the part I came in, that of a Roman soldier, in which character I shall find a certain death.

94. [Enter Cymbeline, etc.] This stage direction presents us with a piece of what the Poet elsewhere calls "inexplicable dumb show." It is hard to conceive what business such a thing should have here, unless it were to tickle the eyes of the groundlings; and in wishing it away, we may well be assured that it is not Shakespeare's, but was foisted in by the players.

Scene IV.

1, 2. The Gaoler alludes to the custom of putting a lock on a horse's leg when he is turned out to pasture.

14, 15. I cannot .. constrain'd:-That is, in gyves, or fetters, which are desired by me more than I am constrained to wear them. The change of subject between desired and constrain’d makes the passage obscure. So in the next sentence we have another of those elliptical expressions so frequent in this play, where brevity is gained at the cost of perspicuity. Posthumus is representing his conscience as fettered or imprisoned by guilt, and penitence as the key that is to free it. To purchase this freedom, he is willing to repent, even to the laying down of his life. He is supplicating the gods and begging that mercy may remit whatsoever is due over and above his life, which is all he can pay though this be not a sufficient ransom, yet if it be the main part of it, he prays them to be content with it, and not exact the

rest.

30. From the stage direction preceding this line to the reëntrance of the Gaolers, after line 151, we find matter which it is practically impossible to attribute to Shakespeare. The more common opinion is, that the interlude was foisted in by the players, in order to catch the interest of vulgar wonder. That such things were sometimes done, is indeed beyond question. It may also be observed that, if this whole section be omitted, there will appear no gap in the play, unless in the allowing of Posthumus some space for sleep; the origin of the tablet being, for aught we can see, as well explained without the apparition as with it. Still there is room for the opinion that the matter was worked in by the Poet from an older drama either written by himself in his youth or found among the stock-copies of the theatre. For, though the tablet be as well accounted for without the apparition as with it, in what Posthumus afterwards says of it, yet the for

mer is itself as absurd as anything in the latter, and as much below the style of the rest of the play. Nevertheless, the contents of the tablet are so worked into the dialogue as to make the tablet itself an inseparable item of the drama. The most likely conclusion, then, seems to be, that the Poet found the matter already in popular favour on the stage, and so worked it in with his own "noble stuff," for purposes too obvious to need remarking upon.

Scene V.

88. So feat, etc. :-Upon the tribute in this passage paid to Imogen, Clarke has the following observations: This gentle adaptation of herself and her womanly accomplishments to her assumed office of page crowns the perfection of Imogen's character. Her power, too, of attracting and attaching all who come near her—her father, who loves her in spite of the harshness he has shown her under the influence of his fiendish queen; her husband, who has been her 'playfellow' when a boy, and her lover in manhood, even after her supposed death; her faithful servant, Pisanio; her brothers, who know her but as a poor, homeless boy; Belarius, whose sympathy for the sick youth makes the way forth seem tedious; and Lucius, who pleads for the gentle lad's life with so earnest a warmth, while bearing so affectionate a testimony to his qualities as a page-this power of hers speaks indirectly, but indisputably, in testimony of her bewitching nature."

319. Assumed this age :-Referring to the different appearance which he now makes in comparison with that when Cymbeline last saw him.

334, 335. Your pleasure, etc. :-Belarius means, "My crime, my punishment, and all the treason that I was accused of, originated in, and were founded on, your caprice only."

352-354. Thou weep'st, etc. :-Johnson explains the passage thus: " Thy tears give testimony to the sincerity of thy relation; and I have the less reason to be incredulous, because the actions which you have done within my knowledge are more incredible than the story which you relate."

388. your three motives:-The motives of you three. So in Romeo and Juliet, II. iii. 51, "both our remedies" means "the remedy for us both."

435-442. When as, etc.:-Coleridge remarks upon this strange label" as follows: "It is not easy to conjecture why Shakespeare should have introduced this ludicrous scroll, which answers

no one purpose, either propulsive or explicatory, unless as a joke on etymology." Collier thinks "it is very possible that the scroll and the vision were parts of an older play."

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459. My peace we will begin :-" It should apparently be," says Hudson in his earlier note, By peace we will begin,'” and he so has it in the later Harvard Edition. "The Soothsayer," continues Hudson, says that the label promised to Britain 'peace and plenty.' To which Cymbeline replies, 'We will begin with peace to fulfil the prophecy.'"

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Questions on Cymbeline.

I. When was the play probably written?

2. Mention passages that are of doubtful authenticity.

3. What parts of the play were derived from Holinshed? What from Boccaccio?

4. State some facts which indicate that Shakespeare had in mind the fairy tale of "Little Snow-white" in constructing the story of Imogen.

ACT FIRST.

5. In the opening speech of the First Gentleman what is indicated concerning the character of the king and his power over his court?

6. In what fundamental traits are Lear and Cordelia suggested by Cymbeline and Imogen?

7. State the positions in relation to each other in which we find the principal actors of the story at the opening of the play. What is gained by having these facts presented by an observer like the First Gentleman and not allowing them to be given piecemeal by the participators in the action? Does this method foreshadow complexity of plot?

8. Show the Queen's purpose in allowing the interview between Posthumus and Imogen.

9. What does Posthumus say of his loyalty? How do the ring and the bracelet enter as elements of the plot?

10. Where does Imogen show some traces of barbaric spirit? II. In Sc. ii. are the asides of the Second Lord necessary to point the imbecility of Cloten? What effect of "atmosphere," so to speak, do they produce?

12. What time has elapsed before Sc. iii.? What secondary though important character does it introduce?

13. Though Posthumus does not lay the wager, which would be too great a strain for our sympathies, yet how does he provoke Iachimo into proposing it? How is the bargain concluded? Why

does Shakespeare introduce two characters-the Dutchman and the Spaniard-in Sc. iv., and give them nothing to say?

14. How in Sc. v. is the cruel nature of the Queen shown? Is there indication here that the poisons she gives to Pisanio were intended for any other but him?

15. Comment on the lofty moral feeling of Imogen as exhibited during Iachimo's attempt upon her chastity? Compare her conduct here with Isabella's under similar circumstances in Measure for Measure. What is seen in Imogen's readiness to forgive? From a previous knowledge of Iachimo does the spectator suspect the real facts at the bottom of the trunk intrigue?

ACT SECOND.

16. Sc. ii. of Act I. and Sc. i. of Act II. present Cloten, but keep him outside the action of the play; what evidently is the dramatic purpose?

17. In Sc. ii. what indications of religious feeling does Imogen give before retiring?

18. What qualities of imagination does Iachimo show in the bedchamber scene? What was the tale of Tereus? How does this touch suggest the story of Paola and Francesca in The Divine Comedy?

19. How is the vulgarity of Cloten shown (Sc. iii.) in contrast with the song the musicians sing to Imogen?

20. What is effected by the entrance of Cymbeline and the Queen upon the scene of Cloten's wooing of Imogen? Does Cloten anywhere but here speak in verse or in elevated language? What does Shakespeare wish to imply by this means?

21. Explain the psychology of a nature such as Cloten, who seeks to gain his ends by vilifying another rather than by presenting the best in himself.

22. What taunt of Imogen touches his vanity? How does Cloten show stupidity in failing to see an opportunity for revenge presented before his eyes?

23. How was Iachimo's description of Imogen's bedchamber foreshadowed? What is the effect of the details given here that were omitted in his enumeration while in the chamber? How nearly contemporaneous would be the scene of the picture of Cleopatra on the Cydnus?