POSTHUMUS - Cymbeline, Act 5, Scene 1

Original: Yea, bloody cloth, I’ll keep thee, for I wish’d
Modern: Yes, bloody handkerchief, I’ll keep you because I wanted

Original: Thou shouldst be colour’d thus. You married ones,
Modern: You to be stained with blood like this. All you married men out there,

Original: If each of you should take this course, how many
Modern: If every one of you did what I’ve done, how many

Original: Must murder wives much better than themselves
Modern: Would have to murder wives who are much better than they are

Original: For wrying but a little! O Pisanio!
Modern: For straying just a little bit! Oh Pisanio!

Original: Every good servant does not all commands:
Modern: A truly good servant doesn’t obey every single command:

Original: No bond but to do just ones. Gods! if you
Modern: He’s only obligated to follow just and fair orders. Gods! If you

Original: Should have ta’en vengeance on my faults, I never
Modern: Had taken revenge on me for my sins, I never

Original: Had lived to put on this: so had you saved
Modern: Would have lived to do this terrible thing: that way you would have saved

Original: The noble Imogen to repent, and struck
Modern: The innocent Imogen so she could live and repent, and instead killed

Original: Me, wretch more worth your vengeance. But, alack,
Modern: Me, a wretch who deserves your punishment more. But sadly,

Original: You snatch some hence for little faults; that’s love,
Modern: You take some people away for minor mistakes; that’s actually love,

Original: To have them fall no more: you some permit
Modern: To prevent them from sinning again: but you allow others

Original: To second ills with ills, each elder worse,
Modern: To follow bad deeds with more bad deeds, each one worse than the last,

Original: And make them dread it, to the doers’ thrift.
Modern: And make them fear punishment, which benefits those who do wrong.

Original: But Imogen is your own: do your best wills,
Modern: But Imogen belongs to you: do whatever you think is best,

Original: And make me blest to obey! I am brought hither
Modern: And let me be blessed by obeying your will! I’ve been brought here

Original: Among the Italian gentry, and to fight
Modern: Among the Italian nobles, and I’m supposed to fight

Original: Against my lady’s kingdom: ‘tis enough
Modern: Against my wife’s kingdom: but it’s enough

Original: That, Britain, I have kill’d thy mistress; peace!
Modern: That I’ve killed your princess, Britain; I won’t do more harm!

Original: I’ll give no wound to thee. Therefore, good heavens,
Modern: I won’t hurt you any further. Therefore, merciful heavens,

Original: Hear patiently my purpose: I’ll disrobe me
Modern: Listen calmly to my plan: I’ll take off

Original: Of these Italian weeds and suit myself
Modern: These Italian clothes and dress myself

Original: As does a Briton peasant: so I’ll fight
Modern: Like a British peasant: that way I’ll fight

Original: Against the part I come with; so I’ll die
Modern: Against the side I came here with; and I’ll die

Original: For thee, O Imogen, even for whom my life
Modern: For you, oh Imogen, you for whom my life

Original: Is every breath a death; and thus, unknown,
Modern: Feels like I’m dying with every breath; and in this way, unknown,

Original: Pitied nor hated, to the face of peril
Modern: Neither pitied nor hated, into the face of danger

Original: Myself I’ll dedicate. Let me make men know
Modern: I’ll throw myself. Let me show everyone

Original: More valour in me than my habits show.
Modern: That there’s more courage in me than my clothes suggest.

Original: Gods, put the strength o’ the Leonati in me!
Modern: Gods, give me the strength of my noble family, the Leonati!

Original: To shame the guise o’ the world, I will begin
Modern: To put the world’s superficial ways to shame, I’ll start

Original: The fashion, less without and more within.
Modern: A new trend: less focus on outward appearance and more on inner worth.

In Act 5, Scene 1 of “Cymbeline,” Posthumus enters alone, dressed as a Roman soldier and carrying a bloody cloth that he believes is stained with Imogen’s blood. He delivers a soliloquy expressing his profound guilt and self-reproach for ordering her death through Pisanio. Posthumus reveals that he has received a letter (which the audience saw Pisanio send earlier) informing him that Imogen is dead. Rather than feeling vindicated or satisfied, he is consumed with remorse, recognizing that Imogen’s supposed fault was minimal compared to his own capacity for evil. He laments that countless virtuous women suffer at the hands of wicked men, and he believes his own wickedness led to the destruction of an innocent woman.

Overcome with grief and self-loathing, Posthumus resolves to abandon the Roman cause and fight instead for Britain, his native country. He determines to seek death in battle as penance for his crime against Imogen, hoping to die honorably while serving Britain against the Roman invasion. He removes his Italian garments to disguise himself as a British peasant, intending to join the British forces. Posthumus exits with the intention of finding the battlefield and fighting against his former Roman allies, seeking redemption through death and service to his homeland.

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.