ACT II. SCENE I.
Britain. Before CYMBELINE'S palace
Enter CLOTEN and the two LORDS
[The key to this scene may be Lord 2's final few lines, which are spoken to Imogen, even though she isn't there:
The heavens hold firm
The walls of thy dear honour, keep unshak'd
That temple, thy fair mind, that thou mayst stand
T' enjoy thy banish'd lord and this great land!
The speech is in verse, even though the rest of the scene is prose. It's as though something nobel suddenly erupts from base soil.
Lord 2, I think, represents a suppressed segment of the court: those lords who long for Postumus's return and who turn to Imogen, meanwhile, to keep the flame burning. Scenes like this make the conflict bigger than a family drama.
]
CLOTEN. Was there ever man had such luck! When I [] kiss'd the jack [hit the target in a game of bowls], upon an [] up-cast [accident] to be hit away! I had a hundred pound on't; and then a whoreson jackanapes must take me up for swearing, as if I borrowed mine oaths of him, and might not spend them at my pleasure.
[Cloten screwed everything up. He bowled badly. He got into some kind of social mishap. It was obvious to everyone whose fault it all was, so Cloten needs to mend his broken pride. He has to coax the lords to say, "You truly have had the worst luck!" So he complains, drops hints, infantilizes himself...]
[Action: praise, worship]
FIRST LORD. What got he by that? You have broke his pate with your bowl.
[Action: mock]
SECOND LORD. [Aside] If [] his [the guy Cloten beat] wit had been like him that broke it, it would have run all out.
[Action: test, challenge]
CLOTEN. When a gentleman is dispos'd to swear, it is not for any standers-by to curtail his oaths. Ha?
[Action: kowtow ... then mock
SECOND LORD. No, my lord; [Aside] { nor crop the ears of them. }
{complicated pun on "curtail" (above): donkeys had their ears cropped}
[Action: boast ... then rail]
CLOTEN. Whoreson dog! I give him satisfaction? Would he had been one of my rank!
[Action: mock]
SECOND LORD. [Aside] To have [] smell'd [pun on rank] like a fool.
[Action: list grievances]
CLOTEN. I am not vex'd more at anything in th' earth. A pox on't! I had rather not be so noble as I am; they dare not fight with me, because of the Queen my mother. Every jackslave hath his bellyful of fighting, and I must go up and down like a cock that nobody can match.
[Action: mock]
SECOND LORD. [Aside] You are cock and [] capon [castrated rooster] too; and you crow, cock, with your [] comb [as in coxcomb: fool's cap] on.
[Action: catch out (Cloten possibly suspects something.)]
CLOTEN. Sayest thou?
[Action: cover]
SECOND LORD. It is not fit your lordship should [] undertake [fight] every [] companion [contemptible fellow] that you give offence to.
[Action: brush away ... then set the agenda]
CLOTEN. No, I know that; but it is fit I should commit offence to my inferiors.
[Action: praise]
SECOND LORD. Ay, it is fit for your lordship only.
CLOTEN. Why, so I say.
[Action: change the subject. (Is Lord 1 aware of Lord 2's sentiments? Is he trying to avert danger?)]
FIRST LORD. Did you hear of a stranger that's come to court to-night?
CLOTEN. A stranger, and I not known on't?
[Action: mock]
SECOND LORD. [Aside] He's a strange fellow himself, and knows it not.
FIRST LORD. There's an Italian come, and, 'tis thought, one of Leonatus' friends.
CLOTEN. Leonatus? A banish'd rascal; and he's another, whatsoever he be. Who told you of this stranger?
FIRST LORD. One of your lordship's pages.
CLOTEN. Is it fit I went to look upon him? Is there no [] derogation [detraction from my honor] in't?
SECOND LORD. You cannot derogate, my lord.
CLOTEN. Not easily, I think.
SECOND LORD. [Aside] You are a fool granted; therefore your [] issues [actions], being foolish, do not derogate.
CLOTEN. Come, I'll go see this Italian. What I have lost to-day at bowls I'll win to-night of him. Come, go.
SECOND LORD. I'll attend your lordship.
Exeunt CLOTEN and FIRST LORD
[Action: speak freely, blurt it out]
That such a crafty devil as is his mother
Should yield the world this ass! A woman that
Bears all down with her brain; and this her son
Cannot take two from twenty, for his heart,
And leave eighteen.
[Action: paint a picture]
Alas, poor princess,
Thou divine Imogen, what thou endur'st,
Betwixt a father by thy step-dame govern'd,
A mother hourly coining plots, a wooer
More hateful than the foul [] expulsion [banishment] is
Of thy dear husband, than that horrid act
Of the divorce he'd make!
[Action: bolster, cheerlead, buttress, pray, demand]
The heavens hold firm
The walls of thy dear honour, keep unshak'd
That temple, thy fair mind, that thou mayst stand
T' enjoy thy banish'd lord and this great land! Exit
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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
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
Cymbeline 1.v
SCENE V.
Britain. CYMBELINE'S palace
Enter QUEEN, LADIES, and CORNELIUS
[The queen is surrounded by her ladies. She needs them to go away so that she's not seen getting the poison from Doctor Cornelius.]
[Action: order, request, give instructions]
QUEEN. Whiles yet the dew's on ground, gather those flowers;
Make haste; who has the [] note [list] of them?
[In other words, "Who has the list of the flowers?"]
[Maybe the ladies all search for the note. One finally finds it.]
LADY. I, madam.
[Maybe the ladies all gather around the list, looking at it. The queen wants them gone.]
QUEEN. [] Dispatch. [hurry.] Exeunt LADIES
[The previous line is short, suggesting a subsequent pause. Maybe the ladies take their time leaving, or there's some confusion or stumbling. The queen so wants to be alone with the doctor. It must be exasperating to her. Maybe she only has a few minutes with the doctor. Anyone could come in at any time. She needs him to hand over the drugs in a hurry.]
Now, Master Doctor, have you brought those drugs?
CORNELIUS. Pleaseth your Highness, ay. Here they are, madam.
[Presenting a box]
[Perhaps he starts to hand them over; then thinks better of it and pulls them back.]
But I beseech your Grace, without offence --
My conscience bids me ask -- [] wherefore [why] you have
Commanded of me these most poisonous compounds
Which are the [] movers [the cause] of a languishing death,
But, though slow, deadly?
[His problem is that, though he knows she's requested a poison and doesn't want to give it to her, she's a queen. Possible actions: delay, play for time, submit a complaint...]
[Action: belittle, strip down, accuse, berate, condescend]
QUEEN. I wonder, Doctor,
Thou ask'st me such a question. Have I not been
Thy pupil long? Hast thou not learn'd me how
To make perfumes? distil? preserve? yea, so
That our great king himself doth woo me oft
For my confections?
[Action: pummel him with logic. He is the scientist. She is turning the tables on him. Also, when she says, "Unless thou think'st me devilish," she cuts him off at the pass, saying it before he does. That makes him look like a bad guy if he does say it.]
Having thus far proceeded --
Unless thou think'st me devilish -- is't not [] meet [appropriate]
That I did amplify my judgment in
Other [] conclusions [experiments]? I will try the forces
Of these thy compounds on such creatures as
We count not worth the hanging -- but none human --
To try the vigour of them, and apply
[] Allayments [antidotes] to their act, and by them gather
Their several virtues and effects.
[It's interesting that the queen -- and she IS a queen -- goes to such lengths to explain herself. At first, she says "I'm surprised you asked." Then, she elaborates. It's sort of a "The lady doth protest too much" situation. She probably should have just said, "None of your business." Maybe guilt loosened her tongue a bit too much.]
[Action: graciously refuse, delay]
CORNELIUS. Your Highness
Shall from this practice but make hard your heart;
Besides, the seeing these effects will be
Both noisome and infectious.
QUEEN. O, content thee.
[It would be funny if Cornelius hadn't handed the poison to the queen. He just "presented" it, but still held it in his own hands. That would help justify the queen going on and on. Maybe, on "O, content thee" she grabs it from him. It's a shared line, which implies she interrupts him. She's tired of the polite game, and Pisanio is coming into the room.]
Enter PISANIO
[Action (to the audience): boast, ridicule, make them accomplices to a prank, justify]
[Aside] Here comes a flattering rascal; upon him
Will I first work. He's for his master,
An enemy to my son.- How now, Pisanio!
Doctor, your service for this time is ended;
Take your own way.
[It might be interesting if, in fact, Cornelius gave her real poison. Maybe he gets and idea when he says, "But you shall do no harm" and, during his next speech, stealthily replaces the poison with fake poison.]
CORNELIUS. [Aside] I do suspect you, madam;
But you shall do no harm.
QUEEN. [To PISANIO] Hark thee, a word.
[In this speech, Cornelius's problem is that the audience might be loyal to the queen. Or, regardless of their loyalties, they might think he's wrong to dupe her. He needs to win them over (they might tell on him!), so he presents evidence against her and justifies himself.]
CORNELIUS. [Aside] I do not like her. She doth think she has
Strange ling'ring poisons. I do know her spirit,
And will not trust one of her malice with
A drug of such damn'd nature. Those she has
Will stupefy and dull the sense awhile,
Which first [] perchance [perhaps] she'll prove on cats and dogs,
Then afterward up higher; but there is
No danger in what show of death it makes,
More than the locking up the spirits a time,
To be more fresh, reviving. She is fool'd
With a most false effect; and I the truer
So to be false with her.
QUEEN. No further service, Doctor,
Until I send for thee.
[She asked him to leave way earlier. He's still not gone. Perhaps she barks that last line at him. His line, following, is a shared-verse line with hers. That implies that he picks up is cue really fast. Maybe her bark scared him and he fled.]
CORNELIUS. I humbly take my leave. Exit
[Maybe he has to gather up his stuff. The short line implies a pause. It must be really irritating to the queen.]
[Since we don't ever hear Pisanio say "She weeps, still," presumably, he and the queen have been having a quiet conversation all the time Cornelius has been speaking. ]
[The following bit is interesting. By the end of it, after Pisanio leaves, she suspects that he's completely loyal to Posthumus, and she hopes he'll take the poison so that Posthumus will no longer have any agents at court. But then why does she spend so long before that trying to win him over. He doesn't have any lines while she's trying to seduce him.
Is she really trying to seduce him away from his master? If so, he must somehow give her the impression that she's failed. Maybe because he doesn't say anything. Maybe her goal is to get him to say, "I am your servant." ]
[Action: Ursurp ownership of Pisanio (in the first part of the speech, she orders him around as if he's her servant.)]
QUEEN. Weeps she still, say'st thou? Dost thou think in time
She will not [] quench [cool down], and let instructions enter
Where folly now possesses? Do thou work.
When thou shalt bring me word she loves my son,
[Action: praise, offer rewards]
I'll tell thee on the instant thou art then
As great as is [] thy master [Postumus];
[Action: destroy Posthumus, belittle, ruin his reputation, wake Pisanio up to the truth]
greater, for
His fortunes all lie speechless, and his [] name [reputation]
Is at last gasp. Return he cannot, nor
Continue where he is. To [] shift his being [change his location]
Is to exchange one misery with another,
And every day that comes comes comes to
A day's work in him. { What shalt thou expect
To be depender on a thing that leans, }
Who cannot be new built, nor has no friends
So much as but to prop him?
{What do you expect for yourself if you depend on something broken (like Posthumus) }
[The QUEEN drops the box. PISANIO takes it up]
[Did she intend to drop the box all along? Maybe not. Maybe she's switching to plan B, because she's expended so many words on plan A -- winning Pisanio over -- and he's not taking the bait.]
Thou tak'st up
Thou know'st not what; but take it for thy labour.
It is a thing I made, which hath the King
Five times redeem'd from death. I do not know
What is more [] cordial [restoriative]. Nay, I prithee take it;
It is an earnest of a further good
That I mean to thee. Tell thy mistress how
The case stands with her; do't as from thyself.
{ Think what a chance thou changest on; } but think
{Think what a good chance this is for you!}
Thou hast thy mistress still; [] to boot [and also], my son,
Who shall take notice of thee. I'll move the King
To any shape of thy preferment, such
As thou'lt desire; and then myself, I chiefly,
That set thee on to this desert, am bound
To load thy merit richly. Call my women.
Think on my words. Exit PISANIO
[At the end of the speech, after working really hard to get Pisanio to take the box with the "poison," she tries to seduce him, again. She's hedging her bets, trying both plans. It's worth doing, because it one plan doesn't work, the other might. But it makes her a bit "schizophrenic." In the following speech, she vents to the audience and explains her erratic behavior. It has a "Can you SEE what I'm up aghaint?" flavor. It's as if she need to win them over to the fact that she's competent. ]
A sly and [] constant [loyal] knave,
Not to be [] shak'd [i.e. not to be seduced]; the agent for his master,
And the remembrancer of her to hold
The hand-fast to her lord. I have given him that
Which, if he take, shall quite unpeople her
Of [] leigers [ambassadors] for her [] sweet [e.g. sweet husband]; and which she after,
[] Except [unless] she [] bend her humour [changes her mind], shall be assur'd
To taste of too.
[Is she saying that Imogen might drink the poison, too? Why would the Queen want that to happen? She wants Imogen to marry her son. Maybe she means Imogen will drink it after she marries Cloten. Or maybe it's just occurring to her that Imogen might drink the poison. Maybe it's not a good thought. In any case, she doesn't have long to think about it, because...]
Re-enter PISANIO and LADIES
So, so. Well done, well done.
The violets, cowslips, and the primroses,
Bear to my closet. Fare thee well, Pisanio;
Think on my words. Exeunt QUEEN and LADIES
[He needs the audience to understand that he's going to choose the straight and narrow path. Since he hasn't spoken, he may be worried they don't know his intentions. One (controversial?) way to play this is for him to really consider switching sides after "And shall do" and then decide not to.]
PISANIO. And shall do.
But when to my good lord I prove untrue
I'll choke myself- there's all I'll do for you. Exit
Britain. CYMBELINE'S palace
Enter QUEEN, LADIES, and CORNELIUS
[The queen is surrounded by her ladies. She needs them to go away so that she's not seen getting the poison from Doctor Cornelius.]
[Action: order, request, give instructions]
QUEEN. Whiles yet the dew's on ground, gather those flowers;
Make haste; who has the [] note [list] of them?
[In other words, "Who has the list of the flowers?"]
[Maybe the ladies all search for the note. One finally finds it.]
LADY. I, madam.
[Maybe the ladies all gather around the list, looking at it. The queen wants them gone.]
QUEEN. [] Dispatch. [hurry.] Exeunt LADIES
[The previous line is short, suggesting a subsequent pause. Maybe the ladies take their time leaving, or there's some confusion or stumbling. The queen so wants to be alone with the doctor. It must be exasperating to her. Maybe she only has a few minutes with the doctor. Anyone could come in at any time. She needs him to hand over the drugs in a hurry.]
Now, Master Doctor, have you brought those drugs?
CORNELIUS. Pleaseth your Highness, ay. Here they are, madam.
[Presenting a box]
[Perhaps he starts to hand them over; then thinks better of it and pulls them back.]
But I beseech your Grace, without offence --
My conscience bids me ask -- [] wherefore [why] you have
Commanded of me these most poisonous compounds
Which are the [] movers [the cause] of a languishing death,
But, though slow, deadly?
[His problem is that, though he knows she's requested a poison and doesn't want to give it to her, she's a queen. Possible actions: delay, play for time, submit a complaint...]
[Action: belittle, strip down, accuse, berate, condescend]
QUEEN. I wonder, Doctor,
Thou ask'st me such a question. Have I not been
Thy pupil long? Hast thou not learn'd me how
To make perfumes? distil? preserve? yea, so
That our great king himself doth woo me oft
For my confections?
[Action: pummel him with logic. He is the scientist. She is turning the tables on him. Also, when she says, "Unless thou think'st me devilish," she cuts him off at the pass, saying it before he does. That makes him look like a bad guy if he does say it.]
Having thus far proceeded --
Unless thou think'st me devilish -- is't not [] meet [appropriate]
That I did amplify my judgment in
Other [] conclusions [experiments]? I will try the forces
Of these thy compounds on such creatures as
We count not worth the hanging -- but none human --
To try the vigour of them, and apply
[] Allayments [antidotes] to their act, and by them gather
Their several virtues and effects.
[It's interesting that the queen -- and she IS a queen -- goes to such lengths to explain herself. At first, she says "I'm surprised you asked." Then, she elaborates. It's sort of a "The lady doth protest too much" situation. She probably should have just said, "None of your business." Maybe guilt loosened her tongue a bit too much.]
[Action: graciously refuse, delay]
CORNELIUS. Your Highness
Shall from this practice but make hard your heart;
Besides, the seeing these effects will be
Both noisome and infectious.
QUEEN. O, content thee.
[It would be funny if Cornelius hadn't handed the poison to the queen. He just "presented" it, but still held it in his own hands. That would help justify the queen going on and on. Maybe, on "O, content thee" she grabs it from him. It's a shared line, which implies she interrupts him. She's tired of the polite game, and Pisanio is coming into the room.]
Enter PISANIO
[Action (to the audience): boast, ridicule, make them accomplices to a prank, justify]
[Aside] Here comes a flattering rascal; upon him
Will I first work. He's for his master,
An enemy to my son.- How now, Pisanio!
Doctor, your service for this time is ended;
Take your own way.
[It might be interesting if, in fact, Cornelius gave her real poison. Maybe he gets and idea when he says, "But you shall do no harm" and, during his next speech, stealthily replaces the poison with fake poison.]
CORNELIUS. [Aside] I do suspect you, madam;
But you shall do no harm.
QUEEN. [To PISANIO] Hark thee, a word.
[In this speech, Cornelius's problem is that the audience might be loyal to the queen. Or, regardless of their loyalties, they might think he's wrong to dupe her. He needs to win them over (they might tell on him!), so he presents evidence against her and justifies himself.]
CORNELIUS. [Aside] I do not like her. She doth think she has
Strange ling'ring poisons. I do know her spirit,
And will not trust one of her malice with
A drug of such damn'd nature. Those she has
Will stupefy and dull the sense awhile,
Which first [] perchance [perhaps] she'll prove on cats and dogs,
Then afterward up higher; but there is
No danger in what show of death it makes,
More than the locking up the spirits a time,
To be more fresh, reviving. She is fool'd
With a most false effect; and I the truer
So to be false with her.
QUEEN. No further service, Doctor,
Until I send for thee.
[She asked him to leave way earlier. He's still not gone. Perhaps she barks that last line at him. His line, following, is a shared-verse line with hers. That implies that he picks up is cue really fast. Maybe her bark scared him and he fled.]
CORNELIUS. I humbly take my leave. Exit
[Maybe he has to gather up his stuff. The short line implies a pause. It must be really irritating to the queen.]
[Since we don't ever hear Pisanio say "She weeps, still," presumably, he and the queen have been having a quiet conversation all the time Cornelius has been speaking. ]
[The following bit is interesting. By the end of it, after Pisanio leaves, she suspects that he's completely loyal to Posthumus, and she hopes he'll take the poison so that Posthumus will no longer have any agents at court. But then why does she spend so long before that trying to win him over. He doesn't have any lines while she's trying to seduce him.
Is she really trying to seduce him away from his master? If so, he must somehow give her the impression that she's failed. Maybe because he doesn't say anything. Maybe her goal is to get him to say, "I am your servant." ]
[Action: Ursurp ownership of Pisanio (in the first part of the speech, she orders him around as if he's her servant.)]
QUEEN. Weeps she still, say'st thou? Dost thou think in time
She will not [] quench [cool down], and let instructions enter
Where folly now possesses? Do thou work.
When thou shalt bring me word she loves my son,
[Action: praise, offer rewards]
I'll tell thee on the instant thou art then
As great as is [] thy master [Postumus];
[Action: destroy Posthumus, belittle, ruin his reputation, wake Pisanio up to the truth]
greater, for
His fortunes all lie speechless, and his [] name [reputation]
Is at last gasp. Return he cannot, nor
Continue where he is. To [] shift his being [change his location]
Is to exchange one misery with another,
And every day that comes comes comes to
A day's work in him. { What shalt thou expect
To be depender on a thing that leans, }
Who cannot be new built, nor has no friends
So much as but to prop him?
{What do you expect for yourself if you depend on something broken (like Posthumus) }
[The QUEEN drops the box. PISANIO takes it up]
[Did she intend to drop the box all along? Maybe not. Maybe she's switching to plan B, because she's expended so many words on plan A -- winning Pisanio over -- and he's not taking the bait.]
Thou tak'st up
Thou know'st not what; but take it for thy labour.
It is a thing I made, which hath the King
Five times redeem'd from death. I do not know
What is more [] cordial [restoriative]. Nay, I prithee take it;
It is an earnest of a further good
That I mean to thee. Tell thy mistress how
The case stands with her; do't as from thyself.
{ Think what a chance thou changest on; } but think
{Think what a good chance this is for you!}
Thou hast thy mistress still; [] to boot [and also], my son,
Who shall take notice of thee. I'll move the King
To any shape of thy preferment, such
As thou'lt desire; and then myself, I chiefly,
That set thee on to this desert, am bound
To load thy merit richly. Call my women.
Think on my words. Exit PISANIO
[At the end of the speech, after working really hard to get Pisanio to take the box with the "poison," she tries to seduce him, again. She's hedging her bets, trying both plans. It's worth doing, because it one plan doesn't work, the other might. But it makes her a bit "schizophrenic." In the following speech, she vents to the audience and explains her erratic behavior. It has a "Can you SEE what I'm up aghaint?" flavor. It's as if she need to win them over to the fact that she's competent. ]
A sly and [] constant [loyal] knave,
Not to be [] shak'd [i.e. not to be seduced]; the agent for his master,
And the remembrancer of her to hold
The hand-fast to her lord. I have given him that
Which, if he take, shall quite unpeople her
Of [] leigers [ambassadors] for her [] sweet [e.g. sweet husband]; and which she after,
[] Except [unless] she [] bend her humour [changes her mind], shall be assur'd
To taste of too.
[Is she saying that Imogen might drink the poison, too? Why would the Queen want that to happen? She wants Imogen to marry her son. Maybe she means Imogen will drink it after she marries Cloten. Or maybe it's just occurring to her that Imogen might drink the poison. Maybe it's not a good thought. In any case, she doesn't have long to think about it, because...]
Re-enter PISANIO and LADIES
So, so. Well done, well done.
The violets, cowslips, and the primroses,
Bear to my closet. Fare thee well, Pisanio;
Think on my words. Exeunt QUEEN and LADIES
[He needs the audience to understand that he's going to choose the straight and narrow path. Since he hasn't spoken, he may be worried they don't know his intentions. One (controversial?) way to play this is for him to really consider switching sides after "And shall do" and then decide not to.]
PISANIO. And shall do.
But when to my good lord I prove untrue
I'll choke myself- there's all I'll do for you. Exit
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Cymbeline 1.IV
SCENE IV.
Rome. PHILARIO'S house
Enter PHILARIO, IACHIMO, a FRENCHMAN, a DUTCHMAN, and a SPANIARD
IACHIMO. Believe it, sir, I have seen him in Britain. He was then of a [] crescent [increasing, like the waxing mooon, growing fame] note, expected to prove so worthy as since he hath been allowed the name of [He was given the name Leonatus]. { But I could then have look'd on him without the help of [] admiration [wonder], [] though [even if] the catalogue of his endowments had been [] tabled [listed] by his side, and I to peruse him by items. }
{But back then I could have looked at him without being impressed, even if his accomplishments were written all over him.}
[Belittle Posthumus]
PHILARIO. You speak of him when he was less furnish'd than now he is with that which makes him both without and within.
[Stand up for your friend]
FRENCHMAN. I have seen him in France; {we had very many there could behold the sun with as firm eyes as he.}
{We had many people in France just as good as him -- just as able to look into the sun (like the eagle, the king of birds)}
[Tear him down]
IACHIMO. This matter of marrying his king's daughter, wherein he must be weighed rather by her [] value [social rank] than his own, [] words [gives an account of] him, I doubt not, a great [] deal from the matter [distance from the truth].
[Doubt his worth]
FRENCHMAN. And then his banishment.
[Add more evidence]
IACHIMO. Ay, and the [] approbation [approval] of those that weep this lamentable [] divorce [forced separation] under [] her colours [her camp] are wonderfully to extend him, be it but to fortify her judgment, which [] else [otherwise] an easy battery might lay flat, for taking a beggar, without less quality. But how comes it he is to sojourn with you? How creeps acquaintance?
[Justify his praise / Gather intelligence]
PHILARIO. His father and I were soldiers together, to whom I have been often bound for no less than my life.
[Defend your honor]
Enter POSTHUMUS
Here comes the Briton. Let him be so entertained amongst you as suits with gentlemen of your [] knowing [discernment] to a stranger of his quality. I beseech you all be better known to this gentleman, whom I commend to you as a noble friend of mine. How worthy he is I will leave to appear hereafter, rather than story him in his own hearing.
[Set the tone, make the rules, keep peace, trumpet your friend]
FRENCHMAN. Sir, we have known together in Orleans.
[Remind, peek-a-boo, grab attention]
POSTHUMUS. Since when I have been debtor to you for courtesies, which I will be ever to pay and yet pay still.
[Bend over backwards to be polite]
FRENCHMAN. Sir, you o'errate my poor kindness. I was glad I did [] atone [reconcile] my countryman and you; it had been pity you should have been [] put together [pitted in a duel] with so [] mortal [fatal] a purpose as then each bore, upon importance of so slight and trivial a nature.
[Wave away the past (a form of belittling)]
POSTHUMUS. By your pardon, sir. I was then a young traveller; {rather shunn'd to [] go even [agree] with what I heard than in my every action to be guided by others' experiences;} but upon my mended judgment- if I offend not to say it is mended- my quarrel was not altogether slight.
{because I didn't want to seem as if I was listening to other people, I avoided agreeing with anyone}
[Apologize / Stand up for yourself]
FRENCHMAN. Faith, yes, to be put to the [] arbitrement [settlement] of swords, and by such two that would by all likelihood have [] confounded [killed] one the other or have fall'n both.
[Willfully misunderstand. P is saying, "it wasn't a trifle." Frenchman is saying, "Of course not. Someone could have gotten killed."]
IACHIMO. Can we, with manners, ask what was the difference?
[Gather intelligence, feed the fire, give the Frenchman amunition]
FRENCHMAN. Safely, I think. 'Twas a contention in public, which may, without contradiction, suffer the report. It was much like an argument that fell out last night, where each of us fell in praise of our country mistresses; this gentleman at that time vouching -- and upon warrant of bloody affirmation -- his to be more fair, virtuous, wise, chaste, constant, qualified, and less attemptable, than any the rarest of our ladies in France.
[Paint the picture, set the stage. How much are Iachimo and the Frenchman in league with each other. What, if anything, do they know about Imogen already? They clearly know about the banishment, because they spoke of it before P came in. But do they know how trusting P is? Have the worked out this con between them ahead of time? Or are they opportunists -- seizing the moment.]
IACHIMO. That lady is not now living, [] or [or is] this gentleman's opinion, [] by this [by now], worn out.
[feign puzzlement, try to solve a puzzle (faked)]
POSTHUMUS. She holds her virtue still, and I my mind.
[stand up for yourself, for Imogen]
IACHIMO. You must not so far prefer her fore ours of Italy.
[warn, challenge]
POSTHUMUS. Being so far provok'd as I was in France, I would [] abate her nothing [not lesson my opinion of her], though I profess myself her adorer, not her friend.
[draw a line in the sand]
IACHIMO. As fair and as good -- a kind of hand-in-hand comparison -- had been [] something [somewhat] too fair and too good for any lady in Britain. If she [] went before [were better than] others I have seen as that diamond of yours outlustres many I have beheld, I could [] not but [not help myself but] believe she excelled many; but I have not seen the most precious diamond that is, nor you the lady.
[reason, point out a flaw in his logic, trip him up]
POSTHUMUS. I prais'd her as I rated her. So do I my stone.
[stand your ground]
IACHIMO. What do you esteem it at?
[challenge]
POSTHUMUS. More than the world enjoys.
[answer honestly]
IACHIMO. Either your unparagon'd mistress is dead, or she's outpriz'd by a trifle.
[mock]
POSTHUMUS. You are mistaken: the one may be sold or given, if there were wealth enough for the purchase or merit for the gift; the other is not a thing for sale, and only the gift of the gods.
[correct, as a teacher correcting a foolish child]
IACHIMO. Which the gods have given you?
[feign incredulity]
POSTHUMUS. Which by their graces I will keep.
[stake a claim]
IACHIMO. You may wear her in title yours; but you know strange fowl light upon neighbouring ponds. Your ring may be stol'n too. [] So your brace of unprizable estimations [Thus, your two objects of unestimable value], the one is but frail and the other [] casual [subject to chance or accident]; a cunning thief, or a that-way-accomplish'd courtier, would hazard the winning both of first and last.
[bring him down to earth]
POSTHUMUS. Your Italy contains none so accomplish'd a courtier to convince the honour of my mistress, if in the holding or loss of that you term her frail. I do nothing doubt you have store of thieves; notwithstanding, I fear not my ring.
[stand ground]
PHILARIO. Let us [] leave here [stop this (before it goes too far)], gentlemen.
[put out the fire before it ends in tears]
POSTHUMUS. Sir, with all my heart. This worthy signior, I thank him, makes no stranger of me; we are familiar at first.
[show off your worldliness, make it known to all that you understand what's going on, look a tiger in the eye]
IACHIMO. With five times so much conversation I should get ground of your fair mistress; make her [] go back even to the yielding [make her lose the battle and yield to me sexually], had I admittance and opportunity to friend.
[boast]
POSTHUMUS. No, no.
[deny]
IACHIMO. I dare thereupon pawn the [] moiety [half] of my estate to your ring, which, in my opinion, o'ervalues it something. But I make my wager rather against your confidence than her reputation; and, to bar your offence herein too, I durst attempt it against any lady in the world.
[up the ante]
POSTHUMUS. You are a great deal [] abus'd [deceived] in too bold a [] persuasion [opinion], and I doubt not you [] sustain [will receive] what y'are worthy of by your attempt.
[condescend, belittle, tear down]
IACHIMO. What's that?
[egg on]
POSTHUMUS. A repulse; though your attempt, as you call it, deserve more -- a punishment too.
[give him what he deserves, hit him with a zinger]
PHILARIO. Gentlemen, enough of this. It came in too suddenly; let it die as it was born, and I pray you be better acquainted.
[Keep the peace, stop the madness, pull them apart]
IACHIMO. Would I had put my estate and my neighbour's on th' [] approbation [proof] of what I have spoke!
[Curse (feigned -- really a challenge)]
POSTHUMUS. What lady would you choose to assail?
[Force him to show his hand]
IACHIMO. Yours, whom in constancy you think stands so safe. I will lay you ten thousand ducats to your ring that, commend me to the court where your lady is, with no more advantage than the opportunity of a second conference, and I will bring from thence that honour of hers which you imagine so reserv'd.
[Make the challenge]
POSTHUMUS. I will wage against your gold, gold to it. My ring I hold dear as my finger; 'tis part of it.
[Accept (which is also a challenge -- "show me your worst")]
IACHIMO. You are a friend [of Imogen?], and therein the wiser [not to want to gamble with her ring?]. If you buy ladies' flesh at a million a dram, you cannot preserve it from tainting. But I see you have some religion in you, that you fear.
[taunt]
POSTHUMUS. This is but a custom in your tongue; you bear a graver purpose, I hope.
[play for time, tread water, gather intelligence, give him an out]
IACHIMO. I am the master of my speeches, and would undergo what's spoken, I swear.
[stand ground]
POSTHUMUS. Will you? I Shall but lend my diamond till your return. Let there be covenants drawn between's. My mistress exceeds in goodness the hugeness of your unworthy thinking. I dare you to this match: here's my ring. [Does he give it to Philario or Iachimo? The next line suggest the former.]
[put the money on the table]
PHILARIO. I will have it no [] lay [wager].
[refuse to play, knock over the chess board]
IACHIMO. By the gods, it is one. If I bring you no sufficient testimony that I have enjoy'd the dearest bodily part of your mistress, my ten thousand ducats are yours; so is your diamond too. If I come off, and leave her in such honour as you have trust in, she your jewel, this your jewel, and my gold are yours- provided I have [] your commendation [a warm letter of introduction from you] for my more free entertainment.
[Accept, leap into the game / clarify the rules]
POSTHUMUS. I embrace these conditions; let us have articles betwixt us. Only, thus far you shall answer: if you make your voyage upon her, and give me directly to understand you have prevail'd, I am no further your enemy -- she is not worth our debate; if she remain unseduc'd, you not making it appear otherwise, for your ill opinion and th' assault you have made to her chastity you shall answer me with your sword.
[Agree, accept, legalize / threaten, raise the stakes]
IACHIMO. Your hand -- a covenant! We will have these things set down by lawful counsel, and straight away for Britain, lest the bargain should catch cold and starve. I will fetch my gold and have our two wagers recorded.
[Accept the new stakes (which is also a challenge)]
POSTHUMUS. Agreed.
[Accept and finalize]
Exeunt POSTHUMUS and IACHIMO
FRENCHMAN. Will this hold, think you?
[Gather intelligence]
PHILARIO. Signior Iachimo will not from it. Pray let us follow 'em.
[Put a stop to it. Or at least, that's the action I would play. He clearly doesn't succeed (judging from what follows), but he should leave the scene trying.]
Exeunt
Rome. PHILARIO'S house
Enter PHILARIO, IACHIMO, a FRENCHMAN, a DUTCHMAN, and a SPANIARD
IACHIMO. Believe it, sir, I have seen him in Britain. He was then of a [] crescent [increasing, like the waxing mooon, growing fame] note, expected to prove so worthy as since he hath been allowed the name of [He was given the name Leonatus]. { But I could then have look'd on him without the help of [] admiration [wonder], [] though [even if] the catalogue of his endowments had been [] tabled [listed] by his side, and I to peruse him by items. }
{But back then I could have looked at him without being impressed, even if his accomplishments were written all over him.}
[Belittle Posthumus]
PHILARIO. You speak of him when he was less furnish'd than now he is with that which makes him both without and within.
[Stand up for your friend]
FRENCHMAN. I have seen him in France; {we had very many there could behold the sun with as firm eyes as he.}
{We had many people in France just as good as him -- just as able to look into the sun (like the eagle, the king of birds)}
[Tear him down]
IACHIMO. This matter of marrying his king's daughter, wherein he must be weighed rather by her [] value [social rank] than his own, [] words [gives an account of] him, I doubt not, a great [] deal from the matter [distance from the truth].
[Doubt his worth]
FRENCHMAN. And then his banishment.
[Add more evidence]
IACHIMO. Ay, and the [] approbation [approval] of those that weep this lamentable [] divorce [forced separation] under [] her colours [her camp] are wonderfully to extend him, be it but to fortify her judgment, which [] else [otherwise] an easy battery might lay flat, for taking a beggar, without less quality. But how comes it he is to sojourn with you? How creeps acquaintance?
[Justify his praise / Gather intelligence]
PHILARIO. His father and I were soldiers together, to whom I have been often bound for no less than my life.
[Defend your honor]
Enter POSTHUMUS
Here comes the Briton. Let him be so entertained amongst you as suits with gentlemen of your [] knowing [discernment] to a stranger of his quality. I beseech you all be better known to this gentleman, whom I commend to you as a noble friend of mine. How worthy he is I will leave to appear hereafter, rather than story him in his own hearing.
[Set the tone, make the rules, keep peace, trumpet your friend]
FRENCHMAN. Sir, we have known together in Orleans.
[Remind, peek-a-boo, grab attention]
POSTHUMUS. Since when I have been debtor to you for courtesies, which I will be ever to pay and yet pay still.
[Bend over backwards to be polite]
FRENCHMAN. Sir, you o'errate my poor kindness. I was glad I did [] atone [reconcile] my countryman and you; it had been pity you should have been [] put together [pitted in a duel] with so [] mortal [fatal] a purpose as then each bore, upon importance of so slight and trivial a nature.
[Wave away the past (a form of belittling)]
POSTHUMUS. By your pardon, sir. I was then a young traveller; {rather shunn'd to [] go even [agree] with what I heard than in my every action to be guided by others' experiences;} but upon my mended judgment- if I offend not to say it is mended- my quarrel was not altogether slight.
{because I didn't want to seem as if I was listening to other people, I avoided agreeing with anyone}
[Apologize / Stand up for yourself]
FRENCHMAN. Faith, yes, to be put to the [] arbitrement [settlement] of swords, and by such two that would by all likelihood have [] confounded [killed] one the other or have fall'n both.
[Willfully misunderstand. P is saying, "it wasn't a trifle." Frenchman is saying, "Of course not. Someone could have gotten killed."]
IACHIMO. Can we, with manners, ask what was the difference?
[Gather intelligence, feed the fire, give the Frenchman amunition]
FRENCHMAN. Safely, I think. 'Twas a contention in public, which may, without contradiction, suffer the report. It was much like an argument that fell out last night, where each of us fell in praise of our country mistresses; this gentleman at that time vouching -- and upon warrant of bloody affirmation -- his to be more fair, virtuous, wise, chaste, constant, qualified, and less attemptable, than any the rarest of our ladies in France.
[Paint the picture, set the stage. How much are Iachimo and the Frenchman in league with each other. What, if anything, do they know about Imogen already? They clearly know about the banishment, because they spoke of it before P came in. But do they know how trusting P is? Have the worked out this con between them ahead of time? Or are they opportunists -- seizing the moment.]
IACHIMO. That lady is not now living, [] or [or is] this gentleman's opinion, [] by this [by now], worn out.
[feign puzzlement, try to solve a puzzle (faked)]
POSTHUMUS. She holds her virtue still, and I my mind.
[stand up for yourself, for Imogen]
IACHIMO. You must not so far prefer her fore ours of Italy.
[warn, challenge]
POSTHUMUS. Being so far provok'd as I was in France, I would [] abate her nothing [not lesson my opinion of her], though I profess myself her adorer, not her friend.
[draw a line in the sand]
IACHIMO. As fair and as good -- a kind of hand-in-hand comparison -- had been [] something [somewhat] too fair and too good for any lady in Britain. If she [] went before [were better than] others I have seen as that diamond of yours outlustres many I have beheld, I could [] not but [not help myself but] believe she excelled many; but I have not seen the most precious diamond that is, nor you the lady.
[reason, point out a flaw in his logic, trip him up]
POSTHUMUS. I prais'd her as I rated her. So do I my stone.
[stand your ground]
IACHIMO. What do you esteem it at?
[challenge]
POSTHUMUS. More than the world enjoys.
[answer honestly]
IACHIMO. Either your unparagon'd mistress is dead, or she's outpriz'd by a trifle.
[mock]
POSTHUMUS. You are mistaken: the one may be sold or given, if there were wealth enough for the purchase or merit for the gift; the other is not a thing for sale, and only the gift of the gods.
[correct, as a teacher correcting a foolish child]
IACHIMO. Which the gods have given you?
[feign incredulity]
POSTHUMUS. Which by their graces I will keep.
[stake a claim]
IACHIMO. You may wear her in title yours; but you know strange fowl light upon neighbouring ponds. Your ring may be stol'n too. [] So your brace of unprizable estimations [Thus, your two objects of unestimable value], the one is but frail and the other [] casual [subject to chance or accident]; a cunning thief, or a that-way-accomplish'd courtier, would hazard the winning both of first and last.
[bring him down to earth]
POSTHUMUS. Your Italy contains none so accomplish'd a courtier to convince the honour of my mistress, if in the holding or loss of that you term her frail. I do nothing doubt you have store of thieves; notwithstanding, I fear not my ring.
[stand ground]
PHILARIO. Let us [] leave here [stop this (before it goes too far)], gentlemen.
[put out the fire before it ends in tears]
POSTHUMUS. Sir, with all my heart. This worthy signior, I thank him, makes no stranger of me; we are familiar at first.
[show off your worldliness, make it known to all that you understand what's going on, look a tiger in the eye]
IACHIMO. With five times so much conversation I should get ground of your fair mistress; make her [] go back even to the yielding [make her lose the battle and yield to me sexually], had I admittance and opportunity to friend.
[boast]
POSTHUMUS. No, no.
[deny]
IACHIMO. I dare thereupon pawn the [] moiety [half] of my estate to your ring, which, in my opinion, o'ervalues it something. But I make my wager rather against your confidence than her reputation; and, to bar your offence herein too, I durst attempt it against any lady in the world.
[up the ante]
POSTHUMUS. You are a great deal [] abus'd [deceived] in too bold a [] persuasion [opinion], and I doubt not you [] sustain [will receive] what y'are worthy of by your attempt.
[condescend, belittle, tear down]
IACHIMO. What's that?
[egg on]
POSTHUMUS. A repulse; though your attempt, as you call it, deserve more -- a punishment too.
[give him what he deserves, hit him with a zinger]
PHILARIO. Gentlemen, enough of this. It came in too suddenly; let it die as it was born, and I pray you be better acquainted.
[Keep the peace, stop the madness, pull them apart]
IACHIMO. Would I had put my estate and my neighbour's on th' [] approbation [proof] of what I have spoke!
[Curse (feigned -- really a challenge)]
POSTHUMUS. What lady would you choose to assail?
[Force him to show his hand]
IACHIMO. Yours, whom in constancy you think stands so safe. I will lay you ten thousand ducats to your ring that, commend me to the court where your lady is, with no more advantage than the opportunity of a second conference, and I will bring from thence that honour of hers which you imagine so reserv'd.
[Make the challenge]
POSTHUMUS. I will wage against your gold, gold to it. My ring I hold dear as my finger; 'tis part of it.
[Accept (which is also a challenge -- "show me your worst")]
IACHIMO. You are a friend [of Imogen?], and therein the wiser [not to want to gamble with her ring?]. If you buy ladies' flesh at a million a dram, you cannot preserve it from tainting. But I see you have some religion in you, that you fear.
[taunt]
POSTHUMUS. This is but a custom in your tongue; you bear a graver purpose, I hope.
[play for time, tread water, gather intelligence, give him an out]
IACHIMO. I am the master of my speeches, and would undergo what's spoken, I swear.
[stand ground]
POSTHUMUS. Will you? I Shall but lend my diamond till your return. Let there be covenants drawn between's. My mistress exceeds in goodness the hugeness of your unworthy thinking. I dare you to this match: here's my ring. [Does he give it to Philario or Iachimo? The next line suggest the former.]
[put the money on the table]
PHILARIO. I will have it no [] lay [wager].
[refuse to play, knock over the chess board]
IACHIMO. By the gods, it is one. If I bring you no sufficient testimony that I have enjoy'd the dearest bodily part of your mistress, my ten thousand ducats are yours; so is your diamond too. If I come off, and leave her in such honour as you have trust in, she your jewel, this your jewel, and my gold are yours- provided I have [] your commendation [a warm letter of introduction from you] for my more free entertainment.
[Accept, leap into the game / clarify the rules]
POSTHUMUS. I embrace these conditions; let us have articles betwixt us. Only, thus far you shall answer: if you make your voyage upon her, and give me directly to understand you have prevail'd, I am no further your enemy -- she is not worth our debate; if she remain unseduc'd, you not making it appear otherwise, for your ill opinion and th' assault you have made to her chastity you shall answer me with your sword.
[Agree, accept, legalize / threaten, raise the stakes]
IACHIMO. Your hand -- a covenant! We will have these things set down by lawful counsel, and straight away for Britain, lest the bargain should catch cold and starve. I will fetch my gold and have our two wagers recorded.
[Accept the new stakes (which is also a challenge)]
POSTHUMUS. Agreed.
[Accept and finalize]
Exeunt POSTHUMUS and IACHIMO
FRENCHMAN. Will this hold, think you?
[Gather intelligence]
PHILARIO. Signior Iachimo will not from it. Pray let us follow 'em.
[Put a stop to it. Or at least, that's the action I would play. He clearly doesn't succeed (judging from what follows), but he should leave the scene trying.]
Exeunt
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cymbeline 1.I.c
Enter CYMBELINE and LORDS
POSTHUMUS. Alack, the King! [Surrender? Flee? -- short line. Is there some sort of physical action?]
CYMBELINE. Thou basest thing, [] avoid [depart] (1); hence from my sight
If after this command thou [] fraught [burden] the court
With thy unworthiness, thou diest (2). Away!
Thou'rt poison to my blood (3).
[1. Banish. 2. Threaten. 3. Belittle, mock, scorn, diss]
POSTHUMUS. The gods protect you, [A shared line. A cut off. "I'm out-a here!"]
And bless [] the good remainders of the court! [those who remain at court.]
I am gone. [He cuts off the verse line. Pregnant pause after he leaves.]
Exit
[Who is he saying "the gods protect you" to? The obvious choice would be Imogen. But it could also be said to the King. If he says it to C, is he mocking (is it ironic) or being generous?]
IMOGEN. There cannot be a [] pinch [pang. torment] in death
More sharp than this is. [Guilt dad.]
CYMBELINE. O disloyal thing, [Shared line. Dad cuts her off.]
That shouldst [] repair [restore] my youth, [yet] thou heap'st
A year's age on me! [Guilt back. You're killing your father, do you know that?]
IMOGEN. I beseech you, sir,
Harm not yourself with your vexation.
I am senseless of your wrath; [] a touch more rare [parting from P]
Subdues all [other] pangs, all fears. [I'm sticking my fingers in my ears. I can't hear you. I can't hear you I can't hear you. She's giving him the cold shoulder.]
CYMBELINE. Past [] grace [sense of duty/propriety]? obedience? [Chastising.]
IMOGEN. Past hope, and in despair; [] that [that thing which is] way past [] grace [mercy/forgiveness].
[He's saying "You're a bad daughter." She's saying, "You don't know the half of it."]
CYMBELINE. That mightst have had the sole son of my queen! [Reasoning? Putting the dunce cap on her? Guilting?]
IMOGEN. O blessed that I might not! I chose an eagle,
And did avoid a [] puttock. [Bird of prey, kite, buzzard. term of contempt. ]
[Giving thanks to the gods. Then saying "my dog is better than your dog."]
CYMBELINE. Thou took'st a beggar, wouldst have made my throne
A seat for baseness. ["Would you have me thrown out of the country club?"]
IMOGEN. No; I rather added
A lustre to it. ["You stupid man. The country club will give you a ten-year free membership because of me."]
CYMBELINE. O thou vile one!
[He's so undone by her comebacks, he can only sputter insults. He doesn't even make it to the end of a verse line. ALTERNATE: he CURSES her, trumping all her comebacks. He cuts the verse line off, needing only the words he uses.]
IMOGEN. Sir, [REALLY short line. Does she pause until he looks at her?]
It is your fault that I have lov'd Posthumus.
You bred him as my playfellow, and he is
A man worth any woman; [] overbuys me
Almost the sum he pays. [he pays more than I'm worth -- most of what he pays is too much]
[She suddenly stops playing schoolyard insult games. She reasons with him. She turns everything around, making the whole thing his fault. She pulls out her ace of spades.]
CYMBELINE. What, art thou mad? [A shared line. He can't listen any more. He cuts her off.]
IMOGEN. Almost, sir. Heaven restore me! Would I were
A [] neat-herd's [cowheard's] daughter, and my Leonatus
Our neighbour shepherd's son! [I'm leaving this family. This is a BIG rejection for a King's daughter.]
Re-enter QUEEN
CYMBELINE. Thou foolish thing! [Shared line. He cuts her off and attacks the queen instead.]
[To the QUEEN] They were again together. You have done
Not after our command. Away with her,
And pen her up.
[First, he "whips" the queen. Then, he orders obedience. He turns the queen into a servant. (Unless he's talking to someone else when he says "Away with her" If he is, his "And pen her up" might mean refer to Q. Send I away and pen up the Queen. But that plays against the rhythm. It's "and PEN her Up" not "and pen HER up."]
QUEEN. Beseech your patience.- Peace, [She cuts him off, before he makes any more threats]
Dear lady daughter, peace!- Sweet sovereign,
Leave us to ourselves, and make yourself some comfort
Out of your best [] advice. [council]
[She stops him in his tracks? she begs him? she seduces him? She winks at him? Whatever she does seems to work. He's happy someone else is dealing with the problem. He spits out one more curse and then leaves.]
CYMBELINE. Nay, let her languish [Cut off. Maybe so as not to see weak. But he does leave.]
[] A drop of blood a day [sighs were said to consume the heart's blood] and, being aged,
Die of this folly. Exit, with LORDS
Enter PISANIO
QUEEN. Fie! you must give way. [Chastise.]
Here is your servant. How now, sir! What news?
PISANIO. My lord your son drew on my master.
QUEEN. Ha! [Short line. Pause.]
No harm, I trust, is done? [maybe as "Spill the beans, dammit!"]
PISANIO. There might have been, [Shared line. Maybe because Q's last line was a bark.]
But that my master rather play'd than fought,
And had no help of anger; they were parted
By gentlemen at hand. [Mock Q via her son the wimp.]
QUEEN. I am very glad on't. [Shared. Cut him off before he further insults Cloten.]
IMOGEN. Your son's my father's friend; he takes his part [Chastise.]
To draw upon an exile! O brave sir! [Praise.]
I would they were in Afric both together; [Really wish it into being!]
[] Myself by with a needle, that I might prick
The [] goer-back. [the coward] Why came you from your master?
PISANIO. On his command. He would not [] suffer [allow] me
To bring him to the haven; left these notes
Of what commands I should be subject to,
When't pleas'd you to employ me.
[It might be interesting if, at this point, Pisanio is very upset that P rejected him. He wants to be with his master, not with his master's wife. This will allow some growth in the Pisanio/Imogen relationship.]
QUEEN. [to the absent P] This hath been
Your faithful servant. I dare [] lay [wager] mine honour
He will remain so.
[Why is Q so interested in praising Pisanio in front of I? Is she just trying to calm I down? Does she think she'll be able to make use of Pisanio later, if she's able to get Pisanio into I's good graces?]
PISANIO. I humbly thank your Highness.
QUEEN. Pray walk awhile.
IMOGEN. About some half-hour hence,
Pray you speak with me. You shall at least
Go see my lord aboard. For this time leave me. Exeunt
[I wants to make clear that she will be helped on her own terms or none at all.
This scene paints an interesting picture of Cymbeline's court. C sort of has power. He's able to banish P. But he's a weak king. He too easily gives into his wife and daughter. This has created an atmosphere of scattered power. Does C have the power? Does Q have it? Does I have it? Everything is so de-centered that no one seems to really listen to anyone else. The person who yells the loudest has the power. The one risk is that Cymbeline will get so pissed off, he'll order someone beheaded. But barring that, you can overpower him if with histrionics.
This seems very much like real family life. Dad CAN ground the kids. But how often he forgets that he has this power! And then everything devolves into a shouting match.]
POSTHUMUS. Alack, the King! [Surrender? Flee? -- short line. Is there some sort of physical action?]
CYMBELINE. Thou basest thing, [] avoid [depart] (1); hence from my sight
If after this command thou [] fraught [burden] the court
With thy unworthiness, thou diest (2). Away!
Thou'rt poison to my blood (3).
[1. Banish. 2. Threaten. 3. Belittle, mock, scorn, diss]
POSTHUMUS. The gods protect you, [A shared line. A cut off. "I'm out-a here!"]
And bless [] the good remainders of the court! [those who remain at court.]
I am gone. [He cuts off the verse line. Pregnant pause after he leaves.]
Exit
[Who is he saying "the gods protect you" to? The obvious choice would be Imogen. But it could also be said to the King. If he says it to C, is he mocking (is it ironic) or being generous?]
IMOGEN. There cannot be a [] pinch [pang. torment] in death
More sharp than this is. [Guilt dad.]
CYMBELINE. O disloyal thing, [Shared line. Dad cuts her off.]
That shouldst [] repair [restore] my youth, [yet] thou heap'st
A year's age on me! [Guilt back. You're killing your father, do you know that?]
IMOGEN. I beseech you, sir,
Harm not yourself with your vexation.
I am senseless of your wrath; [] a touch more rare [parting from P]
Subdues all [other] pangs, all fears. [I'm sticking my fingers in my ears. I can't hear you. I can't hear you I can't hear you. She's giving him the cold shoulder.]
CYMBELINE. Past [] grace [sense of duty/propriety]? obedience? [Chastising.]
IMOGEN. Past hope, and in despair; [] that [that thing which is] way past [] grace [mercy/forgiveness].
[He's saying "You're a bad daughter." She's saying, "You don't know the half of it."]
CYMBELINE. That mightst have had the sole son of my queen! [Reasoning? Putting the dunce cap on her? Guilting?]
IMOGEN. O blessed that I might not! I chose an eagle,
And did avoid a [] puttock. [Bird of prey, kite, buzzard. term of contempt. ]
[Giving thanks to the gods. Then saying "my dog is better than your dog."]
CYMBELINE. Thou took'st a beggar, wouldst have made my throne
A seat for baseness. ["Would you have me thrown out of the country club?"]
IMOGEN. No; I rather added
A lustre to it. ["You stupid man. The country club will give you a ten-year free membership because of me."]
CYMBELINE. O thou vile one!
[He's so undone by her comebacks, he can only sputter insults. He doesn't even make it to the end of a verse line. ALTERNATE: he CURSES her, trumping all her comebacks. He cuts the verse line off, needing only the words he uses.]
IMOGEN. Sir, [REALLY short line. Does she pause until he looks at her?]
It is your fault that I have lov'd Posthumus.
You bred him as my playfellow, and he is
A man worth any woman; [] overbuys me
Almost the sum he pays. [he pays more than I'm worth -- most of what he pays is too much]
[She suddenly stops playing schoolyard insult games. She reasons with him. She turns everything around, making the whole thing his fault. She pulls out her ace of spades.]
CYMBELINE. What, art thou mad? [A shared line. He can't listen any more. He cuts her off.]
IMOGEN. Almost, sir. Heaven restore me! Would I were
A [] neat-herd's [cowheard's] daughter, and my Leonatus
Our neighbour shepherd's son! [I'm leaving this family. This is a BIG rejection for a King's daughter.]
Re-enter QUEEN
CYMBELINE. Thou foolish thing! [Shared line. He cuts her off and attacks the queen instead.]
[To the QUEEN] They were again together. You have done
Not after our command. Away with her,
And pen her up.
[First, he "whips" the queen. Then, he orders obedience. He turns the queen into a servant. (Unless he's talking to someone else when he says "Away with her" If he is, his "And pen her up" might mean refer to Q. Send I away and pen up the Queen. But that plays against the rhythm. It's "and PEN her Up" not "and pen HER up."]
QUEEN. Beseech your patience.- Peace, [She cuts him off, before he makes any more threats]
Dear lady daughter, peace!- Sweet sovereign,
Leave us to ourselves, and make yourself some comfort
Out of your best [] advice. [council]
[She stops him in his tracks? she begs him? she seduces him? She winks at him? Whatever she does seems to work. He's happy someone else is dealing with the problem. He spits out one more curse and then leaves.]
CYMBELINE. Nay, let her languish [Cut off. Maybe so as not to see weak. But he does leave.]
[] A drop of blood a day [sighs were said to consume the heart's blood] and, being aged,
Die of this folly. Exit, with LORDS
Enter PISANIO
QUEEN. Fie! you must give way. [Chastise.]
Here is your servant. How now, sir! What news?
PISANIO. My lord your son drew on my master.
QUEEN. Ha! [Short line. Pause.]
No harm, I trust, is done? [maybe as "Spill the beans, dammit!"]
PISANIO. There might have been, [Shared line. Maybe because Q's last line was a bark.]
But that my master rather play'd than fought,
And had no help of anger; they were parted
By gentlemen at hand. [Mock Q via her son the wimp.]
QUEEN. I am very glad on't. [Shared. Cut him off before he further insults Cloten.]
IMOGEN. Your son's my father's friend; he takes his part [Chastise.]
To draw upon an exile! O brave sir! [Praise.]
I would they were in Afric both together; [Really wish it into being!]
[] Myself by with a needle, that I might prick
The [] goer-back. [the coward] Why came you from your master?
PISANIO. On his command. He would not [] suffer [allow] me
To bring him to the haven; left these notes
Of what commands I should be subject to,
When't pleas'd you to employ me.
[It might be interesting if, at this point, Pisanio is very upset that P rejected him. He wants to be with his master, not with his master's wife. This will allow some growth in the Pisanio/Imogen relationship.]
QUEEN. [to the absent P] This hath been
Your faithful servant. I dare [] lay [wager] mine honour
He will remain so.
[Why is Q so interested in praising Pisanio in front of I? Is she just trying to calm I down? Does she think she'll be able to make use of Pisanio later, if she's able to get Pisanio into I's good graces?]
PISANIO. I humbly thank your Highness.
QUEEN. Pray walk awhile.
IMOGEN. About some half-hour hence,
Pray you speak with me. You shall at least
Go see my lord aboard. For this time leave me. Exeunt
[I wants to make clear that she will be helped on her own terms or none at all.
This scene paints an interesting picture of Cymbeline's court. C sort of has power. He's able to banish P. But he's a weak king. He too easily gives into his wife and daughter. This has created an atmosphere of scattered power. Does C have the power? Does Q have it? Does I have it? Everything is so de-centered that no one seems to really listen to anyone else. The person who yells the loudest has the power. The one risk is that Cymbeline will get so pissed off, he'll order someone beheaded. But barring that, you can overpower him if with histrionics.
This seems very much like real family life. Dad CAN ground the kids. But how often he forgets that he has this power! And then everything devolves into a shouting match.]
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