Cymbeline 1.vi

SCENE VI.
Britain. The palace

Enter IMOGEN alone

[Imogen wants pity from the audience. She's trying to get someone to say "poor thing." So she's complaining. She's painting herself as a victim.]

IMOGEN. A father cruel and a step-dame false;
A foolish suitor to a wedded lady
That hath her husband banish'd. O, that husband!
My supreme crown of grief! and those repeated
Vexations of it! [] Had I [I wish I had] been thief-stol'n,
As my two brothers, happy! but most miserable
Is the desire that's [] glorious [e.g. big and complicated]. Blessed be those,
[] How mean soe'er [however humble,lowly], that have their [] honest wills [simple desires],
Which [] seasons [adds savor to] [] comfort [pleasure]. Who may this be? Fie!

Enter PISANIO and IACHIMO

PISANIO. Madam, a noble gentleman of Rome
Comes from my lord with letters.


[Action: reassure]
IACHIMO. [] Change you, madam? [Has your faced change (to one of alarm or fear)?]
The worthy Leonatus is in safety,
And greets your Highness dearly. [Presents a letter]

IMOGEN. Thanks, good sir.
You're kindly welcome.

[IACHIMO is taken back by Imogen's beauty, and to him this suggests that she might also be pure of mind. He is shaken. He may have lost his wager already. Though the bulk of the speech, he begs for strength, he bolsters himself... it might be fun if he asks this of the audience, as if the could give him strength. Maybe he wants them to root for him.]

IACHIMO. [Aside] All of her that is [] out of door [on the surface, e.g. she's beautiful] most rich!
If she be furnish'd with a mind so rare,
She is alone [] th' Arabian bird [unique, like the mythical phoenix], and I
Have lost the wager. Boldness be my friend!
Arm me, audacity, from head to foot!
Or, like the [] Parthian [archer who fires backwards as he runs], I shall flying fight;
Rather, directly fly.

[Action: praise. She is, perhaps, using Iamchimo as a surrogate for her husband.]

IMOGEN. [Reads] 'He is one of the noblest note, to whose
kindnesses I am most infinitely tied. Reflect upon him
accordingly, as you value your trust. LEONATUS.'

So far I read aloud;
But even the very middle of my heart
Is warm'd by th' rest and takes it thankfully.

[Imogen bends over backward to cater to Iachimo (as a gesture to what she thinks is her husband's will). She take the lower rung on the ladder, she kowtows.]

You are as welcome, worthy sir, as I
Have words to bid you; and shall find it so
In all that I can do.

[In the following section, Ianchimo feigns madness, as if he's awestruck by Imogen's beauty. However, feigning madness isn't really a playable action. So we need to break things down further. What actions does he play in order to appear mad?]

IACHIMO. Thanks, fairest lady.

[Mock, jeer (at the mad men), shake some sense into, demand an answer... the more vehemence (and violence) with which he plays these actions, casting aside social niceties, the more likely it is he'll achieve his goal of seeming mad.]

{ What, are men mad? Hath nature given them eyes
To see this [] vaulted arch [heavens] and the rich [] crop [fruit, produce]
Of sea and land, which can distinguish 'twixt
The fiery orbs above and the [] twinn'd [exactly alike] stones
Upon the [] number'd beach [beach littered with numerous stones], and can we not
Partition make with [] spectacles [eyes] so precious
'Twixt fair and foul? }

{Can't men tell the difference between, high and low, ugly and beautiful?}

{ IMOGEN. What [] makes [is the cause of] your admiration?
IACHIMO. It cannot be i' th' eye, for apes and monkeys,
'Twixt two such [] shes [women], would [] chatter [praise] this way and
Contemn with [] mows [grimaces] the other; nor i' th' judgment,
For idiots in this case of favour would
Be wisely definite; nor i' th' appetite;
Sluttery, to such [] neat [fine] excellence oppos'd,
Should make desire vomit emptiness,
Not so [] allur'd to feed [attracted]. }

{Imogen: what is it in you that makes you speak with such wonderment?
Iachimo: It can't be something in my eyes, because apes and monkeys (which have eyes), would react the same way, praising such a beautiful woman and grimacing at an ugly one; it also can't be judgement, because idiots would be just as sure as I am; it can't be sexual desire, because I wouldn't be attracted to a slut if she was standing next to you.}

[In the above, Iachimo pretends to be trying to work out a puzzle. Again, he should play this with vehemence: puzzle it out, wrack your brains...]


IMOGEN. What is the matter, [] trow [I wonder]?

[Action: nail the point home, shake sense into her...]

IACHIMO. The [] cloyed will [overfed lust] --
That [] satiate yet unsatisfied [fed yet still hungry] desire, that tub
Both fill'd and [] running [emptying] -- [] ravening [feeding on] first the lamb,
Longs after for the garbage.
IMOGEN. What, dear sir,
Thus raps you? Are you well?

[It's interesting that he now decides to send Pisanio away. Presumably, he doesn't want P to be there when he seduces Imogen, but why wait this long to send P out? Was he hoping P would leave earlier or did want P to witness the "madness." Or is he pointedly making P leave now, so that Imogen will get some point?]

IACHIMO. Thanks, madam; well. Beseech you, sir,
Desire [] my man's abode [my main to wait] where I did leave him.
He's [] strange [a foreigner] and peevish [easily distressed].

[Iachimo too is a foreigner. Is he trying to make Imogen connect the dots?]

PISANIO. I was going, sir,
To give him welcome. Exit

[The above is a half line. Maybe there's a pause afterwards. Now that they're alone, does Iachimo somehow make Imogen uncomfortable (it may be enough that they are alone), causing her to change the subject? Maybe this is the end of Iachimo's first tactic. Maybe he was hoping that, having madly praised her, Imogen would jump him, now that they're alone.]

IMOGEN. Continues well my lord? His health beseech you?
IACHIMO. Well, madam.
IMOGEN. Is he dispos'd to mirth? I hope he is.

[Action: paint a picture]

IACHIMO. Exceeding pleasant; none a stranger there
So merry and so gamesome. He is call'd
The Britain reveller.

[Action: correct a mistake]

IMOGEN. When he was here
He did incline to sadness, and oft-times
Not knowing why.

[Action: re-assert the picture, providing evidence]

IACHIMO. I never saw him sad.
There is a Frenchman his companion, one
An eminent monsieur that, it seems, much loves
A [] Gallian [French] girl at home. He furnaces
The thick sighs from him; whiles the jolly Briton --
Your lord, I mean -- laughs from's free lungs, cries 'O,
Can my sides hold, to think that man -- who knows
By history, report, or his own proof,
What woman is, yea, what she cannot choose
But must be -- will's free hours languish for
[] Assured bondage?' [1. betrothal, 2. certain bondage.]
IMOGEN. [] Will [does] my lord say so?
IACHIMO. Ay, madam, with his eyes in flood with laughter.
It is a recreation to be by
And hear him mock the Frenchman.

[Action: plant a seed]
But heavens know
Some men are much [] to blame. [worthy of rebuke.]
IMOGEN. Not he, I hope.

[Action: chastise him, flatter her]

IACHIMO. Not he; but yet [] heaven's bounty towards [what fortune gives him] him might
Be us'd more thankfully. In himself, 'tis much;
In you, which I account his, beyond all talents.

[Action: bait the hook, plant another seed, set a lure, hint]

Whilst I am bound to wonder, I am bound
To pity too.
IMOGEN. What do you pity, sir?

[Action: withhold]

IACHIMO. Two creatures heartily.
IMOGEN. Am I one, sir?
You look on me: what wreck discern you in me
Deserves your pity?

[Action: pounce!]

IACHIMO. [] Lamentable! [accented on the first syllable] What,
To [] hide me [hide] from the radiant sun and solace
I' th' dungeon by a [] snuff [snuffed out candle]?
IMOGEN. I pray you, sir,
Deliver with more openness your answers
To my demands. Why do you pity me?

[Action: hold back, tease]

IACHIMO. That others do,
I was about to say, enjoy your -- But
It is an office of the gods to [] venge [avenge] it,
Not mine to speak on't.
IMOGEN. You do seem to know
Something of me, or what concerns me; pray you --
Since doubting things go ill often hurts more
Than to be sure they do; for certainties
Either are past remedies, or, timely knowing,
The remedy then born -- discover to me
What both you [] spur and stop [start saying and stop saying].

[Action: make love]

IACHIMO. Had I [] this [your] cheek
To bathe my lips upon; this hand, whose touch,
Whose every touch, would force the feeler's soul
To th' oath of loyalty; this object, which
Takes prisoner the wild motion of mine eye,
Fixing it only here; should I, damn'd then,
Slaver with lips as common as the stairs
That mount the [] Capitol [stairs to the temple of Jupiter in Rome]; [] join gripes with [clutch] hands
{ Made hard with hourly falsehood -- falsehood as
With labour };

{hands made as hard by falsehood as laborer's hands are hardened by labor}

then [] by-peeping [sidelong glancing] in an eye
Base and [] illustrious [dull, lackluster] as the smoky light
That's fed with stinking tallow -- it were fit
That all the plagues of hell should at one time
Encounter such [] revolt [infidelity].

[If I had access to your beauty, I'd be damned to see all else as base.]


[Action: steer him back on course]

IMOGEN. My lord, I fear,
Has forgot Britain.

[Action: threaten to reveal the "truth"]

IACHIMO. And himself. [] Not I
Inclin'd to this intelligence pronounce [I am not inclined to speak of]
The beggary of [] his change [the way he has changed]; but 'tis your graces
That from my [] mutest conscience [silent inmost thought] to my tongue
Charms this report out.
IMOGEN. Let me hear no more.

[Action: blurt it out]

IACHIMO. O dearest soul, your cause doth strike my heart
With pity that doth make me sick! A lady
So fair, and fasten'd to an [] empery,
Would [empire which would] make the great'st king double, to be partner'd
With [] tomboys [whores] hir'd with that [] self exhibition [same allowance of money]
Which your own coffers yield! with diseas'd [] ventures [prostitutes]
That play with all infirmities for gold
Which rottenness can lend nature! such [] boil'd stuff [women treated for VD with sweating]
As well might poison poison! Be reveng'd;
Or she that bore you was no queen, and you
Recoil from your great stock.


[Action: Demand to know, cover ears, then demand to know again]

IMOGEN. Reveng'd?
How should I be reveng'd? If this be true --
As I have such a heart that both mine ears
Must not in haste abuse -- if it be true,
How should I be reveng'd?

[Action: (Don't play this like a rhetorical question, play it as if Imogen has an answer and) demand to know!]

IACHIMO. Should he make me
Live like [] Diana's priest [a chaste priest] betwixt cold sheets,
Whiles he is [] vaulting variable ramps [having sex with prostitutes],
In your despite, upon your purse? Revenge it.

[Action: pledge allegiance]

I dedicate myself to your sweet pleasure,
More noble than that [] runagate to [deserter from] your bed,
And will continue fast to your affection,
[] Still close [always as secret] as sure.
IMOGEN. What ho, Pisanio!

[Action: beg]

IACHIMO. Let me my service tender on your lips.

[Action: flagellate... accuse]

IMOGEN. Away! I do condemn mine ears that have
So long attended thee. If thou wert honourable,
Thou wouldst have told this tale for virtue, not
For such an end thou seek'st, as base as strange.
Thou wrong'st a gentleman who is as far
From thy report as thou from honour; and
Solicits here a lady that disdains
Thee and the devil alike. -- What ho, Pisanio! --
The King my father shall be made acquainted
Of thy assault. If he shall think it fit
A saucy stranger in his court to [] mart [do business]
As in a [] Romish stew [Roman brothel], and to expound
His beastly mind to us, he hath a court
He little cares for, and a daughter who
He not respects at all.-- What ho, Pisanio!

[Plan B failed. Time for plan C.]

[Action: reveal the man behind the curtain ... sing praises]


IACHIMO. O happy Leonatus! I may say
The [] credit that [trust in] thy lady hath of thee
Deserves thy trust, and thy most perfect goodness
[] Her [deserves her] assur'd credit. Blessed live you long,
A lady to the worthiest sir that ever
Country call'd his! and you his mistress, only
For the most worthiest fit! Give me your pardon.
I have spoke this to know if your [] affiance [fidelity]
Were deeply rooted, and shall make your lord
That which he is new o'er; and he is one
The truest manner'd, such a holy witch
That he enchants societies into him,
Half all men's hearts are his.
IMOGEN. You make amends.

[Action: worship ... then beg mercy]

IACHIMO. He sits 'mongst men like a descended god:
He hath a kind of honour sets him of
More than a mortal seeming. Be not angry,
Most mighty Princess, that I have adventur'd
To try your taking of a false report, which hath
Honour'd with confirmation your great judgment
In the election of a sir so rare,
Which you know cannot err. The love I bear him
Made me to fan you thus; but the gods made you,
Unlike all others, [] chaffless [faultless]. Pray your pardon.
IMOGEN. All's well, sir; take my pow'r i' th' court for yours.

[Action: make her an accomplice]

IACHIMO. My humble thanks. I had almost forgot
T' entreat your Grace but in a small request,
And yet of moment too, for it concerns
Your lord; myself and other noble friends
Are partners in the business.
IMOGEN. Pray what is't?
IACHIMO. Some dozen Romans of us, and your lord --
The best feather of our wing -- have mingled sums
To buy a present for the Emperor;
Which I, the [] factor [agent] for the rest, have done
In France. 'Tis [] plate [silver or gold-plated objects] of rare device, and jewels
Of rich and exquisite form, their values great;
And I am [] something curious [somewhat concerned], being [] strange [a foreigner],
To have them in safe stowage. May it please you
To take them in protection?
IMOGEN. Willingly;
And pawn mine honour for their safety. Since
My lord hath interest in them, I will keep them
In my bedchamber.
IACHIMO. They are in a trunk,
Attended by my men. I will make bold
To send them to you only for this night;
I must aboard to-morrow.
IMOGEN. O, no, no.
IACHIMO. Yes, I beseech; or I shall short my word
By length'ning my return. From Gallia
I cross'd the seas on purpose and on promise
To see your Grace.
IMOGEN. I thank you for your pains.
But not away to-morrow!
IACHIMO. O, I must, madam.
Therefore I shall beseech you, if you please
To greet your lord with writing, do't to-night.
I have outstood my time, which is [] material [of much consequence]
'To th' [] tender [giving] of our present.
IMOGEN. I will write.
Send your trunk to me; it shall safe be kept
And truly yielded you. You're very welcome. Exeunt