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Background

Cymbeline is a very weird, complex, and fascinating play, which may both why has captivated critics and scholars for centuries, and why it is very rarely produced onstage and relatively unknown to general audiences.

Generically, Cymbeline is very hard to place.  The First Folio lists it as a tragedy, which it is to an extent, but the ending matches much more closely to a comedy ending than a tragedy one.  Many modern scholars have classified it as a romance or historic romance, or a play that is somewhere between comedy and tragedy and typically centers on a romantic storyline.  J. Clinton Crumley argues that it should be counted as a proper history play, since it is partially sourced from history and uses the same form of historical storytelling as Holinshed does in his Chronicles.  He also argues that presence of the Romans in a play set in pre-conquest Britain was used to historically situate an audience who likely may not have been familiar with pre-conquest history, but were almost certain familiar with Roman history. 

Composition

There is very little information available about the composition of Cymbeline.  The only extant text of it is the one in the Folio, as listed in the Stationers' Register entry for it.  We do, though, have a record of it being performed as early as 1611 from the account of Simon Forman, who wrote down a brief summary of it along with his notes of other Shakespeare productions in 1610 and 1611.

Dramatis Personae

Latin for "persons of a drama", a dramatic personae lists all the characters in a play and their roles in the narrative.  Listed here to the right are all the most prominent characters from Cymbeline, organized by the locations where they primarily are found.

In Britain:​

  • Cymbeline - King of Britain, father of Imogen

  • Queen - second wife of Cymbeline

  • Imogen - daughter of Cymbeline (but not of the Queen), known disguised as Fidele

  • Posthumus Leonatus - (initially secret) husband of Imogen

  • Cloten - son of the Queen (but not of Cymbeline)

  • Pisanio - servant of Posthumus

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In Wales:

  • Belarius - a banished lord, known as Morgan

  • Guiderius - older son of Cymbeline, raised by Belarius as Polydore

  • Arviragus - younger son of Cymbeline, raised by Belarius as Cadwal

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In Rome:

  • Philario - mutual friend of Posthumus and Iachimo

  • Iachimo - an Italian and friend of Philario

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Romans in Britain:​

  • Caius Lucius - Roman ambassador and general

  • Philharmonus - a soothsayer

Plot

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Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline, has secretly (not noble) love Posthumus instead of a proper match, ideally the Queen's son Cloten (which would secure her claim to the throne).  As punishment, Posthumus is banished and the two lovers swap a ring and a bracelet as tokens of love and fidelity.  In his absence, Cloten continues to try to woo Imogen, with no success, and the Queen continues to scheme ways to get power.  

Meanwhile, in Rome, Posthumus has met an Italian named Iachimo who bets him 10,000 ducats against his ring from Imogen that he can go to Britain and seduce Imogen, after hearing Posthumus expound on her faithfulness.  Upon meeting her and realizing Posthumus was right, Iachimo resolves to sneak into her bedroom in a trunk and note enough close details such that it would seem he was successful in his endeavor. He also steals her bracelet from Posthumus, as extra proof.  While initially skeptical, Posthumus is eventually convinced of Imogen's unfaithfulness and flies into a rage.  

Back in court, Romans have arrived to ask Cymbeline to pay tribute, but Cloten and the Queen convince him to refuse, and the Romans declare war on them.  Pisanio receives a letter from Posthumus, ordering him to take Imogen to the woods and kill her, and Imogen receives a letter from Posthumus arranging to meet her at Milford Haven in Wales and reunite.  

In the woods of Wales, there lives a man named Belarius, who tells the audience he was banished from Cymbeline's court and stole his two sons as revenge, raising them as his own in the forest.  Upon running away and arriving at Milford Haven, Pisanio reveals the deception and proposes she dress as a man and leave Britain to avoid more trouble.

Cloten discovers Imogen's escape and demands her location from Pisanio so he can go find her.  

Imogen encounters some men in the woods who turn out to be the King's stolen sons, and thus, her brothers.  Cloten also encounters them in his search, picks a fight, then dies.  Imogen drinks a potion given to her by Pisanio thinking it will cure her illness, but it is actually a sleeping potion, making her look dead to the other men.  They lay her next to the beheaded body of Cloten, whom she mistakes for Posthumus upon waking, as he is wearing his clothes.  

Some time later, Roman general Caius Lucius finds her having woken up and offers her a position as his aide. Meanwhile, the Queen gets sick from missing Cloten too much.  Belarius and "his" sons decide to join the Britains to fight the Romans, and Posthumus, regretting his previous decisions, dresses as a British peasant and joins the fight as well.  

After the battle is won, Posthumus pretends to be a Roman again so he can die in his shame, but has a dream vision of his dead family and of Jupiter telling him everything will work out.  The Queen confesses that she was only in it for the power and money and dies.  With everyone in the same place, Imogen recognizes Iachimo's ring and asks where he got it, causing everything to be revealed and all (even the Romans) to be forgiven.

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