!THE TRAGEDIE OF CYMBELINE (ca.1609-10)
The First Folio is the sole authority for this play. The print house copy appears to have been Ralph Crane’s transcript of a manuscript “in two hands” (TEXTUAL COMPANION, p.147.
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!!X AXIS (abscisses): 3820 lines
Subdivisions of ACTS & SCENES are according to the FOLIO.
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1.1: line 1 (reads "Act 1 scene 1 begins at line 1")
1.2: line 82
1.3: line 225
1.4: line 262
1.5: line 313
1.6: line 488
1.7: line 591
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2.1: line 838
2.2: line 902
2.3: line 960
2.4: line 1142
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3.1: line 1373
3.2: line 1467
3.3: line 1553
3.4: line 1669
3.5: line 1888
3.6: line 2080
3.7: line 2109
3.8: line 2196
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4.1: line 2217
4.2: line 2243
4.3: line 2736
4.4: line 2790
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5.1: line 2856
5.2: line 2891
5.3: line 2924
5.4: line 3032
5.5: line 3247
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FINIS @ 3820
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!!Y AXIS: ENTRANCES & EXITS
Entrances & exits of Characters
According to their order of appearance.
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• (2,81) reads "enters at line 2, exits at line 81".
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• DISGUISED as Fidele (2081,3526)
is inserted at the end of a character’s list (in this case Imogen’s) to indicate “duration” of said disguise.
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• ([as dead 2495,2612] 2735)
is rather self-explanatory and reads “character is carried on — as if they were dead — on line 2495, character awakes on line 2613, and exits on line 2735”. Of course, this could just as well be (2495,2735) and let “readers” figure it out for themselves.
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• (2925 [sleeps 3064,3159] 3246)
read “character (in this case Posthumus) enters at line 2925, sleeps onstage from lines 3064 to 3159, and exits at line 3246”.
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• PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS are capitalized.
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Two gents
(2,81)
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QUEEN (Cymbeline’s wife, Imogen’s stepmother)
(83,99) (119,125) (184,224) (489,587) (993,1029) (1374,1466) (1889,1976) RIP
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POSTHUMUS (a poor gentleman, Imogen’s husband)
(83,155) (341,487) (1143,1331) (1337,1372) (2857,2890) (2893,2894) (2895,2897) (2915,2916) (2925 [sleeps 3064,3159] 3246) (3332,3819) / DISGUISED as unknown knight (2893,3490)
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IMOGEN (Daughter of Cymbeline)
(83,224) (263,312) (592,837) (903 [sleeps 916,959]) (1057,1139) (1491,1552) (1670,1887) (2081,2108) (2131,2195) (2245,2303) ([as dead 2495,2611] 2735) (2917,2923) (3030,3031)
(3332, 3819) / DISGUISED as Fidele (2081,3526)
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CYMBELINE (King of Britain)
(147,195) (993,1029) (1374,1466) (1889,1953) (2737,2778) (2893,2894) (2908,2916) (3029,3031) (3248,3819)
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PISANIO (Posthumus’ servant)
(196,224) (263,312) (521,574) (583,590) (602,655) (1115,1130) (1468,1552) (1670,1887) (1987,2046) (2063,2079) (2737,2789) (3029,3031) (3249,3819)
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CLOTTEN (the Queen’s son)
(226,261) (839,987) (961,1141) (1374,1466) (1889,1958) (1970,2073)
(2218,2242) (2325,2378) RIP / DISGUISED as Posthumus (2218,2378)
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1st Lord (attending Clotten)
(226,261) (839,901) (961,1059)
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2nd Lord
(attending Clotten): (226,261) (987,901) (961,1059)
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Philario (friend of Posthumus)
(341,487) (1143,1336)
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JACHIMO (Italian gentleman)
(341,487) (602,837) (917,1029) (1171,1336) (1143,1336) (2892,2894) (2895,2907) (2917,2923) (3030,3031) (3331),3819)
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Cornelius (a physician)
(489,544) (3277,3819)
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Musicians
(974,1466)
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LUCIUS (Roman general)
(1375,1466) (1889,1912) (2655,2735) (2892,2894) (2917,2923) (3030,3031)
(3331,3819)
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BELARIUS (a banished lord of Cymbeline's court)
(1554,1668) (2110,2195) (2244,2335) (2379,2570) (2601,2611) (2791,2855) (2909,2916) (3029,3031) (3248,3819) /
DISGUISED as Morgan (1554,3644)
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GUIDERIUS (long lost son of Cymbeline)
(1554,1638) (2110,2195) (2244,2378) (2394,2443) (2478,2611) (2791,2855) (2909,2916) (3029,3031) (3248,3819) /
DISGUISED as Polydore (1554,3671)
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ARVIRAGUS (long lost son of Cymbeline)
(1554,1638) (2110,2195) (2244,2335) (2379,2462) (2495,2611) (2791,2855) (2910,2916) (3029,3031) (3248,3819) /
DISGUISED as Cadwal (1554,3672)
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Senators & Tribunes
(2197,2216)
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Soothsayer
(2655,2735) (3331,3819)
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Britaine Lord
(2925,2994)
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Two Captains
(3015,3031)
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Gaoler
(3031,3037) (3189,3246)
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••••• POSTHUMUS’ DREAM •••••
Posthumus’ father (3065,3159)
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Posthumus’ mother (3067,3159)
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Posthumus’ brothers (3069,3159)
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Jupiter (3026,3159)
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••••••••••••••••••
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!!PLOTS & COLOURING
CYMBELINE, oddly enough, isn’t at ALL a “tragedy” even though it closes the TRAGEDIES section of the FOLIO. Like THE WINTER’S TALE it is a “tragicomedy”. The play ends with a very un-tragic “reconciliation” and, as required with comedy, a “marriage” (or, rather, Cymbeline’s “acceptance” of Imogen’s marriage to Posthumus, which had been celebrated before the play began).
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There has been speculation according to which the FOLIO’s syndicate might not have wanted to end the book with a tragic “death march”. As it is, the FOLIO begins with “A tempestuous noise …” and ends with “… such a peace”.
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CYMBELINE has three plots.
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• The first is the LOVE plot, which involves:
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IMOGEN
POSTHUMUS
PISANIO
PHILARIO
JACHIMO
CORNELIUS
CLOTTEN
& his TWO LORDS
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• The second plot concerns Cymbeline’s WAR with Rome, it involves:
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CYMBELINE (British)
LUCIUS (Roman)
SENATORS & TRIBUNES (Romans)
SOOTHSAYER (Roman)
BRITAINE LORD (Brit.)
TWO CAPTAINS (Brit.)
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• The third plot concerns the long lost SONS of Cymbeline, and involves:
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BELARIUS (aka Morgan)
GUIDERIUS (aka Polydore)
ARVIRAGUS (aka Cadwal)
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Plots 1 & 2, also involve the QUEEN who is the play’s principal antagonist (along with her somewhat dim son CLOTTEN). She is the cause of Cymbeline’s anger at his daughter, Imogen, leading to the banishment of her new husband Posthumus. She is also the cause of Cymbeline’s war with Rome.
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Of course, from the appearance of the 3rd plot on (i.e. from line 1554 on) the three plots fold into each other: IMOGEN (aka Fidele) is rescued by BELARIUS (aka Morgan) & Co. who kill CLOTTEN (while he wears Posthumus’ clothes). Later, IMOGEN (aka Fidele) will become the Roman LUCIUS’ pageboy, while the disguised POSTHUMUS (who is thought dead by Imogen) saves the day for CYMBELINE. Hence the whole “historia” is quite intermixed.
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!!ACTION SEQUENCES
5.2 is the great battle between Roman & British forces: (2891 to 2923)
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!!METATHEATRE
As indicated in the ENTRANCES & EXITS above, an inordinate number of characters are DISGUISED.
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IMOGEN: DISGUISED as Fidele (2081,3526)
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POSTHUMUS: DISGUISED as unknown knight (2893,3490)
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CLOTTEN: DISGUISED as Posthumus (2218,2378)
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BELARIUS: DISGUISED as Morgan (1554,3644)
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GUIDERIUS: DISGUISED as Polydore (1554,3671)
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ARVIRAGUS: DISGUISED as Cadwal (1554,3672)
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And POSTHUMUS’ DREAM is almost certainly a form of play-within-the-play: (3065,3159).
