Cymbeline

In Act II, Shakespeare builds the stakes by developing Cloten’s character, showing the fate that both Imogen and Britain need to escape in marriage and leadership respectively. Every time Cloten is onstage, his behavior displays a multitude of vices, including gambling, anger, greed, jealousy, and lust. He makes lewd comments about Imogen, wants more money for gambling, and reacts with fury at events, from Imogen’s rebuttal to the arrival of an apparent friend of Posthumus. These behaviors tie into the Seven Deadly Sins: Gambling, as an idle activity, was often associated with sloth. Cloten’s predilection for these vices make him an unsuitable husband and potential heir to the throne.

Shakespeare uses the Lords to offer commentary on The Influence of Nature Versus Nurture on Character as expressed through Cloten’s behavior. Despite Cloten’s courtly education, the Second Lord is shocked that the queen’s son is so stupid when his mother is so clever. Though Cloten’s nature is presented as fundamental to him, Shakespeare suggests that nature is a mystery that cannot always be attributed to bloodline. The other lord’s flattery, and Cymbeline and the Queen’s encouragement of Cloten, shows that nurture also plays a role: Everyone around Cloten facilitates his natural inclinations.

Shakespeare also builds stakes and dramatic tension through another villain, Iachimo, in particular via the bedchamber scene that is the crux of the plot, setting the characters on their paths. Iachimo’s presence in Imogen’s private sleeping space shows that his invasive actions expose her to danger. The image of Iachimo examining Imogen’s body while she sleeps creates a powerful sense of her vulnerability to his machinations. It builds a sense of physical danger that does not materialize, allowing this sense of threat to instead be channeled into the subsequent events.

This scene also uses symbolism to connect the themes of The Relationship Between Appearance and Reality with The Complexities of Honor in Love and War. Although the play presents honor as a fundamental quality in a person such as Imogen, Shakespeare shows that it is also a social construct, and therefore the outward appearance of honor is nearly as important as the inner truth of it. Iachimo’s theft of the bracelet as a symbol of loyalty (See: Symbols & Motifs) creates an outward appearance of dishonor, with material consequences in the wager. He notes that Imogen is reading the story of Tereus’s rape of Philomel, drawing a parallel between this story and the scene playing out. This allusion shows how high the stakes are for Imogen: Iachimo apparently taking her honor is consequentially similar to this being the truth—it is almost as destructive to her as a violent act.

Indeed, Scene 4 confirms that appearances can have real consequences. The belief that Imogen has been dishonorable motivates Posthumus’s plan to tear her limb from limb. Imogen is threatened with death, and Posthumus’s sense of self disintegrates as his worldview is dramatically altered: He doubts his own heritage, and becomes violent and irrational, accusing women of a list of vices that he and other male characters (Cloten and Iachimo) are displaying. This shows that the loss of Imogen’s appearance of honor represents a loss of self for husband and wife: Sexual honor is seen as fundamental to a married couple.

As well as personal stakes for Imogen and Posthumus, this Act also raises the political stakes for Britain as an entity by introducing the external threat of a Roman invasion. Exploring the theme of The Nature of British Identity, Shakespeare shows that these two forces are not necessarily oppositional, as the play does not simply cast Britain as the hero and the Roman Empire as the villain. Cymbeline acknowledges Lucius’s virtue. He also plans to involve the villainous Cloten in negotiations. The idea of Cloten’s inclusion shows that any existential threat is not purely external, but also relates to Cymbeline’s corruption by the Queen and Cloten. Cymbeline’s situation suggests that, in terms of British identity, maintaining internal moral character is just as important as (and necessary for) maintaining the British place on the international stage. Establishing this theme and plot point here leads to its increasing centrality in the coming Acts.