen, is reassured when Cornelius reveals the potion was harmless. Belarius confesses that Guiderius and Arviragus are Cymbeline’s lost sons. With her brothers restored, Imogen is free to marry Posthumus. Cymbeline pardons Belarius and the Romans. Lucius’s soothsayer confirms a prophecy of happiness. Cymbeline agrees to pay the Roman tribute as a peace offering.

Date and text

The first known performance of Cymbeline, as recorded by Simon Forman, took place in April 1611. The play was first published in the First Folio in 1623. However, the exact date when Cymbeline was written is unknown.

The Yale edition of the play suggests that another person may have helped write it. Some parts of the play, such as Act III, Scene 7, and Act V, Scene 2, may seem less like the work of William Shakespeare compared to other parts. Cymbeline has similarities in language, events, and story with a play called Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding by Beaumont and Fletcher, written around 1609–10. Both plays involve a princess who disobeys her father to marry a man of lower status, is falsely accused of being unfaithful, is ordered to be killed, and later proves her loyalty. Both plays were written for the same theatre group and audience. Some scholars think this connection suggests Cymbeline was written around 1609, though it is unclear which play came first.

The editors of the Oxford and Norton Shakespeare editions believe the character’s name, Imogen, might be a mistake and should instead be Innogen. They compare Cymbeline to Much Ado About Nothing, noting that an early version of Much Ado included a ghost named Innogen, who was supposed to be the wife of a character named Leonato (Posthumus in Cymbeline is also called "Leonatus," a Latin version of the name). Stanley Wells and Michael Dobson note that Innogen appears in Holinshed’s Chronicles, a source Shakespeare used, and that Forman’s account of the 1611 performance refers to "Innogen" throughout. Despite these arguments, most editions of the play still use the name Imogen.

Milford Haven was not known to exist during the early 1st century AD, the time period in which Cymbeline is set. It is unclear why Shakespeare used this name. Robert Nye pointed out that Milford Haven was the closest seaport to Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. He suggested that a young person walking west from Stratford might reach Milford Haven in about six days, a journey of about 165 miles (266 km). However, Bristol and the Roman port of Caerleon are closer to Stratford and are located further south. Marisa R. Cull noted that Milford Haven might symbolize the landing site of Henry Tudor in 1485, when he invaded England to overthrow Richard III and start the Tudor dynasty. It may also reflect concerns in Shakespeare’s time about the loyalty of the Welsh and the possibility of future invasions through Milford.

Criticism and interpretation

Cymbeline was a popular play by Shakespeare in the 1700s, though some critics, like Samuel Johnson, had problems with its complicated story. William Hazlitt and John Keats, however, considered it one of their favorite plays.

By the early 1900s, the play was no longer as well-liked. Lytton Strachey wrote that it seemed Shakespeare was growing tired of life, people, and drama, except for poetry. In 1937, Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw rewrote the ending of Cymbeline in a play called Cymbeline Refinished. In 1896, Shaw criticized the play, but later changed his mind after rewriting the ending. He still believed the final act was weak, even though he called the play one of Shakespeare’s best later works. Harley Granville-Barker, who acted in Shaw’s plays, agreed, saying the play showed Shakespeare as a tired artist.

Some scholars think Cymbeline mocks itself. Harold Bloom wrote that the play may be a form of self-mockery by Shakespeare, as it seems to make fun of his earlier works.

Critics have also noticed similarities between Cymbeline and stories about the Roman Emperor Augustus. This has led some to believe Shakespeare supported the political ideas of King James I of England, who saw himself as a "British Augustus." James I wanted to unite England, Wales, and Scotland into a single empire, much like Augustus did with Rome. The play shows characters like Cloten and the Queen as villains, representing narrow-mindedness and isolation, while supporting the idea that Britain is the heir to Rome’s civilization. Other critics disagree, pointing out that characters like Guiderius and Arviragus, who were raised in a Welsh cave, struggle with their identity and question the idea of a unified British identity.

The scene where Iachimo enters Imogen’s bedroom has been interpreted as a warning about the dangers of foreign influence, such as Italy’s corruption. Some scholars believe the Roman settings in the play might actually be a way to describe 16th-century Italy, which British writers saw as a place of vice and dishonesty. Though the play ends with peace between Britain and Rome, Iachimo’s actions suggest fears that Britain’s union with other cultures might bring harmful influences.

Scholars have noted that Imogen’s virginity and purity are important in the play’s political message. There is debate about whether Imogen and Posthumus’s marriage is valid. Historically, Imogen has been seen as a chaste woman who fits traditional roles, but her defiance of her father and her disguise as a man challenge these ideas. Some critics, like Tracey Miller-Tomlinson, argue that the play still supports traditional gender roles, especially in the final scene where male characters are celebrated. However, the separation and reunion of Imogen and Posthumus, along with Imogen’s disguise, leave room for non-traditional interpretations of relationships.

Scholarship on Cymbeline has also explored ideas about gender and sexuality, inspired by the work of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Judith Butler. These studies focus on the play’s references to ancient Roman poet Ovid and its portrayal of non-traditional gender roles. For example, the strong attraction between Guiderius and Arviragus toward Imogen, who disguises herself as a man, is often seen as a sign of same-sex interest. Other themes include questions about gender identity and parentage. Janet Adelman and Tracey Miller-Tomlinson have written about how Cymbeline’s lines about being a mother to three children suggest a fantasy about creating life without a traditional mother. They argue that Cymbeline takes control of his children’s lives, acting like both a mother and a father. Imogen’s experience with cross-dressing is often seen through the lens of traditional gender roles, unlike other Shakespearean characters who gain power through disguise. Imogen’s power comes from her father and is tied to her ability to have children.

Performance history

After the 1611 performance mentioned by Simon Forman, there are no records of the play being performed again until 1634. At that time, the play was revived at the royal court for King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. This production was described as being "well liked by the king." In 1728, John Rich and his company performed the play at Lincoln's Inn Fields. The show focused more on the visual effects than on the actual story. In 1744, Theophilus Cibber performed the play at the Haymarket, using Shakespeare's original text. There is evidence that Cibber performed the play again in 1746 and once more in 1758.

In 1761, David Garrick created a new version of the play. This version is similar to the original Shakespeare, but there are some changes. For example, Garrick shortened the scene where Imogen is buried and removed the fifth act, including Posthumus's dream. Garrick's version was first performed in November 1761, with Garrick himself playing Posthumus. Scholars have noted that Garrick's performance of Posthumus was well received. Valerie Wayne wrote that Garrick's changes made the play more nationalistic, reflecting a trend in how people viewed Cymbeline during that time. Garrick's version became popular and was performed many times in the following decades.

In the late 1700s, Cymbeline was performed in Jamaica. The play entered the Romantic era in 1801, when John Philip Kemble's company staged it. Kemble's productions used large and elaborate sets. One critic wrote that the bed in the bedroom scene was so big that Iachimo needed a ladder to see Imogen sleeping. Kemble added a dance to Cloten's comic scene where he tries to win Imogen's affection. In 1827, Kemble's brother, Charles, performed an old-fashioned version of the play at Covent Garden. The costumes were inspired by descriptions of ancient British clothing from writers like Julius Caesar and Diodorus Siculus.

William Charles Macready performed Cymbeline several times between 1837 and 1842. At the Theatre Royal, Marylebone, a production with actors playing both male and female roles was staged, featuring Mary Warner, Fanny Vining, Anna Cora Mowatt, and Edward Loomis Davenport.

In 1859, Cymbeline was first performed in Sri Lanka. In the late 1800s, the play was produced several times in India.

In 1864, as part of celebrations for Shakespeare's birthday, Samuel Phelps performed the title role at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Helena Faucit returned to the stage for this performance.

The play was also one of Ellen Terry's last performances with Henry Irving at the Lyceum in 1896. Terry's performance was widely praised, though Irving was not considered a strong Iachimo. Like Garrick, Irving removed Posthumus's dream and shortened Iachimo's remorse. He also tried to make Cloten's character more consistent. A review in the Athenaeum compared this version to pastoral comedies like As You Like It. The set design, created by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, was described as historically accurate, though some critics pointed out anachronisms like gold crowns and printed books.

Margaret Mather's production in New York in 1897 was very expensive, costing $40,000 for sets and publicity. However, Mather was criticized for being too emotional and undisciplined for the role.

Barry Jackson staged a modern dress production for the Birmingham Rep in 1923, two years before his famous modern dress Hamlet. In 1946, Walter Nugent Monck brought his Maddermarket Theatre production to Stratford, starting a post-war tradition of performing Cymbeline.

London saw two productions in the 1956 season. Michael Benthall directed a less successful version at The Old Vic. The set design by Audrey Cruddas was very simple, with only a few props. Instead, lighting effects were used to create mood. Barbara Jefford was criticized for playing Imogen too coldly and formally. Leon Gluckman played Posthumus, Derek Godfrey played Iachimo, and Derek Francis played Cymbeline. Benthall shortened the final act, following Victorian traditions.

By contrast, Peter Hall's production at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre included nearly the entire play, including the long-neglected dream scene. Hall presented the play as a distant fairy tale, with stylized performances. The production received good reviews, especially for Peggy Ashcroft's performance as Imogen. Richard Johnson played Posthumus, and Robert Harris played Cymbeline. Geoffrey Keen played Iachimo, whose father, Malcolm, had previously played Iachimo with Ashcroft at the Old Vic in 1932.

Hall's approach tried to bring unity to the play by using a fairy-tale theme. The next major Royal Shakespeare Company production, in 1962, used a different style. Director William Gaskill used Brechtian techniques, which mixed audience reactions. The acting was praised, but the set design was criticized. Vanessa Redgrave played Im

Adaptations

The play was adapted by Thomas d'Urfey as The Injured Princess, or, the Fatal Wager. This version was produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, probably by the King's Company and the Duke's Company in 1682. The play changed some names and details and added a subplot, common during the Restoration period, where a virtuous waiting-woman escapes traps set by Cloten. D'Urfey also changed Pisanio's character so that he immediately believes Imogen (called Eugenia in D'Urfey's play) is guilty. In D'Urfey's version, Posthumus is ready to accept that his wife might have been untrue because she is young and beautiful. Some details from this adaptation remained in later productions until the middle of the 18th century.

William Hawkins revised the play again in 1759. His version was among the last major changes made to align the play with classical unities. He removed the Queen, limited the action to two locations (the court and a forest in Wales), and cut the dirge "With fairest flowers…" into a song by Thomas Arne.

Near the end of the 18th century, Henry Brooke wrote an adaptation that was never performed. His version removed the brothers entirely and focused more on Posthumus's role in the story.

George Bernard Shaw criticized Cymbeline more harshly than any of Shakespeare's other works. He pointed out flaws in the final act in his 1937 adaptation, Cymbeline Refinished. As early as 1896, he criticized the play's absurdities to Ellen Terry, who was preparing to act as Imogen. He called the play "stagey trash of the lowest melodramatic order." Later, he changed his view, calling it "one of the finest of Shakespeare's later plays," but he still believed the final act was weak. In Cymbeline Refinished, he rewrote the final act, cutting many revelations and making Imogen a more confident character to reflect his feminist ideas.

There have been many radio adaptations of Cymbeline from the 1930s to the 2000s. The BBC broadcast versions of the play in the UK in 1934, 1951, 1957, 1986, 1996, and 2006. NBC broadcast a version in the US in 1938. In October 1951, the BBC aired a production of Shaw's Cymbeline Refinished and Shaw's introduction to the play.

Lucius J. Henderson directed the first film version of Cymbeline in 1913. The film was made by the Thanhouser Company and starred Florence La Badie as Imogen, James Cruze as Posthumus, William Garwood as Iachimo, William Russell as Cymbeline, and Jean Darnell as the Queen.

In 1937, the BBC broadcast scenes from André van Gyseghem's stage production of Cymbeline, which opened on November 16, 1937. The broadcast included scenes from Acts I and II, such as the "trunk scene" from Act II, Scene 2. In 1956, the BBC aired scenes from Michael Benthall's stage production, which opened on September 11, 1956. These broadcasts lasted about 30 minutes and included scenes from Cymbeline, including the trunk scene.

In 1968, Jerzy Jarocki directed a Polish television adaptation of Cymbeline. The production starred Wiktor Sadecki as Cymbeline and Ewa Lassek as Imogen.

Elijah Moshinsky directed the BBC Television Shakespeare adaptation of Cymbeline in 1982. He changed the ancient British setting to a timeless, snowy atmosphere inspired by Rembrandt and Dutch painters. The cast included Richard Johnson as Cymbeline, Claire Bloom as his Queen, Helen Mirren as Imogen, Robert Lindsay as Iachimo, and Michael Pennington as Posthumus.

In 2014, Ethan Hawke and director Michael Almereyda, who previously worked together on the 2000 film Hamlet, collaborated on a film version of Cymbeline. Hawke played Iachimo. The film is set in the context of urban gang warfare. Ed Harris played Cymbeline, Penn Badgley played Posthumus, Milla Jovovich played the Queen, Anton Yelchin played Cloten, and Dakota Johnson played Imogen.

Stage adaptions

Before operatic adaptations were created, only incidental music was written. The first operatic adaptation was created by Edmond Missa in 1894 and was titled "Dinah." Another operatic adaptation was composed by American musician Christopher Berg, and parts of it were performed in 2009.

Cultural references

In Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, the loyal wife Leonore disguises herself as a man and uses the name Fidelio. This may be inspired by the character Imogen in Shakespeare's play, who also disguises herself as Fidele.

The "Song" from Act II, Scene 3 of Fidelio ("Hark, hark! the lark") was composed as music by Franz Schubert in 1826.

The most well-known lines from the play appear in the funeral song of Act IV, Scene 2. These lines begin:

The first two lines of this song are included in Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway, where the characters Clarissa and Septimus Smith read them. These lines remind Clarissa of the suffering caused by World War I and express both sadness and strength. The song is an important theme in the novel. The final two lines of the song also appear in the novel The Last Convertible by Anton Myrer.

The last two lines of the song inspired T. S. Eliot in his poem "Lines to a Yorkshire Terrier" (from Five-Finger Exercises). He wrote:

The funeral song was set to music by Roger Quilter as "Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun," which is the first song in his collection Five Shakespeare Songs, Op. 23 (1921). Gerald Finzi also composed a version of the song as part of his musical work Let Us Garlands Bring (1942). Cleo Laine sings the song with music by John Dankworth on her 1964 album Shakespeare and All That Jazz.

In Stephen Sondheim's play The Frogs, William Shakespeare performs the funeral song from Act IV, Scene 2 when asked about death. The song is titled "Fear No More."

In Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days, the line "Fear no more the heat of the sun" is something Winnie and her husband try to remember as they sit outside in the weather.

In the final part of Agatha Christie's novel Appointment with Death, the first four lines of the song are quoted by the character Ginevra Boynton as she reflects on her late mother, Mrs. Boynton.

In the novel The Scent of Water (1963) by Elizabeth Goudge, the main character, Mary Lindsay, feels shocked when she realizes she is in love with Paul Randall, a blind author and former Royal Air Force pilot. She suddenly thinks of the line "Fear no more the lightning-flash" from the song, along with the rest of the stanza, which ends with "All lovers young, all lovers must / Consign to thee, and come to dust." She understands she must hide her feelings and accepts that she is growing older.