Cymbeline · Chapter
Scene I explained
Cloten boasts about his luck at bowls and complains about being challenged for swearing, while his lords mock him aside.
What happens
Cloten boasts about his luck at bowls and complains about being challenged for swearing, while his lords mock him aside. He learns of an Italian stranger at court, believed to be a friend of the banished Posthumus Leonatus, and decides to confront him. The second lord reflects on the contrast between the cunning Queen and her foolish son, and prays for Imogen's protection.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Cloten appears noble and confident but is revealed as a fool through the lords' asides. The Queen appears virtuous but is secretly plotting.
Power and Political Conflict
The Queen's influence over Cymbeline and the court creates a hostile environment for Imogen, while Cloten's rank protects him from consequences.
Characters to notice
- Cloten
Boasts about his bowling victory, complains about being reprimanded for swearing, and expresses frustration that his rank protects him from fights. He decides to confront the Italian stranger.
- First Lord
Informs Cloten about the Italian stranger at court, believed to be a friend of Posthumus.
- Second Lord
Mocks Cloten in asides, calling him a fool and an ass. He reflects on the Queen's cunning and prays for Imogen's safety.
- Imogen
Mentioned by the second lord as the 'divine Imogen' who suffers under her father's rule by the stepmother, her mother's plots, and Cloten's hateful wooing.
- Queen
Referred to as a 'crafty devil' who bears all down with her brain and is constantly coining plots.
- Posthumus Leonatus
Mentioned as a banished rascal by Cloten, and as Imogen's banished lord by the second lord.
Key passages
“Was there ever man had such luck! when I kissed the jack, upon an up-cast to be hit away! I had a hundred pound on't”
Cloten boasts about his good luck at bowls, claiming he had a hundred pounds riding on the game.
Cloten's opening lines reveal his arrogance and obsession with gambling.
“That such a crafty devil as is his mother Should yield the world this ass!”
The second lord marvels that the cunning Queen could produce such a fool as Cloten.
Highlights the contrast between the Queen's intelligence and Cloten's stupidity.
“Alas, poor princess, Thou divine Imogen, what thou endurest, Betwixt a father by thy step-dame govern'd, A mother hourly coining plots, a wooer More hateful than the foul expulsion is Of thy dear husband”
The second lord pities Imogen, who suffers under her father's weakness, her stepmother's plots, and Cloten's hateful pursuit, worse than her husband's banishment.
Summarizes Imogen's difficult position at court.