Character Clues

Character Analysis

Speech and Dialogue

We get the bulk of what we know about a character from speech and dialogue. Cloten describes himself as awesome, but everyone else laughs behind his back. Pretty much everyone and their mother says that Imogen is beautiful and honest. And a couple of gents fill us in on what's happened to Cymbeline, his lost sons, and his newly married daughter before the play even kicks off. Without speech and dialogue, we know nothing about the characters we watch on stage.

Names

What's in a name? A lot, it turns out.

Cymbeline means "sun lord," which couldn't be more fitting, since the king is constantly associated with the sun. Britain shines and only basks in the sun as long as the king is happy, powerful, and serving his country (and not serving the Queen).

You probably noticed how Posthumus's name sounds an awful lot like "posthumous," a word which means "after death." Well, that's because he was born after his father's death. On top of that, he doesn't really get to live with Imogen until after she has died and been reborn. His energy and purpose seem to die with her, only to come alive again—with her— at the end of the play.

Imogen means "maiden," which is one of the princess's most prized—and challenged—qualities. Her chastity is the possession that drives the bet between Iachimo and Posthumus.

Finally, Iachimo means something like "litte Iago," Shakespeare's master villain from Othello, and it's totally true that Iachimo is pretty much Iago-lite: he's scheming and nasty, but he's not all-out evil. Like Iago, he's got plans to destroy a marriage by making the hubby believe the wife is a big old cheater, but unlike Iago, he relents in the end, apologizes, and tells the truth, which prevents an all-out tragedy.

Physical Appearances

You better dress to impress, because in Cymbeline, clothes are a big deal. Imogen says Cloten is worth less than Posthumus's "meanest garment," which really offends Cloten (2.3.172). He's so offended, in fact, that he takes that garment and puts it on, just to see how it feels—and to prove that he's just as good as any old piece of clothing from Posthumus's closet by… you know, killing Posthumus and raping Imogen in it.

Posthumus also has a significant change in appearance when he switches back and forth from Roman uniform to a British peasant's garbs in the final act of the play. And then there's Imogen, who dresses as a boy for half the play.

Physical appearances can tell us a person's social class or political alliance, but these appearances are also undermined in lots of ways. Throughout the play, it's what's on the inside that counts, not the outside. Cloten's princely attire might make him look cool, but underneath he's just a fool. On the other hand, even in a poor man's clothes, Posthumus is still valiant and noble.