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Cymbeline

Please see the bottom of the page for explanatory notes.

ACT IV SCENE I Wales: near the cave of Belarius. 
 Enter CLOTEN 
CLOTEN I am near to the place where they should meet, if 
 Pisanio have mapped it truly. How fit his garments 
 serve me! Why should his mistress, who was made by 
 him that made the tailor, not be fit too? the
 rather--saving reverence of the word--for 'tis said 
 a woman's fitness comes by fits. Therein I must 
 play the workman. I dare speak it to myself--for it 
 is not vain-glory for a man and his glass to confer 
 in his own chamber--I mean, the lines of my body are
 as well drawn as his; no less young, more strong, 
 not beneath him in fortunes, beyond him in the 
 advantage of the time, above him in birth, alike 
 conversant in general services, and more remarkable 
 in single oppositions: yet this imperceiverant
 thing loves him in my despite. What mortality is! 
 Posthumus, thy head, which now is growing upon thy 
 shoulders, shall within this hour be off; thy 
 mistress enforced; thy garments cut to pieces before 
 thy face: and all this done, spurn her home to her
 father; who may haply be a little angry for my so 
 rough usage; but my mother, having power of his 
 testiness, shall turn all into my commendations. My 
 horse is tied up safe: out, sword, and to a sore 
 purpose! Fortune, put them into my hand! This is
 the very description of their meeting-place; and 
 the fellow dares not deceive me. 
 [ Exit. 


Cymbeline, Act 4, Scene 2



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Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 1
From Cymbeline. A.W. Verity. Cambridge, University Press.

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Scene I.

3. who; referring to his = 'of him.'

4, 5. saving reverence of the word; an apology for the pun.

11. oppositions, combats.

13. imperceiverant, undiscerning; spelt imperseverant in the original editions. That could only mean, 'not persevering, inconstant'; the last thing that could be said of Imogen!



How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Cymbeline. Ed. A.W. Verity. Cambridge, University Press, 1899. Shakespeare Online. 10 Dec. 2013. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/cymbel_4_1.html >.

How to cite the sidebar:
Mabillard, Amanda. Notes on Shakespeare. Shakespeare Online. 10 Dec. 2013. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/cymbel_4_1.html >.
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Notes on Cloten

microsoft images "Life at court is beset with treacherous quicksands. The king is stupid, passionate, perpetually misguided; the queen is a wily murderess; and between them stands her son, Cloten, one of Shakespeare's most original figures, a true creation of genius, without a rival in all the Poet's long gallery of fools and dullards. His stupid inefficiency and undisguised malignity have nothing in common with his mother's hypocritical and supple craft; he takes after her in worthlessness alone." (George Brandes) Read on...




More to Explore

 Cymbeline: The Play with Commentary
 Cymbeline Plot Summary
 Famous Quotations from Cymbeline
 How to pronounce the names in Cymbeline
 Sources for Cymbeline

 Introduction to Imogen
 Introduction to Guiderius and Arviragus
 Introduction to Cloten
 Introduction to Cymbeline
 Introduction to Posthumus
 Introduction to Iachimo
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Notes on Shakespeare...

Ale (beer made with a top fermenting yeast) was the drink of choice in Shakespeare's day. Everyone from the poorest farmer to the Queen herself drank the brew made from malt, and a mini brewery was an essential part of every household. Shakespeare's own father was an official ale taster in Stratford – an important and respected job which involved monitoring the ingredients used by professional brewers and ensuring they sold their ale at Crown regulated prices. Read on...
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Shakespeare acquired substantial wealth thanks to his acting and writing abilities, and his shares in London theatres. The going rate was £10 per play at the turn of the sixteenth century. So how much money did Shakespeare make? Read on...




Twenty-four of Shakespeare's sonnets are addressed to a woman. We have little information about this woman, except for a description the poet gives of her over the course of the poems. Shakespeare describes her as 'a woman color'd ill', with black eyes and coarse black hair. Thus, she has come to be known as the "dark lady." Find out...
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Known to the Elizabethans as ague, Malaria was a common malady spread by the mosquitoes in the marshy Thames. The swampy theatre district of Southwark was always at risk. King James I had it; so too did Shakespeare's friend, Michael Drayton. Read on...
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Retired Sicilian professor Martino Iuvara claims that Shakespeare was, in fact, not English at all, but Italian. His conclusion is drawn from research carried out from 1925 to 1950 by two professors at Palermo University. Iuvara posits that Shakespeare was born not in Stratford in April 1564, as is commonly believed, but actually was born in Messina as Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza. Read on...


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