Cymbeline the name used in
Renaissance times to refer to the King
Cunobelin(us) of
Britain, who encouraged trade with
Rome, but then fought them off as the then Emperor of Rome,
Aulus Plautius tried to take Britain. He was the last of Britain's kings before the Romans took control, and he died in the year
40 or
41.
See also: The History of the Kings of Britain.
Written in 1609-1610, Cymbeline is the least known, and least performed of the canon of William Shakespeare's plays. Printed in the first folio in 1623 under the title 'The Tragedie of Cymbeline' it is generally classed, along with The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, and Pericles, as a comedy, and more particularly, as a romance. The reason it is not frequently performed is that it is rather "experimental", including lyrical poetry (Fear no more the heat o' the sun and Hark, Hark, the lark), and many unreal sequences.
Cymbeline is a love story in five acts, set in Ancient Britain and Rome, and it explores the themes of fidelity, virtue, and deceit. It contains elements from many of Shakespeare's other plays, including a woman dressing up as a young man, an unsanctioned marriage, the politics of royalty, a mad Queen, a false-death potion, a deceitful villain, a beheading, and missing family members.
Plot Synopsis
Imogen (also written Innogen), daughter of King Cymbeline, is the last remaining heir to the throne, as her two brothers were stolen from their nursery by the courtier, Belarius, banished to Wales.
Imogen's stepmother, the Queen, would marry her to her loutish son, Cloten, but Imogen married a common man, Posthumus Leonatus, whom she loved dearly, in secret. Cymbeline banishes Posthumus, and locks Imogen in her chamber.
Posthumus, now banished and at his friend Philario's home in Rome, meets Iachimo, a devious Italian who persuades Postumus to bet upon Imogen's faithfulness. Iachimo tries to seduce Imogen, and failing this, deceives Posthumus into believing that Imogen had lain with him, by providing certain evidence (description of her chamber, a stolen bracelet that Posthumus gave her, and a mark on her breast). Believing that all was lost, Posthumus sends his servant Pisanio to kill Imogen in the countryside of Milford-Haven, for her infidelity (woman, then being the cause), but Pisanio is too sympathetic toward Imogen to do the deed.
At Pisanio's bequest, Imogen dresses as a page (by the name of Fidele), and brings a special medicine, given to Pisanio by the Queen, which is really a false-death potion (as in Romeo and Juliet), on her quest to find her husband, Posthumus. Meanwhile, the buffoon prince Cloten, anxious to kill the banished Posthumus, and ravish Imogen, dresses in Posthumus’ clothing, and seeks out the two lovers. Imogen struggles her way to a cave, where she finds three noble savages, in fact Belarius and her two now-grown brothers, Guiderius and Arviragus, kidnapped so long ago. She then self-administers the "medicine", falling into a temporary sleep of death.
One of Belarius' sons makes battle with Cloten, beheading him. They discover Imogen at the cave, lying dead, and place Cloten's body next hers. Imogen wakes to find this headless body, wearing the clothes of her husband, and she despairs. An ambassador from Rome, Caius Lucius, now at war with Britain, takes the princess, still dressed as a page into his service. Meanwhile, the mad Queen dies. Rome loses the war with Britain. Posthumus, his world as good as over, lets himself be taken prisoner, to be put to death. He has a vision of the ghosts of his family, and of the Roman god, Jupiter. He is taken to King Cymbeline, where everyone meets, and the web of lies, deceits, and disguises is unravelled. Imogen and Posthumus are together once more, with Cymbeline's blessing. Cymbeline's sons are reunited with the royal family, Belarius is unexiled, everyone is forgiven their errors, and peace is established with Rome. The Roman soothsayer, and then the King make everything clear in the end.
There is also a variety of English rose by the name of Cymbeline. It has glossy, pale green foliage, and 14cm flat, loose, double blooms that are a mix of pink, grey, and off-white. Cymbeline roses are described as smelling of myrrh. They blossom through Summer and Autumn months. The bush grows up to 2m tall, and slightly more so in breadth and depth. It tends to resist fungi well, and thrives in filtered shade.