61 pages • 2-hour read
Cymbeline
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Influence of Nature Versus Nurture on Character
The plot of Cymbeline features several characters who are noble by birth but behave ignobly, while other characters do not know of their noble origins or must disguise them, yet behave with honor and courage. Throughout the play, Shakespeare thus interrogates the influence of nature versus nurture on character.
Cymbeline’s children are inherently noble, suggesting the role of nature in influencing their character. Imogen’s virtue is such a fundamental part of her character that it is even apparent when she is incognito. She also withstands external pressures to marry Cloten or to sleep with Iachimo. Arviragus and Guiderius’s nobility is likewise so innate that their upbringing in a cave does not change it: Imogen notes that they are as noble as any courtier would be in the same circumstances, suggesting that they do not behave exactly like courtiers, but that these differences are superficial compared to the primacy of their inherent qualities.
By contrast, the Queen and Cloten are portrayed as fundamentally wicked, with no redeeming qualities despite their noble blood. The Queen’s confessions in Act V place her in the role of a ruthless Machiavellian villain: Even her personal relationships were actually motivated by ambition and greed. Cloten is similarly wicked but less clever. He speaks in prose to suggest his brutishness, which his behavior also reflects: He gambles, attacks people unprovoked, and plans to rape Imogen. His vices prevail despite being in court, surrounded by the good and the great. Shakespeare thus suggests that his nature overrides the impact of his environment or the status afforded him by his mother’s marriage.
Shakespeare does acknowledge the role of nurture and of external influences as well, but suggests that these cannot permanently shift a person’s true character. Cymbeline considers Posthumus too “lowly” by birth to marry Imogen, but Imogen, Cymbeline, and the lords in the first scene all note that his upbringing in the royal court has made him noble and worthy. They also note the impressive deeds of his family, who were loyal war heroes. Through his example, Shakespeare suggests that nurture is important, but that it works with a foundation created by a person’s bloodline. Similarly, Cymbeline changes due to the Queen’s wicked manipulations, treating his daughter poorly and reneging on his agreement with Rome. However, once her influence is gone, he quickly reverts back to behaving as a magnanimous and honorable ruler, keeping his promises, restoring his relationship with Imogen, and forgiving Belarius. Cymbeline’s moral recovery at the play’s end thus suggests that his nature is fundamentally noble and just.
Overall, the play acknowledges that external pressures can impact a person’s behavior, but suggests that people have an innate, underlying character that is linked to their bloodline, which is more important.
The Relationship Between Appearance and Reality
Cymbeline explores an idea especially popular in early modern literature: That there is a clear relationship between appearance and reality, with a person’s outward appearance reflecting truths about their inner self. This idea is prominent in the characters of Imogen, Guiderius, and Arviragus, as throughout the play, other characters can see they are noble and virtuous just by looking at them. However, the plot revolves around disguise and deception, complicating the question of whether a person’s inner spirit can always be detected outwardly.
For all three of Cymbeline’s children, their outer circumstances do not hide their inherent nobility. When Imogen is dressed as “Fidele,” her disguise is superficially convincing: Everyone believes she is a page boy, not a noble lady. However, her fundamental spirit is still visible: Lucius, Cymbeline, and her brothers all identify her as a virtuous, worthy person who inspires their loyalty on first sight. Her relatives feel an instinctive familial pull to her, even without context. Similarly, though Guiderius and Arviragus live in a cave and appear to be outlaws, the British soldiers mistake them for angels, imbuing them with nobility regardless of their rustic appearance. Shakespeare suggests that a person’s inherent qualities can be detected through their outer appearance.
However, the play also problematizes this idea through Cloten and Posthumus. Cloten’s disguise works entirely on Imogen, who is convinced he is Posthumus and even comments on his physical body’s nobility. Posthumus’s own disguise as a peasant is also effective: The soldiers note his lowly appearance, rather than grouping him with the angelic brothers. Through clothing, these characters, like “Fidele,” are able to deceive others about the social constructs of gender and social station. Outward appearance can therefore be misleading, as the power of clothing to indicate social role can be manipulated.
However, for both Cloten and Posthumus, their clothes cannot override their actual behavior as indicators of their inner selves. Posthumus’s brave deeds in battle impress Cymbeline regardless of his apparent status, and Imogen only falls for Cloten’s disguise when he is dead and she is muddled by drugs and shock. When Cloten is awake, Guiderius points out that he does not act like a prince, whatever his formal title or clothing. Shakespeare maintains that outward appearances are an indicator of the inner self, but suggests that outward actions and manners are more meaningful than clothing.
Nonetheless, Shakespeare shows that it is possible for a person’s outward performance to deceive: The Queen completely tricks Cymbeline, who believes her performance of love. The play expands on this idea further with the Soothsayer’s prophecy: Though he initially interprets it incorrectly, it ultimately reflects events. This suggests that there is always a link between appearance and reality, but that it is possible to misread the evidence.
The Complexities of Honor in Love and War
Honor is at the center of Cymbeline, particularly two specific iterations of honor: Martial honor, and honor in romantic and sexual loyalty. Through the characters’ choices and experiences, Shakespeare explores the complexities of honor in both love and war.
Imogen’s honor in love is at the crux of the plot, as her sexual virtue is her most valuable asset. Its spiritual weight is symbolized by the wager, as the men attach enormous material stakes to her chastity. Once her honor is apparently undermined, she cannot exist as herself anymore: When Pisanio refuses to kill her, the only alternative option he offers is for her to adopt a disguise, symbolizing the loss of self that comes with an attack on her reputation. Through Posthumus’s regret and Imogen’s forgiveness, their marriage is restored, and with it their true identities and place at court. Shakespeare suggests that, in marriage, love and honor are inextricably linked.
Cloten and the Queen are foils to Imogen’s virtue in love, as their attitudes to those they claim to love are fundamentally dishonorable. Cloten plans to rape Imogen; he says his love for her exists alongside hate. The Queen’s confession that she never really loved Cymbeline is treated as proof of her wickedness, and opens Cymbeline’s eyes to the dishonorable behavior she has drawn him into. In the play, love and honor inform each other, and where one is absent, the other cannot truly exist.
Posthumus’s arc draws a parallel between honor in love and honor in war. Posthumus’s instruction to kill his wife is a betrayal of honor in love, which he seeks to redeem through committing to honor her in war. Posthumus’s bravery on the battlefield is held up as an example of martial honor by everyone who witnesses it, which justifies his elevation by Cymbeline despite his apparently peasant status. The martial honor of his own family and of Belarius is held up as a moral attribute, reinforcing why they deserve respect and status. Posthumus’s condemnation of those who fled the battle supports this: Those lacking in martial honor are fundamentally unworthy. He compares their cowardice to a type of death: Just as Imogen experiences a loss of self when her sexual honor is questioned, so too does cowardice compromise a soldier’s identity.
Shakespeare also uses the war to explore how honor can exist even within enmity. Lucius and Cymbeline display mutual respect despite their enmity, even once they know they’ll be at war; Cymbeline ensures Lucius has safe passage to depart Britain. Belarius also insists on treating Cloten’s body with honor, even though Guiderius found him dishonorable in life. The play suggests that in both political and personal arenas, honor can be maintained despite conflict.
Finally, honor is central to Cymbeline’s personal and political journey. Once the Queen’s influence is gone, he makes honorable choices again: He agrees to pay the tribute; he respects his captives; he forgives Belarius. The restoration of his honor comes hand-in-hand with the restoration of his family and his country: He is victorious politically and personally, in war and in love. The play thus presents honor as a crucial force in all spheres of life.
The Nature of British Identity
An idealized Britain and its people are at the heart of Cymbeline, which balances an idealized image of a powerful, independent British with an acknowledgement of internal and external threats to national integrity and stability. Throughout the play, the characters wrestle with the nature of British identity, especially in relation to its imperial overlord and rival, Rome.
In Act III, the characters argue about why Cymbeline should not pay tribute to Rome. The Queen suggests that independence is inherent to Britain: She personifies the surrounding waters and their storms as protecting Britain, implying a divine endorsement. She argues that Caesar didn’t conquer Britain as easily or completely as anywhere else, and cites the courage and ferocity of the Britons, which Cloten says have only increased since then. Cymbeline also invokes the idea of a fundamental British spirit of independence, claiming that even his lowest subjects insist on Britain’s sovereignty.
Shakespeare uses Guiderius and Arviragus as a counter to the idea that Roman culture was fundamentally superior to the apparently “barbarian” or “uncivilized” cultures they conquered. While the brothers may not have courtly trappings, they are inherently noble. The juxtaposition of their lowly lifestyle with their elevated spirits allows Shakespeare to maintain an idea of British nobility despite writing the play in a time when Greco-Roman culture was revered and seen as the foundation for Western civilization. The brothers’ example offers an ideal of British identity that can exist outside of the cultural heritage of the Roman empire.
However, Shakespeare also suggests a kinship between Rome and Britain. Though Cymbeline is corrupted under the Queen’s influence, he ultimately shares values with Lucius, who tells him that the tribute is an obligation and that killing his prisoners would be dishonorable: By the end of the play, Cymbeline agrees with him on both these issues. Through portraying friendship and shared codes of honor between Lucius and Cymbeline, Shakespeare suggests that Roman martial and cultural legacy is a natural ally for the heritage of the ancient Britons.
The soothsayer’s prophecy supports the compatibility of British identity with Roman influence: The power of Rome is symbolized by the eagle, but Cymbeline is the sun that swallows it up. The metaphor of the sun portrays Britain and its monarchy as all-powerful and magnificent, but this image also represents a coming together of these two forces: Britain is the natural successor of the imperial Roman mantle. In this vision, Shakespeare presents British identity as unique, but also sharing nobility and strength with the Roman Empire.
Cymbeline’s martial victory over the Roman forces fulfils a patriotic function, but though Britain triumphs and proves itself, Cymbeline decides to pay the tribute still out of honor, and to create peace. The play’s ending frames Britain’s relationship to ancient Rome as matter of alliance between equals, rather than subservience. The play suggests that British identity can be asserted in cooperation with international forces, rather than in confrontation.
Unlock every key theme and why it matters
Get in-depth breakdowns of the book’s main ideas and how they connect and evolve.
- Explore how themes develop throughout the text
- Connect themes to characters, events, and symbols
- Support essays and discussions with thematic evidence