Cymbeline is generally considered to be the first or at least one of the first of Shakespeare’s late plays which are included in the group of Romances. The Romances are not tragedies because they do not end with terrible events and deaths; however, they are not comedies either because they tend not to end with weddings and celebrations. Instead, they conclude with the resolution of problems and issues brought up by the dramatic action and a new resolve among people to do their best in the future. Cymbeline follows this pattern.

The play was probably written shortly before its performance in 1611, although it may have been written sometime previously. By this time, James I had been ruling England, Wales and Scotland for some eight years and the country, newly united, was overcoming the trauma, rebellion and plague that marked the end of the Elizabethan era. Times were still interesting but had come to be a little more settled. Cymbeline himself was believed to have been one of the earliest kings of England, or at least a part of it, and was active during the Roman conquest and occupation. That he ends up reconciling his country with the Roman Empire and both resolve to live in peace together thereafter is perhaps a comment on the political settlement of the Stuart court.

The action centres on the character of Imogen, who is the daughter of Cymbeline and a deceased queen. A new step-mother queen has taken the place of Imogen’s mother and seems intent on sowing seeds of discord. However, Cymbeline does not need much encouragement in doing the same thing and determines that Imogen must marry the oafish Cloten, a son of the new queen. When Imogen reveals that she is already married to the virtuous but comparatively poor Posthumus Leonatus, the course of the action is set. Posthumus is banished and leaves his colleague Pisanio at the English court to represent his interests. Meanwhile, the devilish Roman soldier Iachimo wagers that he can seduce Imogen and contrives to have himself hidden in a chest in her bedchamber, from which he emerges to examine her sleeping form and steal a bracelet. With this as evidence, he attempts to have Imogen put to death by her husband. The faithful Pisanio intervenes and Imogen’s death is faked and she goes off to live under an assumed identity. Various kinds of sub-plots and adventures fill the stage before the ultimate resolution which resembles (prefigures, more accurately) an Agatha Christie story with Hercule Poirot gathering all the characters together in a circle and each one contributes her or his own little piece of knowledge to the conclusion. As discussed above, peace breaks out after all the bad guys conveniently die or repent or just shuffle off stage.

These features are common in the Romances: a semi-happy ending after a series of adventures and misadventures featuring numerous changes of scene and ups and downs. Numerous meanings may be found in the course of the play and there is, as the saying goes, something for everyone here.