According to his story, he, many years before, had escaped with the royal nursemaid. Cunobelinus, ruler of a large area of southeastern Britain from roughly ad 10 to 42. Posthumus, furious at being betrayed by his wife, sends a letter to Britain ordering his servant, Pisanio, to murder Imogen. Cymbeline's wife and Imogen's stepmother. When Cymbeline grants a boon to Fidele, the page asks why Giacomo wears Posthumus' ring. Let's just say that Cymbeline may be king, but he's definitely not the king of good judgment. Meanwhile, the Queen, Innogen's step-mother, attempts to annul her step-daughter's marriage to Posthumus. The Romans are condemned (including Innogen, Giacomo, and Posthumus), but Caius Lucius asks for Fidele’s freedom. Iachimo argues that all women are naturally unchaste, and he makes a wager with Posthumus that he will be able to seduce Imogen. Unbeknown to Innogen, Giacomo secretly hides in the chest and gains access to her bedroom. Imogen, Cymbeline's daughter is in love with Posthumus, but her stepmother wants Imogen to marry Cloten, the queen's son. CYMBELINE O thou vile one! The story of love and passion crafted by our designers, pattern makers, toile makers, seamstresses, laces and fabrics. Posthumus is distraught by the news and overcome with guilt. Cunobelinus succeeded his father, Tasciovanus, as chief of the He relates how he arranged Innogen's death. Storyline A gritty story of a take-no-prisoners war between dirty cops and an outlaw biker gang. Pisanio is Posthumus ’ loyal servant. Cymbeline, Queen of Britain when Augustus Caesar was Emperor of Rome, has a daughter, Innogen, and two sons who were stolen in infancy. The title of Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" (1609), whose protagonist is a 12th-century king of Britain. Cymbeline is King of Britain; his first wife died, and he married a wicked queen. Thank you for your support to help care for the world's greatest Shakespeare heritage and keep his story alive. In our current production of Cymbeline, the title role refers the Queen of Britain, played by Gillian Bevan. Lucius commends ‘Fidele’ to Cymbeline, who grants her any request. The secret marriage of Cymbeline’s daughter, Imogen, triggers much of the action, which includes villainous slander, homicidal jealousy, cross-gender disguise, a deathlike trance, and the appearance of Jupiter in a vision. Shakespeare's Use of Symbols in Cymbeline Set in a world that is part Druid, part Roman, Cymbeline is rich in symbols. He marries an unpleasant woman who has an arrogant son called Cloten. Cymbeline. Director Melly Still explains the story of Shakespeare's Cymbeline. A drug kingpin is driven to desperate measures. Meanwhile, angry at his rejection by the princess, Prince Cloten attempts to woo her again and discovers that Innogen has escaped the court. Cymbeline arranges the marriage of his beautiful daughter, Imogen, to Cloten but she defies him and marries the poor but worthy Posthumus Leonatus in … That night, the god Jupiter promises the spirits of Posthumus's dead ancestors that he will care for their descendant. The Romans are defeated, thanks to the intervention of Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus, and Posthumus, still trying to punish himself, switches back to Roman garb and allows himself to be taken prisoner. The king of Britain and Imogen's father. Innogen rejects Cloten and seeks the help of her husband’s servant, Pisanio, to keep him at bay. Set in the pre-Christian Roman world, Cymbeline draws its main theme, that of a wager by a husband on his wife’s fidelity, from a story in Giovanni Boccaccio ’s Decameron. He mourns his decision to have Innogen killed and seeks his own retribution. Also possibly from Greek "kyme" meaning "hollow vessel", referring to the percussion instrument, the cymbal. He removes Posthumus' bracelet from Innogen’s wrist. They welcome Imogen, who is still dressed as a boy. Before travelling to Italy, Posthumus exchanges his bracelet for Innogen’s ring. See more. King Cymbeline rules over Britain under the protection of Rome. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Cymbeline tells the story of a British king, Cymbeline, and his three children, presented as though they are in a fairy tale. When Imogen balks and secretly marries Posthumus, the king has him banished. The disguised Imogen hires herself out to them as a page. The next day, Cymbeline calls the prisoners before him, and the confusion is sorted out. As Giacomo admits to his deception, Posthumus reveals himself to the court. Cymbeline is the first of Shakespeare's plays to depict a deity descending from above, and although this trick is as old as the deus ex machina of Ancient Greece, perhaps the presence of a ceiling in the Blackfriar's theater (as opposed to the open-air Globe) made this effect at least somewhat realistic. The Romans demand payment of the tribute that King Cymbeline has refused to pay them. The exchange is a pledge of trust and love between the couple upon their separation. Cloten IMOGEN Almost, sir: heaven restore me! Furious with the couple's disobedience, Cymbeline decides to banish Posthumus from Britain. It is of Gaelic origin, and the meaning of Cymbeline is "sun lord". Cymbeline sends Posthumus into exile in Italy, where he encounters a smooth-tongued Italian named Iachimo. When Polydore and Cadwal admit to killing the Prince, Cymbeline is angry. Imogen, the daughter of the British king Cymbeline, goes against her father's wishes and marries a lowborn gentleman, Posthumus, instead of his oafish stepson, Cloten. Belarius and his adoptive sons come upon Imogen and, heart-broken, lay her body beside that of the slain Cloten. The identity of Guiderius and Arviragus is revealed, Belarius is forgiven, and the Queen dies, leaving the king free of her evil influence. Directed by Elijah Moshinsky. CYMBELINE What, art thou mad? However, he persuades her to look after his travelling chest for him overnight. When Innogen awakes from her drugged sleep, she finds herself lying beside a headless corpse wearing her husband's clothes. Imogen (dressed as a boy) goes in search of her … Back at court, the Queen has died, admitting her plots and treasons. Cymbeline knights Belarius and his sons. The young men mourn Fidele as they place Cloten’s body beside her for burial. Meanwhile, Cloten appears, having come in pursuit of Imogen; he fights a duel with Guiderius, who kills him. However, the draught merely induces a deep sleep that resembles death. Celebrating Shakespeare is at the heart of everything we do. Innogen is accused of being unfaithful, runs away, and becomes a page for the Roman army as it invades Britain. So is the Second Lord when he says “That such a crafty devil as is his mother / Should yield the world this ass” ( 2.1.52 –53 ) . Posthumus originally disguises himself and fights on the British side. In the end, Innogen clears her name, discovers her long-lost brothers and reunites with her husband while Cymbeline makes peace with Rome. The map below shows all the locations Shakespeare used for Cymbeline. Cloten is the son of Cymbeline's new Queen, a villainous woman who has made the king her puppet. She bewails her fortune and her husband’s apparent death. The hunters have befriended the disguised Innogen, or 'Fidele', as they know him. Cymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare first performed around 1611. In the play Cymbeline, the king of Britain, decides that his daughter, Imogen, must marry his horrid stepson Cloten. He is the Cymbeline in William Shakespeare’s play of that name, but the play’s fanciful plot bears no relation to the events in Cunobelinus’s career. If Shakespeare’s Cymbeline is a little known play, the historical figure is even more of an unknown monarch. A local gentleman, Giacomo, challenges Posthumus to place a wager on her fidelity. To them as a drug kingpin ( Ed Harris, Dakota Johnson, Michael ). Resume paying the tribute that king Cymbeline rules over Britain under the protection of Rome 's Cymbeline revealing... ( Historically, it was Rome 's garrisons which defended Britain. including Innogen, has married. Called Cloten age of 13 Historically, it was medicinal, the king her puppet along with Posthumus, leaves! Is reunited with Posthumus, furious at being betrayed by his wife, sends a to. 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