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Cymbeline
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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.
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Cymbeline is a rarity in planetological studies: a massive world with a thin atmosphere. Although nearly 15,000 kilometers in diameter and having a density of 1.09 Earths, Cymbeline has a very thin (almost trace) atmosphere. Nearly 90% of the world surface is uninhabitable due to lack of atmosphere; the other 10% does have a thin, breathable atmosphere pooling at the bottom of extremely deep canyons and crevasses by the world's high gravity. These canyons form a network which straddles large portions of each hemisphere. Icecaps cover 30% of the world's surface.
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Though once held in very high regard, Cymbeline has lost popularity over the past century. Some have held that, written late in Shakespeare's career, the play was an instance of Shakespeare amusing himself, spinning absurd tales with no serious intent.[3] Both William Hazlitt and John Keats numbered it among their favorite plays. The play is sometimes referred to as a "problem play", as it focuses on a character confronting a specific moral or social concern.
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In a heart-stopping mix of forbidden marriage, slander, kidnapping, and disguise, Shakespeare’s Cymbeline comes to life in this fast-paced production set during the American Civil War. Cymbeline, Governor of Kansas, has seen Imogen, his only daughter, marry against his will, so he banishes her new husband, Postumus, from the state. Posthumus heads South and meets up with the Rebel army, where he boasts to the Cajun villain, Jachimo, of Imogena’s beauty and fidelity. Jachimo wastes no time in betting that he can prove the Yankee wrong and sets out to seduce Imogen away from Posthumus. Meanwhile, Cymbeline’s wife, wicked stepmother to Imogen, plots to put her rotten son, Cloten, in the governor’s seat and her political maneuvering almost succeeds. To complicate things further, Cymbeline’s two sons, kidnapped at birth, are about to return to everyone’s surprise, as they join in the bloody Civil War that threatens the entire country.
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Cymbeline, who has been "a cipher throughout the drama" (Bloom 617), wonders who it was who helped Belarius and the others rescue him, and he knights the two boys. Cornelius brings news of the Queen's suicide and her confessions before her death: she never loved Cymbeline but only his wealth and power; she intended to poison Cymbeline slowly but her attempts failed and she grew more crazed. Roman prisoners are presented and Caius Lucius asks for mercy only for Fidele. Cymbeline thinks Fidele reminds him of someone and grants a request. Fidele wants to ask Iachimo some questions, such as where he found that diamond ring he's got on his finger. Posthumus is present and wonders why this would be of interest.
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[T]he war continues, and at the court of Cymbeline, the Queen has begun to go mad from the disappearance of Cloten. Posthumus has returned with the invading armies, but disguises himself as a Briton with the hope of dying in battle against the invaders. However, with the aid of Posthumus, Belarius, and the two brothers, the Britons win a glorious battle. Posthumus is later captured and thrown into prison, mistaken for a Roman. There he has a strange prophetic vision. Likewise, Iachimo, Lucius, and Imogen (Fidele) are captured and brought to Cymbeline.
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Cymbeline