Original: Thou told’st me, when we came from horse, the place
Modern: You told me when we got off our horses that this place

Original: Was near at hand: ne’er long’d my mother so
Modern: Was close by: my mother never longed so much

Original: To see me first, as I have now. Pisanio! man!
Modern: To see me when I was born as I long now. Pisanio! My friend!

Original: Where is Posthumus? What is in thy mind,
Modern: Where is Posthumus? What are you thinking about

Original: That makes thee stare thus? Wherefore breaks that sigh
Modern: That makes you stare like that? Why does that sigh escape

Original: From the inward of thee? One, but painted thus,
Modern: From deep inside you? Anyone who looked like this

Original: Would be interpreted a thing perplex’d
Modern: Would be seen as someone who’s completely confused

Original: Beyond self-explication; put thyself
Modern: Beyond being able to explain themselves; pull yourself together

Original: Into a haviour of less fear, ere wildness
Modern: And act less afraid, before this panic

Original: Vanquish my staider senses. What’s the matter?
Modern: Overcomes my calmer judgment. What’s wrong?

Original: Why tender’st thou that paper to me with
Modern: Why are you offering me that letter with

Original: A look untender? If ‘t be summer news,
Modern: Such a harsh look? If it’s good news,

Original: Smile to ‘t before; if winterly, thou need’st
Modern: You should smile first; if it’s bad news, you only need

Original: But keep that count’nance still. My husband’s hand!
Modern: To keep that same expression. My husband’s handwriting!

Original: That drug-damn’d Italy hath out-craftied him,
Modern: That poison-cursed Italy has outsmarted him,

Original: And he’s at some hard point. Speak, man; thy tongue
Modern: And he’s in some terrible situation. Speak up; your words

Original: May take off some extremity, which to read
Modern: Might soften some of the harsh news, because reading it

Original: Would be even mortal to me.
Modern: Might actually kill me.

In Act III, Scene 4 of Cymbeline, Pisanio and Imogen arrive in Wales, where Pisanio reveals the devastating contents of Posthumus’s letter. The letter commands Pisanio to murder Imogen, as Posthumus believes she has been unfaithful with Iachimo. Pisanio shows Imogen both this letter and another one that Posthumus had written to her, which had lured her away from court under the pretense of meeting her husband at Milford Haven. Imogen is overwhelmed by grief and shock at her husband’s betrayal and loss of faith in her fidelity, initially begging Pisanio to carry out the murder as her husband commanded.

Pisanio refuses to kill his mistress, declaring his belief in her innocence and his inability to perform such an act. Instead, he devises a plan for Imogen’s survival: she must disguise herself as a male page and seek service with Lucius, the Roman general who is expected to land at Milford Haven. Pisanio provides her with male clothing and gives her a drug that he believes to be a restorative, though unbeknownst to him, it is actually a sleeping potion given to him earlier by the Queen. He instructs Imogen to take the drug if she falls ill, and tells her he will inform Posthumus that he has carried out the murder by sending him a bloody cloth as false evidence of her death.

Cymbeline tells the story of King Cymbeline of Britain, whose daughter Imogen secretly marries Posthumus Leonatus against her father’s wishes. Cymbeline banishes Posthumus to Rome, where he boasts of Imogen’s virtue and fidelity. The cunning Iachimo wagers that he can seduce Imogen and prove her unfaithful. When his direct attempts fail, Iachimo hides in a trunk in Imogen’s bedchamber, emerges while she sleeps, and steals her bracelet while noting intimate details of her body and room.

Returning to Rome with his false evidence, Iachimo convinces Posthumus that Imogen has been unfaithful. Enraged, Posthumus orders his servant Pisanio to kill Imogen. Instead, Pisanio reveals the plot to Imogen and helps her escape by disguising her as a young man named Fidele. She flees to the Welsh mountains, where she unknowingly encounters her long-lost brothers, Guiderius and Arviragus, who were kidnapped as infants and raised by the banished lord Belarius.

Meanwhile, Cymbeline’s evil Queen (Imogen’s stepmother) plots to poison Imogen and place her own son Cloten on the throne. Cloten pursues Imogen to Wales, where Guiderius kills him in combat. The Queen’s physician Cornelius has secretly given her a sleeping potion instead of poison, but when Imogen takes it believing it to be medicine, she falls into a death-like sleep beside Cloten’s headless corpse, whom she mistakes for Posthumus upon awakening.

The play culminates when Roman forces invade Britain. During the battle, the disguised Imogen serves the Romans while her unknown brothers and Belarius fight for Britain. After Britain’s victory, all deceptions are revealed: Iachimo confesses his lies, the Queen dies after admitting her evil plots, Imogen’s true identity and virtue are established, the royal brothers are restored to their father, and Posthumus and Imogen are reunited. Cymbeline makes peace with Rome and pardons all offenders.