Cymbeline

Name: Cymbeline
Author: William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

free · 29,049 words · 3 h 27 m audiobook, read by volunteers for LibriVox · first published 1623

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Dramatis Personae

Cymbeline, King of Britain
Cloten, son to the Queen by a former husband
Posthumus Leonatus, a gentleman, husband to Imogen
Belarius, a banished lord, disguised under the name of Morgan
Guiderius, son to Cymbeline, disguised under the name of Polydore, supposed son to Morgan
Arviragus, son to Cymbeline, disguised under the name of Cadwal, supposed son to Morgan
Philario, friend to Posthumus, Italian
Iachimo, friend to Philario, Italian
Caius Lucius, general of the Roman forces
Pisanio, servant to Posthumus
Cornelius, a physician
A Roman captain
Two British captains
A Frenchman, friend to Philario
Two lords of Cymbeline’s court
Two gentlemen of the same
Two gaolers
Queen, wife to Cymbeline
Imogen, daughter to Cymbeline by a former queen
Helen, a lady attending on Imogen
Lords, ladies, Roman senators, tribunes, a soothsayer, a Dutchman, a Spaniard, musicians, officers, captains, soldiers, messengers, and other attendants
Apparitions

Scene: Britain; Rome.

Act I

restoring your place…

fetching the rest…

More by William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
You get a play that keeps changing its mind about love, from the quarrelling lovers in the forest to Bottom blundering through his amateur performance. The language is playful and slippery, and Puck gives the whole thing a mischievous sense that human beings are never quite in control.
All’s Well That Ends Well
Helena chases a man who plainly doesn't deserve her, and the play knows it, which is what makes it interesting. If you like your comedies uneasy, with a bed trick and an ending that only half convinces, this one will stick with you.
Antony and Cleopatra
These two aren't young lovers, they're middle-aged, vain, magnificent messes who keep wrecking empires over each other, and you half want to shake them. Stay for Enobarbus, the dry-eyed friend whose barge speech about Cleopatra is worth the whole play.

Dramatis Personae

Cymbeline, King of Britain

Cloten, son to the Queen by a former husband

Posthumus Leonatus, a gentleman, husband to Imogen

Belarius, a banished lord, disguised under the name of Morgan

Guiderius, son to Cymbeline, disguised under the name of Polydore, supposed son to Morgan

Arviragus, son to Cymbeline, disguised under the name of Cadwal, supposed son to Morgan

Philario, friend to Posthumus, Italian

Iachimo, friend to Philario, Italian

Caius Lucius, general of the Roman forces

Pisanio, servant to Posthumus

Cornelius, a physician

A Roman captain

Two British captains

A Frenchman, friend to Philario

Two lords of Cymbeline’s court

Two gentlemen of the same

Two gaolers

Queen, wife to Cymbeline

Imogen, daughter to Cymbeline by a former queen

Helen, a lady attending on Imogen

Lords, ladies, Roman senators, tribunes, a soothsayer, a Dutchman, a Spaniard, musicians, officers, captains, soldiers, messengers, and other attendants

Apparitions

Scene: Britain; Rome.

More by William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

You get a play that keeps changing its mind about love, from the quarrelling lovers in the forest to Bottom blundering through his amateur performance. The language is playful and slippery, and Puck gives the whole thing a mischievous sense that human beings are never quite in control.

All’s Well That Ends Well

Helena chases a man who plainly doesn't deserve her, and the play knows it, which is what makes it interesting. If you like your comedies uneasy, with a bed trick and an ending that only half convinces, this one will stick with you.

Antony and Cleopatra

These two aren't young lovers, they're middle-aged, vain, magnificent messes who keep wrecking empires over each other, and you half want to shake them. Stay for Enobarbus, the dry-eyed friend whose barge speech about Cleopatra is worth the whole play.