Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

Tempest
    1612–13
    Cardenio
, with John Fletcher (survives only in later adaptation called
Double Falsehood
by Lewis Theobald)
    1613
    Henry VIII (All Is True)
, with John Fletcher
    1613–14
    The Two Noble Kinsmen
, with John Fletcher

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE
TRAGEDIES: A CHRONOLOGY

FURTHER READING
AND VIEWING
CRITICAL APPROACHES
    Adelman, Janet, “Masculine Authority and the Maternal Body: The Return to Origins in the Romances,”
in Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to The Tempest
(1992). Influential psychoanalytical reading: chapter 8 deals with
Cymbeline
and the other romances.
    Brockbank, J. P., “History and Histrionics in Cymbeline” (1958), in
Shakespeare’s Later Comedies
, ed. D. J. Palmer (1971). Looks at Shakespeare’s use of both Holinshed and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s tales of Brute, arguing that Shakespeare’s dovetailing of sources creates a magical, principally theatrical, yet brilliantly researched historical narrative.
    Bullough, Geoffrey,
Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare: Volume 8
(1975). In-depth analysis of Shakespeare’s source material for
Cymbeline
and his dramatic accomplishment in its reworking.
    Hawkes, Terence,
Shakespeare in the Present
(2002). Focuses on the significance of Wales in the play’s various articulations of nationhood.
    Jones, Emrys, “Stuart Cymbeline” (1961), in
Shakespeare’s Later Comedies
, ed. D. J. Palmer (1971). Excellent discussion of the play as a Jacobean panegyric.
    King, Ros,
Cymbeline: Constructions of Britain
(2005). In-depth re-evaluation of many aspects of the play, including language, reception, literary and historical contexts, and stageworthiness.
    McDonald, Russ,
Shakespeare’s Late Style
(2006). Invaluable close study of Shakespeare’s somewhat strange and experimental language use throughout the late plays in general.
    Miola, Robert S.,
Shakespeare’s Rome
(1983). Discusses Shakespeare’s changing visions of Rome across his drama: chapter 7 deals with
Cymbeline
.
    Simonds, Peggy Muñoz,
Myth, Emblem, and Music in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline
(1992). Examines the play specifically as a product of the Renaissance, exploring such themes as Renaissance symbology, myth, art, theology, and craftsmanship, and how they are used by Shakespeare.
    Thompson, Ann, “Cymbeline’s Other Endings,” in
The Appropriation of Shake
speare
, ed. Jean I. Marsden (1991). Looks at the dramaturgy of the play’s often baffling final scene.
    Traversi, Derek,
Shakespeare: The Last Phase
(1954). Examines the poetic and formal characteristics of Shakespeare’s later work.
    Wilson Knight, G.,
The Crown of Life
(1947). Classic study of Shakespeare’s late plays: chapter 4 deals with
Cymbeline
.
THE PLAY IN PERFORMANCE
    Jackson, R., and R. Smallwood, eds.,
Players of Shakespeare
3 (1993). Featuring Harriet Walter on playing the role of Innogen.
    Shaw, George Bernard, “Blaming the Bard,” in
Shaw on Shakespeare
, ed. Edwin Wilson (1961). Full text of Shaw’s vitriolic Lyceum review.
    Warren, Roger,
Shakespeare in Performance: Cymbeline
(1990). Introductory volume devoted exclusively to the play.
    Warren, Roger,
Staging Shakespeare’s Late Plays
(1990). Excellent analysis of the staging considerations of Shakespeare’s late plays, using Peter Hall’s productions of
Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale
, and
The Tempest
at the National in 1988 as a central case study.
AVAILABLE ON DVD
    Cymbeline
, directed by Elijah Moshinsky for the BBC Shakespeare series (1982, DVD 2005). One of the better entries in the BBC series, and somewhat star-studded, with a vivacious Helen Mirren as Innogen, Michael Pennington as Posthumus, Robert Lindsay as Iachimo, and Claire Bloom as the Queen.