Remember when Posthumus and Imogen proclaim their love for one another in the beginning of the play? Everything is candy hearts and flowers: they're madly, head-over-heels, rom-com in love with one another. But it's not too long before things start getting dicey for them. Sure, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but for these two lovebirds, it causes a whole lot of problems, too. As they say, the course of true love never did run smooth.
But newlywed love isn't the only form of love we get in Cymbeline: we also hear a lot about family love (or lack thereof). By the end of the play, we're asked to think about what happens next: Will the family live happily ever after? Will Imogen and Posthumus ride off into the sunset? We sure hope so. It seems even Shakespeare loved a happy ending.
Questions About Love
- Can true love withstand any trial, or are some problems just too big to get over? Who is to blame for the rift between Posthumus and Imogen?
- Do you think Imogen and Posthumus really love each other? What does true love mean in this play?
- Why do Guiderius and Arviragus love Imogen (Fidele) immediately after meeting her? What does their bond tell us about family love? Why are they more attached to her than to Belarius?
Chew on This
Imogen loves Posthumus way more than he loves her. His willingness to make a bet about her shows he's not as invested.
Iachimo is totally to blame for the fighting between Imogen and Posthumus. Without him, the two lovebirds would have been happy throughout the entire play.