Cymbeline · Chapter
Scene V explained
Cymbeline bids farewell to the Roman ambassador Lucius, who departs to prepare for war.
What happens
Cymbeline bids farewell to the Roman ambassador Lucius, who departs to prepare for war. The Queen and Clenten discuss Imogen's absence, and Cloten learns from Pisanio that Imogen has fled to Milford Haven. Cloten, enraged and lustful, plans to kill Posthumus and rape Imogen while wearing Posthumus's clothes. Pisanio, secretly loyal to Imogen, gives Cloten false information and resolves to remain true to Posthumus.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Pisanio appears to serve Cloten but is secretly loyal to Imogen and Posthumus. Cloten's plan to wear Posthumus's clothes to deceive Imogen also highlights this theme.
Loyalty and Betrayal
Pisanio's feigned loyalty to Cloten contrasts with his true allegiance to Imogen and Posthumus. Cloten's betrayal of his own noble nature through vengeful schemes is also evident.
Love and Fidelity
Cloten's twisted love for Imogen turns to hate and revenge, while Pisanio's steadfast fidelity to Posthumus and Imogen is demonstrated.
Characters to notice
- Cymbeline
Bids farewell to Lucius and expresses concern over Imogen's absence.
- Queen
Manipulates the situation, hoping Imogen's disappearance leads to her own advantage.
- Cloten
Vows revenge on Imogen and Posthumus, planning to kill Posthumus and rape Imogen while wearing Posthumus's clothes.
- Caius Lucius
Departs after delivering the emperor's message, preparing for war.
- Pisanio
Feigns loyalty to Cloten but secretly aids Imogen, providing false information about her whereabouts.
Key passages
“I love and hate her: for she's fair and royal, / And that she hath all courtly parts more exquisite / Than lady, ladies, woman; from every one / The best she hath, and she, of all compounded, / Outsells them all; I love her therefore: but / Disdaining me and throwing favours on / The low Posthumus slanders so her judgment / That what's else rare is choked; and in that point / I will conclude to hate her, nay, indeed, / To be revenged upon her.”
Cloten confesses his conflicted feelings: he loves Imogen for her beauty and nobility, but her rejection of him in favor of Posthumus makes him hate her and seek revenge.
Cloten's internal conflict between love and hate drives his vengeful plan.
“With that suit upon my back, will I ravish her: first kill him, and in her eyes; there shall she see my valour, which will then be a torment to her contempt.”
Cloten plans to wear Posthumus's clothes to rape Imogen after killing Posthumus in front of her, making her witness his 'valor' as a punishment for her disdain.
Cloten's twisted scheme reveals his obsession with Imogen's perception of him.
“Thou bid'st me to my loss: for true to thee / Were to prove false, which I will never be, / To him that is most true.”
Pisanio reflects that serving Cloten would betray his true loyalty to Posthumus, which he refuses to do.
Pisanio reaffirms his fidelity to Posthumus despite the danger.