false 6296730 1 One of Shakespeare's most perplexing and unclassifiable late plays, <I>Cymbeline</I> is often labelled a "Romance", due to its themes of pastoralism, exile and familial reconciliation which critics notice recur throughout Shakespeare's last plays, from <I>Pericles</I> to <I>The Tempest</I>. Set in ancient Roman Britain at the court of the British king Cymbeline, the main action of the play revolves around the relationship between Cymbeline's daughter, Imogen, and Posthumous Leonatus. Attempting to marry Imogen off to Cloten, the grotesque son of Cymbeline's second wife, the king banishes Posthumous in a rage when he discovers he has secretly married Imogen. As the personal relationships in the play deteriorate, on the public stage Rome prepares to invade Britain due to Cymbeline's failure to pay tribute to his imperial master. As the play builds to its militaristic climax, Posthumous returns to Britain, where he eventually contrives a reunion with Imogen and Cymbeline's long-lost sons, who unite in their attempt to resist the might of Rome. <p> The ending of the play, with its series of mystical riddles, unlikely coincidences and extraordinary reunions has baffled critics for centuries. Some read it as a heavy-handed political allegory of Jacobean national union under the new sovereign of the time, King James I, whilst others see in it Shakespeare pushing theatrical realism to its furthermost limits, with its decapitated bodies, complex staging and unlikely mistaken identities. <I>Cymbeline</I> remains a puzzling, enigmatic play. --<I>Jerry Brotton</I> 6481155 12 7 2008 The Oxford Shakespeare: Cymbeline total:3|5:1|4:1|3:1| 3 12 6 0 0 0 false false Tue Aug 25 11:32:05 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 11:32:05 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jul 10 20:12:33 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 20:12:49 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jul 08 13:13:17 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 21:14:47 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 13:13:17 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed May 13 00:08:29 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 00:08:35 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat May 09 13:01:22 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 13:01:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Apr 08 15:05:34 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 15:05:34 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6296730