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Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
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http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1210247...

Cymbeline is rather odd. Although it is traditionally listed as one of the Tragedies, it actually has a happy ending: the evil queen and her wicked son are dead, lost children restored, estranged spouses reunited. It's also odd that the title character is not particularly prominent in the plot: this is really the story of Cymbeline's daughter, Imogen, and her husband Postumus. (Even Julius Cæsar, killed off in the third act, looms over the rest of the play and reappears as a ghost.)

Another odd thing about Cymbeline is the music. Two of the most famous Shakespeare songs are here - 'Hark, hark, the lark' and 'Fear no more the heat of the sun' - and Act 5 Scene 1 is a musical extravaganza of Postumus's visionary dreams which almost foreshadows Gene Kelly. (Well, not really, but if you know both Cymbeline and Singin' in the Rain or An American in Paris, I hope you can see my point.) There's the occasional song elsewhere in the canon, but this is surely the Bard's most serious musical effort.

The music must make it challenging to stage, but apart from that it is a perfectly decent story. There is a glorious moment when Imogen discovers a headless corpse dressed in her husband Postumus's clothes, and assumes the worst; but it is in fact the body of the evil Cloten, slain by Imogen's own long-lost brother. Compared to the best known plays, there are not many memorable lines, which I guess explains its relative obscurity.

Arkangel don't really make the most of the material. Jack Shepherd is subdued in the title role, Sophie Thompson (Emma's sister, Eric's daughter) is rather drippy as Imogen, and I can't even remember who plays Postumus. The show is thoroughly stolen by Stephen Mangan as the Hooray Henry evil princeling Cloten, and I was sorry when his head was chopped off in the fourth act. Stephen 'Marvin' Moore was also good as the exiled family retainer Belarius. ( )
  nwhyte | Apr 28, 2009 |
Of the Shakespeare plays I've read so far (probably about a dozen or so), this is probably my favourite. I find it difficult to pinpoint exactly why I liked it so much, but I did. The final scene, in particular, is well described as a theatrical tour de force as it relentlessly brings one revelation after another to tie up all the various subplots and bring about the reconciliation of all the still-living characters. ( )
  magnuscanis | Mar 4, 2009 |
FFYAA
  JohnMeeks | Nov 19, 2008 |
I was heartened to read in the New York Times today that I wasn't the only one who was knocked off-course by the almost deliberately confusing plot and character interactions. ( )
  deptstoremook | Dec 4, 2007 |
Shaw disliked the complex ending, but I found it very funny. ( )
  antiquary | Aug 28, 2007 |
Showing 5 of 5
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People/Characters
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Important events
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Epigraph
Dedication
First words
You do not meet a man but frowns: our bloods

No more obey the heavens then our courtiers

Still seem as does the king.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Shakespeare in performance

William Shakespeare

Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0140714723, Paperback)

This is the first new, full-scale edition of Cymbeline in 37 years. One of Shakespeare's final works, Cymbeline uses virtuoso theatrical and poetic means to dramatize a story of marriage imperiled by mistrust and painfully rebuilt in the context of international conflict. Roger Warren's commentary emphasizes the play's theatrical impact and pays close attention to its complex, evocative language.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:04 -0400)

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