Lys. To any. Enter, from thence, LYSIMACHUS and Lords ; with the Gentlemen and the two Sailors. Tyr. Sail. Sir, This is the man that can, in anght you would, Resolve you. [you ! Lys. Hail, reverend sir ! the gods preserve llelAnd you, sir, to outlive the age I am, And die as I would do. Lys. You wish me well. Being on shore, honoring of Neptune's tri umphs, 20 Lys. I am the governor of this place you lie before. Hel Sir, Our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king ; A man who for this three months hath not spoken To any one, nor taken sustenance But to prorogue his grief. (perature ? L18. Upon what ground is his distem Hel. 'Twould be too tedious to repeat ; But the main grief springs from the loss Of a beloved daughter and a wife. 30 Lys. May we not see him? Hei. You may ; Lys. Yet let me obtain my wish. This was a goodly person, Lys. Sir king, all hail ! the gods preserve Hail, royal sir ! 40 Hel. It is in vain ; he will not speak to you. 3 First Lord. Sir, We have a maid in Mytilene, I durst wager, Would win some words of him. Lys. 'Tis well bethought. She questionless with hier sweet harmony And other chosen attractions, would allure, And make a battery through his deafen'd parts, Which now are midway stopp'd : She is all happy as the fairest of all, And, with her fellow maids, is now upon 50 The leafy shelter that abuts against The island's side. [Whispers a Lord, who goes off in the barge of Lysimachus. Hel. Sure, all's effectless ; yet nothing we'll omit That bears recovery's name. But, since your kindness We have stretch'd thus far, let us beseech you That for our gold we may provision have, • Wherein we are not destitute for want, But weary for the staleness. Lys. 0, sir, a courtesy Which if we should deny, the most just gods For every graff would send a caterpillar60 Aud so ntfict our province. Yet once more Let me entreat to know at large the cause Fel. Sit, sir, I will recount it to you: and a young Lady. Lys. O, here is The lady that I sent for. Welcome, fair one ! Is't not a goodly presence ? Hel. She's a gallant lady. Lys. She's such a one, that, were I well assured Came of a gentle kind and noble stock, l’ld wish no better choice, and think me rarely wed. 69 Sir, I will use Come, let us leave her ; Aud the gods make her prosperous ! 80 [Marina sings. No, nor look'd on us. Mar. I am a maid, speaks, My lord, that, may be, hath endured a grief Might equal yours, if both were justly weigh'd. Though wayward fortune did malign my state, 90 My derivation was from ancestors Who stood equivalent with mighty kings : But time hath rooted out my parentage, And to the world and awkward casualties Bound me in servitnde. [Aside] I will desist; But there is something glows upon my cheek, And whispers in mine ear. Go not till he speak.' {agePer. My fortunes-parentage--good parentTo equal mine!-- was it not thus ? what say Mar. I said, my lord, if yon did know my parentage, 100 You would not do me violence. Per. I do think so. Pray you, turn your eyes upon me. (woman ? You are like something that-What countryHere of these shores? Mar. No, nor of any shores : Yet I pas mortally brought forth, and am No other than I appear. Per. I am great with woe, and shall deliver weeping. you ! you ? a one 111 you live? seem My dearest wife was like this maid, and such My father, and a king. 151 Per. How! a king's daughter? My daughter might have been : my queen's And call'd Marina ? square brows; Mar. You said you would believe me; Her stature to an inch ; as wand-like straight; But, not to be a troubler of your peace. As silver-voiced ; her eyes as jewel-like I will end here. And cased as richly ; in pace another Juno ; Per. But are you flesh and blood ? Who starves the ears she feeds, and makes Have you a working pulse ? and are no fairy? them hungry, Motion! Well ; speak on. Where were you The more she gives them speech. Where do born ? [deck And wherefore call'd Marina ? Mar. Where I am but a stranger: from the Mar. Callid Marina You may discern the place. For I was born at sea. At sea! what mother? And how achieved you these endowments, Mar. My mother was the daughter of a which king ; You make more rich to owe ? Who died the minute I was born, 160 Mar. If I should tell my history, it would As my good nurse Lychorida hath oft Deliver'd weeping. Like lies disdain'd in the reporting. Per. 0, stop there a little! Per. Prithee, speak : 120 (Aside] This is the rarest dream that e'er dull Falseness cannot come from thee ; for thou sleep look'st Did mock sad fools withal : this cannot be : Modest as Justice, and thou seem'st a palace My daughter's buried. Well : where were you For the crown'd Truth to dwell in : I will be bred ! lieve thee, I'll hear you more, to the bottom of your story, And make my senses credit thy relation And never interrupt you. To points that seem impossible ; for thou Mar. You scorn : believe me, 'twere best I look'st did give o'er. 169 Like one I loved indeed. What were thy Per. I will believe you by the syllable friends ? (back- Of what you shall deliver. Yet, give me leave: Didst thou not say, when I did push thee How came you in these parts? where were yon Which was when I perceived thee-that thou bred ? me ; camest Mar. The king my father did in Tarsus leare From good descending ? Till cruel Cleon, with his wicked wise, Did seek to murder me : and having wou'd Per. Report thy parentage. I think thou A villain to attempt it, who having drawn to said'st 130 do't, Thou hadst been toss'd from wrong to injury, A crew of pirates came and rescued me ; And that thou thought'st thy griefs might Brought me to Mytilene. But, good sir, equal mine, Whither will you have me? Why do you Il both were open'd. weep? It may be, Mar. Some such thing You think me an impostor: no, good faith ; If good King Pericles be. Per. Ho, Helicanus ! That thus hath made me weep? Extremity out of act. What were thy friends? Hel. I know not ; but How lost thou them ? Thy name, my most Here is the regent, sir, of Mytilene kind virgin ? 141 Speaks nobly of her. Recount, I do beseech thee : come, sit by me. Lys. She would never tell Mar. My name is Marina. Her parentage ; being demanded that, 190 Per. 0, I am mock'd, She would sit still and weep. And thou by some incensed god sent hither Per. O Helicanus, strike me, honor'd sir; To make the world to laugh at me. Give me a gash, put me to preseut pain ; Mar. Patience, good sir, Lest this great sea of joys inshing npon mo Or here I'll cease. O'erbear the shores of my mortality, And drown me with their sweetness. O, come Thou little know'st how thou dost startle me, hither, To call thyself Marina. Thou that beget'st him that did thee beget ; Mar. The name Thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tarsus, Was given me by one that had some power, And found at sea again ! O Helicanus, your shore, Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods as Awake, and tell thy dream. [Disappears. 250 lond 200 Per.' Celestial Dian, goddess argentine, MARINA. Hel. Sir ? Though doubts did ever sleep. Per. My purpose was for Tarsus, there to Mar. First, sir, I pray, strike What is your title ? The inhospitable Cleon ; but I am Per. I am Pericles of Tyre: but tell me now For other service first : toward Ephesus My drown'd queen's name, as in the rest you Turn our blown sails ; eftsoons I'll tell thee said why. Thou hast been godlike perfect, [To Lysimachus] Shall we refresh us, sir, upon + The heir of kingdoms and another like To Pericles thy father. 210 And give you gold for such provision Mar. Is it no more to be your daughter than As our intents will need ? To say my mother's name was Thaisa ? Lys. Sir, 260 Thaisa was my mother, who did end With all iny heart; and, when you come The minute I began. asbore, Per. Now, blessing on thee ! rise ; thou I have another suit. art my child. [canus ; Per. You shall prevail, Give me fresh garments. Mine own, Heli Were it to woo my daughter ; for it seems She is not dead at Tarsus, as she should have You have been noble towards her. been, Lys. Sir, lend me your arm. By savage Cleon: she shall tell thee all ; Per. Come, my Marina. (Exeunt. When thou shalt kneel, and justify in knowledge SCENE II. Enter GOWER, before the temple of She is thy very princess. Who is this? 220 DIANA at Ephesus. llel. Šir, 'tis the governor of Mytilene, Gow. Now our sands are almost run ; More a little, and then dumb. [ing. This, my last boon, give me, For such kindness nust relieve me, Give me my robes. I am wild in my belold 270 That you aptly will suppose 0 heavens bless my girl! But, hark, what music? What pageantry, what feats, what shows, What minstrelsy, and pretty din, The regent made in Mytilene To greet the king. So he thrived, music? That he is promised to be wived Hel. My lord, I hear none. To fair Marina ; but in no wise Till he had done his sacrifice, 230 Per. None ! The music of the spheres ! List, my Marina. As Dian bade : whereto being bound, Lys. It is not good to cross him ; give him The interim, pray you, all confound. In feather'd briefness sails are fill’d, 280 way. Per. Rarest sounds ! Do ye not hear ? And wishes fall out as they're will’d. At Ephesus, the temple see, Our king and all his company. Per. Most heavenly music! That he can hither come so soon, It nips me unto listening, and thick slumber Is by your fancy's thankful doom. [Exit. Hangs upon mine eyes : let me rest. [Sleeps. Lys. A pillow for his head : SCENE III. The temple of Diana at Ephesus; If this but answer to my just belief, THAISA standing near the altar, (18 high I'll well remember yoni. 240 priestess ; a number of Virgins on each side; CERIMON and other Inhabitants of Ephesus [Exeunt all but Pericles. attending. DIANA appears to PERICLES as in a vision. Enter PERICLES, with his train ; LYSIMACHUS, Dia. My temple stands in Ephesus : hie HELICANUS, MARINA, and a Lady. thee thither, Per. Hail, Dian ! to perform thy just comAnd do upon mine altar sacrifice. [gether, mand, There, when my maiden priests are met to- I here confess myself the king of Tyre ; Before the people all, Who, frighted from my country, did wed Reveal how thou at sea didst lose thy wife : At Pentapolis the fair Thaisa. To mourn thy crosses, with thy daughter's, call At sea in childbed died she, but bronght forth And give them repetition to the life. A maid-child callid Marina ; who, O goddess, Or perform my bidding, or thou livest in woe; Wears yet thy silver livery. She at Tarsus Do it, and happy; by my silver bow ! Was nursed with Cleon; who at fourteen years 61 ter, He sought to murder : but her better stars Brought her to Mytilene ; 'gainst whose shore Riding, her fortunes brought the maid aboard us, (she Where, by her own most clear remembrance, Made known herself my daughter. Thai. Voice and favor ! You are, you are- royal Pericles ! [Faints. Per. What means the run 2 she dies ! help, gentlemen! Reverend appearer, no ; Cer. Upon this coast, I warrant you. 'Tis most certain. 20 Cer. Look to the lady; 0, she's but o'er joy'd. Early in blustering morn this lady was Thrown upon this shore. I oped the coffin, Found there rich jewels ; recover'd her, and placed her Here in Diana's temple. Per. May we see them ? Cer. Great sir, they shall be brought you to my house, Whither I invite you. Look, Thaisa is Recovered. Thai. O, let me look ! If he be none of mine, my sanctity Will to my sense bend no licentious ear, 30 But curb it, spite of seeing. O, my lord, Pericles ? Like him yon spake, Like him you are: did you not name a tempest, A birth, and death ? Per. The voice of dead Thaisa ! Thai. That Thaisa am I, supposed dead And drown'd. Per. Immortal Dian ! Now I know you better. (Shows a ring. Per. This, this : no more, you gods ! your present kindness 40 Makes my past miseries sports : you shall do well, That on the touching of her lips I may Melt and no more be seen. o, come, be buried A second time within these arms. Mar. My heart Leaps to be gone into my mother's bosom. [Kneels to Thaisa. Per. Look, who kneels here ! Flesh of thy flesh, Thaisa ; Blest, and mine own! I know you not. Per. You have heard me say, when I did fly from Tyre, 50 I left behind an ancient substitute : Can you remember what I call'd the man? I have named him oft. Are you Thai. 'Twas Helicanus then. Per. Still confirmation : Embrace him, dear Thaisa ; this is he. Now do I long to hear how you were found; How possibly preserved ; and who to thank, Besides the gods, for this great miracle Thai. Lord Cerimon, my lord ; this man, Through whom the gods have shown the power ; that can From first to last resolve you. Per. Reverend sir, The gods can have no mortal officer More like a god than you. Will you deliver How this dead queen re-lives ? Cer. I will, my lord, Beseech you, first go with me to my house, Where shall be shown you all was found with her; How she came placed here in the temple ; No needful thing omitted. Per. Pure Dian, bless thee for thy vision!! Will offer night-oblations to thee. Thaisa, 70 This prince, the fair-betrothed of your daugh. Shall marry her at Pentapolis. And now, This ornament Makes me look dismal will I clip to form ; And what this fourteen years no razor touch'd, To grace thy marriage-day, I'll beautify. Thui. Lord Cerimon hath letters of good credit, sir, My father's dead. Per. Heavens make a star of him ! Yet there, my queen, We'll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselves Will in that kingdom spend our following days: 81 Our son and daughter shall in Tyrus reign. Lord Cerimon, we do our longing stay To hear the rest untold: sir, lead's the way. (Erein Enter GOWER. Gou. In Antiochus and his daughter you have heard Of monstrous lust the due and just reward : In Pericles, his queen and daughter, seen, Although assailld with fortune fierce and keen, (blast, Virtue preserved from fell destruction's Led on by heaven, and crown'd with joy at last: 90 In Helicanus may you well descry A figure of tri 'h, of faith, of loyalty : In reverendi imon there well appears The wortb that learned charity aye wears : For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fame Had spread their cursed deed, and honor'd name Of Pericles, to rage the city turn, That him and his they in his palace burn; The gods for murder seemed so content To punish them ; although not done, but meant. So, on your patience evermore attending, 100 New joy wait on you i Here our play has ending CYMBELINE. (WRITTEN ABOUT 1609.) INTRODUCTION. Cymbeline interweaves with a fragment of Britisk history taken from Holinshed, a story from Boccacio's Decameron (9th Novel of 2nd Day), the Genevra of the Italian novel corresponding to Shakespeare's Imogen. The story is told in a tract called Westward for Smelts, 1620 (stated by Steevens and Malone to have been published as early as 1603); but Shakespeare appears in som way, directly or indirectly, to have made acquaintanice with it as given by Boccacio. The names o.. the two princes Shakespeare found, as well as the king's name, in Holinshed ; but the incidents of their having been stolen, and their life, among the mountains of Wales, appear to have been invented by the dramatist, Dr. Forman records in his MS Booke of Plaies and votes thereof that he saw Cymbeline acted; but he gives no date. His book, however, belongs to the years 1610-1611, and the metrical and other internal evidence point to that time as about the period when the drama must have been written. It is loosely constructed, and some passages possess little dramatic intensity. Several critics have questioned whether the vision of Posthumus (Act V. Sc. iv.) is of Shakespeare's authorship, and it is certainly poorly conceived and written. Nevertheless, the play is one of singular charm, and contains in Imogen one of the loveliest of Shakespeare's creations of female character. Except grandeur and majesty, which were reserved for Hermione and Queen Katherine, every thing that can make a woman lovely is given by the poet to Imogen : quick and exquisite feelings, brightness of intellect, delicate imagination, energy to hate evil and to right what was wrong, scorn for what is mean or rude, culture, dainty womanly accomplishments, the gift of song, a capacity for exquisite happiness and no less sensitiveness to the sharpness of sorrow, a power of quick recovery from disaster when the warmth of love breathes upon her once more, beauty of a type which is noble and refined. And her lost brothers are gallant youthş, bred happily far from the court, in wilds where their generous instincts and love of freedom and activity find innocent if insufficient modes of gratification. As in all the works of this period, an open-air feeling pervades a great part of the drama; nature, itself joyous and free, ministers to what is beautiful, simple, or heroic in man, while yet by Shakespeare nature alone is never anywhere conceived as sufficient to satisfy the heart or the imagination of a human being. With reconciliation and reunion this, like the other Romances, closes. The faith of Posthumus in Imogen is of a half-romantic kind, unconfiroied by calm and deep acquaintance with her heart : that faith is not subtly poisoned, like the love of Othello, but suddenly, in one brief and desperate encounter, overthrown. His jealousy is not heroic, like Othello's; it shows someibing of grossness, unworthy of his true self. In due time penitential sorrow does its work, his nobler nature reasserts itself, and in the final reunion of parent and lost children, the erring husband is also restored to the quick-beating, joyous heart of his wife. DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. CYMBELINE, king of Britain. band, band to Imogen. BELARIUS, a banished lord, disguised under the name of Morgan. (sons to Cymbeline, disguised GUIDERIUS, | under the names of Polydore ARVIRAGUS, and Cadwal, supposed sons to Morgan. , Philario Two British Captains. queen. Soothsayer, a Dutchman, a Spaniard, Musi- Apparitions. |