Cymbeline · Chapter
Scene I explained
Cymbeline, the Queen, Cloten, and lords receive Caius Lucius, the Roman ambassador, who demands tribute owed to Augustus Caesar.
What happens
Cymbeline, the Queen, Cloten, and lords receive Caius Lucius, the Roman ambassador, who demands tribute owed to Augustus Caesar. Cymbeline and his court refuse, asserting Britain's independence and strength, leading Lucius to declare war. Cloten mocks the Romans, and Cymbeline recalls his past service under Caesar while standing firm.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Political Conflict
The central conflict of the scene is the political standoff between Britain and Rome over tribute and sovereignty.
Nature vs. Court
The Queen and Cloten emphasize Britain's natural defenses—rocks, seas, and sands—as superior to Roman military might.
Characters to notice
- Cymbeline
King of Britain, refuses Roman tribute and prepares for war.
- Queen
Supports defiance against Rome, invoking Britain's natural defenses.
- Cloten
Boastfully rejects tribute and taunts the Roman ambassador.
- Caius Lucius
Roman ambassador who delivers Caesar's demand and declares war.
Key passages
“Britain is A world by itself; and we will nothing pay For wearing our own noses.”
Britain is a self-contained world, and we won't pay tribute just for the privilege of being ourselves.
Cloten's defiant assertion of British independence and identity.
“A kind of conquest Caesar made here; but made not here his brag Of 'Came' and 'saw' and 'overcame:' with shame— The first that ever touch'd him—he was carried From off our coast, twice beaten;”
Caesar's conquest here was incomplete; he couldn't boast 'I came, I saw, I conquered,' and was shamefully driven from our shores twice.
The Queen revises history to portray Caesar's invasion as a failure, bolstering British pride.