Cymbeline 1.II

SCENE II. Britain. A public place

Enter CLOTEN and two LORDS

FIRST LORD. Sir, I would advise you to [] shift a [change your] shirt; the violence of [] action [fighting] hath made you reek as a sacrifice. [] Where air comes out [from you, Cloten] , air comes in; there's [] none abroad [no air coming from others] so wholesome as that you vent.

[advise / praise ]

CLOTEN. If my shirt were bloody, then [] to shift [I'd change] it. Have I hurt him?

[brush off / challenge (have I hurt him?) -- see who is on your side.]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] No, faith; not so much as his [] patience [forbearance].

[mock]

FIRST LORD. Hurt him! His body's a [] passable [pun: pretty good / able to be passed through] carcass if he be not hurt. It is a throughfare [public highway] for steel if it be not hurt.

[praise w/ hyperbolic sarcasm]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] [] His steel was in debt; it went o' th' back side the town. [His blade snuck around the back side of the town like a debtor fleeing a bill collector -- in other words, it missed the mark. ]

[mock with dripping sarcasm]

CLOTEN. The villain would not [] stand [oppose, resist] me.

[lay down the gauntlet, challenge anyone to disagree with you, boast, proclaim, take the spoils]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] No; but he fled forward [] still [always], toward your face.

[laugh at]

FIRST LORD. Stand you? You have land enough of your own; but he added to your having, gave you some ground.

[sing the praises of]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] As many inches [] as you have oceans [e.g. none]. [] Puppies [young fools]!

[Dispense with, brush away annoying flies]

CLOTEN. I would they had not come between us.

[Curse]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] So would I, till you had measur'd how long a fool you were upon the ground.

[Make a bitter joke]

CLOTEN. And that she should love this fellow, and refuse me!

[Rail]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] If it be a sin to make a true [] election [choice], she is damn'd.

[Mock with sarcasm]

FIRST LORD. Sir, as I told you always, her beauty and her brain go not together; she's a good [] sign [show] , but I have seen small reflection of her wit.

[Praise Cloten by belittling Imogen]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] She shines not upon fools, lest the reflection should hurt her.

[Right back atcha]

CLOTEN. Come, I'll to my chamber. Would there had been some hurt done!

[Test loyalty ("who is with me?") / Rail]

SECOND LORD. [Aside] I wish not so; unless it had been the fall of an ass, which is no great hurt.

[mock]

CLOTEN. You'll go with us?

[test]

FIRST LORD. I'll attend your lordship.

[follow / toady up ]

CLOTEN. Nay, come, let's go together.

[test]

SECOND LORD. Well, my lord.

[reluctantly agree]

Exeunt

This prose scene -- prose because it's a comic counterpoint to the previous verse scene? -- is relatively simply. Lord 1 praises Cloten while Lord 2 mocks him behind his back, to the audience.

Once again, we discover factions at Cymbeline's court. There are pro-Cloten factions and anti-Cloten (or pro Posthumus) factions.

Presumably, this is more than just cults of personality. There must be Lords who have yolked their fortunes to Cloten. If he becomes King, they'll rise. If not, they'll fall. (Other Lords have favored Posthumus.)

Question: does Lord 1 really believe what he says? Or is he just playing politics -- praising a fool he despises but is bound to? There's no correct answer. Lord 1 could be played either way.

Question 2: does Cloten really believe he's bested Posthumus? Or is this bravado to cover humiliation?

I'm a little confused by the first line:

FIRST LORD. Sir, I would advise you to [] shift a [change your] shirt; the violence of [] action [fighting] hath made you reek as a sacrifice. [] Where air comes out [from you, Cloten] , air comes in; there's [] none abroad [no air coming from others] so wholesome as that you vent.

Lord 1 seems be saying, "You should change your shirt, because you stink ... but no one smells as good (what does wholesome mean in this context) as you." Is be backpedaling after a look from Clothen?

More than ever, my suggested actions are mere suggestions. One actor is praising; the other is mocking. There are many ways to do both.

One last question: what are the stakes here? Why doesn't one guy say something nice, the other something mean, and then everyone quit? If the audience stands in for the court, the two guys could be trying to sway public opinion. They will keep on until the public "votes" one way or the other -- or until something stops them from continuing, such as Cloten ordering them to leave.

Actually, it seems more likely that Lord 2 is trying to sway the audience than Lord 1. Lord 1 doesn't even seem aware of them -- at least not in his lines. Of course, the actor could play some of his lines to the audience. In fact, that might be interesting. It's definitely worth trying in rehearsal.

On the flip side, it might be worth experimenting with Lord 2 delivering his mockery to another (silent) courtier (or courtiers). Someone he's trying to sway to his side.

Everyone in this scene is testing -- prodding at wounds, passing out treats, seeing who bites. Seeing who is passing out medals.