Cymbeline 1.III

SCENE III.
Britain. CYMBELINE'S palace

Enter IMOGEN and PISANIO

IMOGEN. I [] would [wish] thou [] grew'st unto [were attached to] the shores o' th' haven [harbor],
And questioned'st every sail; if he should write,
|
|-- [cast a spell over Pisanio. MAKE him a tree on the shore. Or damn him for not being one.]

And I not have it, 'twere a paper lost,
[] As offer'd mercy is [e.g. as pardon granted a prisoner often is lost]. What was the last
|
|-- [take him by the shoulders, force him to see the danger, the horror]

That he spake to thee? [beg for a crum]

PISANIO. It was: his queen, his queen! [Shared line]

[Give her a gift.]

IMOGEN. Then wav'd his handkerchief?
PISANIO. And kiss'd it, madam. [Shared line. Two minds are thinking as one. Singing together.]
IMOGEN. Senseless linen, happier therein than I! [Curse the handkerchief.]
And that was all? [Demand more]
PISANIO. No, madam; for so long [Shared line. He's ready with more.]
As he could make me with his eye, or [] care [with care I could]
Distinguish him from others, he did keep
The deck, with glove, or hat, or handkerchief,
Still waving, as the fits and stirs of's mind
Could best express how slow his soul sail'd on,
How swift his ship.

[Conjure up a vision. Paint a picture. Make her cry. Spielberg it.]

IMOGEN. Thou shouldst have made him [Shared line]
As little as a crow, or less, [] ere left
To after-eye him. [before you stopped gazing at him]

[Berate him]

PISANIO. Madam, so I did. [Shared line. Stand up for yourself!]

IMOGEN. I would have broke mine eyestrings, crack'd them but
[Set an example]
To look upon him, till the diminution
Of space had pointed him sharp as my needle;
Nay, followed him till he had melted from
The smallness of a gnat to air, and then
Have turn'd mine eye and wept. But, good Pisanio,
When shall we hear from him?
[Beg for another crum]
PISANIO. Be assur'd, madam, [Shared line. Comfort. Don't let cracks form between lines. Too much chance for despair.]
With his [] next vantage. [first opportunity]

[Short line. Pause? Maybe they're both at a loss. They will be incomplete until they hear from P.]

IMOGEN. I [] did not [did not properly] take my leave of him, but [] had [still had]
Most pretty things to say. Ere I could tell him
How I would think on him at certain hours
Such thoughts and such [A: this connects to ... (see B, below) ]; or I could make him swear
The shes of Italy should not betray
Mine interest and his honour; or have charg'd him,
At the sixth hour of morn, at noon, at midnight,
T' [] encounter [go to meet] me with [] orisons [prayers], for then
I am in heaven for him; or ere I could
Give him that parting kiss which I had set
Betwixt two charming words, [... B (see A, above)] comes in my father,
And like the tyrannous breathing of the north
Shakes all our buds from growing.

[You could join A to B without all the words in between. Of course, those words are the juice. I'd die before I'd cut them. But the actor should see the logic of the speech.]

[Though it started with "good Pisanio," I think this speech is where Imogen really takes Pisanio into her confidence -- where she makes him part of her heart. She talks to him like she would to a best girlfriend. She shares her secrets, some of them sexual.]

Enter a LADY

LADY. The Queen, madam,
Desires your Highness' company. [Light a fire under her ass!]
IMOGEN. Those things I bid you do, get them dispatch'd.
I will attend the Queen. [Hide the note you were passing! The teacher is looking!]
PISANIO. Madam, I shall. Exeunt


The last two lines make it seem like this entire scene is a parenthetical phrase. As if, right before the scene began, Imogen asked Pisanio to do some things for her. He said, "Yes, Madam" and started to leave. At which point, Imogen said, "Wait! Oh, Pisanio... I wish grew'st unto the the shores o' the haven..." And they were off. The LADY woke them from this dream, and they resumed their business.

It tells a nice story of how, though they both miss P terribly, they have work to do. They do it, but from time to time, they fall into revery.

It also might be nice to make this their first such revery. In scene one, I suggested that Pisanio hadn't yet reconciled himself to working for Imogen. Going with that interpretation, this scene could be a "getting to know you" scene. They can come together over their love for P.

They are vitally important to each other. For each, the other is the only "piece" of P he/she can cling to.