Cymbeline is one of the last five plays Shakespeare wrote. Dated 1609 or 1610, it is considered his early experiment in a new genre of plays now termed “The Romances”. Preceded by Pericles in 1607, Shakespeare's work in this form culminated in The Winter's Tale in 1610 and in his masterpiece, The Tempest in 1611. All of these plays embrace elements of comedy and tragedy and all have similar motifs: families reunited after separation and suffering; recognition scenes in which characters re-encounter each other in a state of wonder; oracles, dreams, revelations, and gods; the finding or re-claiming of one's self.