Themes of Cymbeline by Angela M. Risi
Scholars have teased out many themes from Shakespeare’s most bizarre play, Cymbeline, such as love, lies and deceit, society and class, mortality, supernatural intervention, suffering, women and femininity, and patriotism. Some of the themes found in Cymbeline mirror Shakespeare’s other late romances, such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. This analysis will focus on a select few.
Forgiveness & Reconciliation
One major theme of Cymbeline is forgiveness, for this single quality remedies every conflict in the play. Moreover, forgiveness reunites troubled lovers, friends, and families through reconciliation, notably exclusively in the final act.
Imogen forgives Posthumus for questioning her fidelity and turning against her. Then Imogen and Posthumus forgive Iachimo for his attempt to ruin their marriage. Cymbeline forgives Belarius for the kidnapping both his sons years before, and Cymbeline also frees the Roman prisoners, although they came to attack Britain. In Act 5 Scene 4 Cymbeline declares, “Pardon’s the word to all” (22). This single phrase is the mantra of the final act: everyone who has committed a crime, be it against the law or heart, is acquitted and bonds of love are restored–except for the Queen and Cloten, who were killed off before they could be forgiven for their behavior and reconcile their bonds. Likely, the Queen was seen as too detestable a character to incorporate into the theme of forgiveness and redemption, and Cloten’s cruel plot to trick and rape Imogen, the play’s prized heroine, similarly positions him as irredeemable.
Appearance vs. Reality/ Deception
The contrast between appearance and reality is emphasized throughout Cymbeline, and often understood in the mode of deception. Both “good and bad” characters disguise themselves in an effort to manipulate situations, for both noble and ignoble causes.
Iachimo’s deception is very important, as it serves as a catalyst for one of the most significant conflicts: the fissure of trust between Posthumus and Imogen. Iachimo tricks Imogen to gain access to her bedchamber by acquiring her trust, which allows him to learn details of the space and steal her “manacle of love” from Posthumus. Then, Iachimo returns to Italy and convinces Posthumus that Imogen has been unfaithful, using this slyly obtained false evidence.
The Queen maintains an image which starkly contrasts to her true self. She pretends to love Cymbeline although she plots to poison him and his daughter, Imogen, and Cymbeline does not see through this facade. Upon the Queen’s death, she confesses her plan to slowly kill her husband, and the King is utterly stupefied–Cymbeline had no inclination that the Queen’s true self was malicious, demonstrating the disjunction between truth and perceived truth.
Posthumus disguises himself in more physical terms, repeatedly adjusting his clothes to appear a soldier of both Britain and Rome. This deception though does not serve to harm others; rather, Posthumus manipulates his appearance in an effort to punish himself. He is guilt ridden for he believes his order to murder Imogen was executed, and he feels great remorse. While a captive of the Roman army, Posthumus switching to British garb to fight and redeem himself through patriotism, and fights valiantly, seeking death. Following the battle and Britain’s victory, Posthumus dons a Roman uniform to assure he his taken prisoner and punished by British forces. Here deception is used for a more noble cause.
Even Imogen, Cymbeline’s most dignified character, enacts deception to manipulate appearances. Imogen fools everyone in her disguise as a boy, Fidele, and as such is able to escape her father’s home and search for her love, Posthumus. Of course, all of these discrepancies between appearance and reality come to light in the final act, suggesting Restoration of Truth is an additional theme.
Works Cited
Shakespeare Comes Alive! 