Review: Cymbeline

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Imogen is the daughter of the king Cymbeline. She wants to marry a guy (Posthumus Leonatus), but her father wants her to marry another one. She secretly marries Posthumus, but Cymbeline banishes him. In his exile, he starts bragging about how chaste his wife is. This calls some men's attention. Well, to make a long story short, I'm just going to say that there are some lies, jealousy, mistakes and that in the end, there's a huge conflict to solve.

When I started this book, I thought it was going to be something like King Lear. I thought there was going to be a king who couldn't control his feelings or whatever, but the truth is that this is not about Cymbeline. I would call this play “Much Ado about Imogen,” because really, all the things that happened had to do with her in both a direct and indirect sense. Yes, there's a war and an evil Queen with evil plans that wants to ruin Cymbeline, but the story is never about him. It's all about his daughter.

The writing is as flawless as ever. I know I've said this like a million times, but Shakespeare really knew how to write. The language is decorated and beautiful, and I really love it.

While I didn't think this play was particularly great, I still liked it. Needless to say, that this is a must-read for everyone, but I truly recommend it.



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