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In ancient Britain, Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, secretly marries the poor but noble Posthumus, who is banished. In Italy, Posthumus is tricked by…
In ancient Britain, Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, secretly marries the poor but noble Posthumus, who is banished. In Italy, Posthumus is tricked by the boastful Iachimo, who hides in a trunk in Imogen's bedroom, into believing that she has been unfaithful, and orders his servant to kill her. Disguised as a boy, Imogen flees into the Welsh mountains, where she finds shelter with two young men who are, unknown to all, her own lost brothers, while war breaks out between Britain and Rome.
Context and significance
Written around 1610, it is one of Shakespeare's late romances, with an astonishing final scene in which one revelation follows another, and its song 'Fear no more the heat o' the sun' is among his most beautiful. It was first printed as the last play of the First Folio of 1623, whose text this is. Compare The Winter's Tale.
About the author
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), born in Stratford-upon-Avon, actor, playwright and shareholder of a London company, wrote about thirty-seven plays and 154 sonnets.