Act 1 Scene I

The QUEEN, POSTHUMUS LEONATUS, and IMOGEN enter.

QUEEN
My daughter, I am not like most stepmothers. You are my prisoner, but although I am
your jailer I will give you the keys that keep you locked in here. As for you,
Posthumus, as soon as I can calm the upset king, I will speak in your defense. He is
still angry, and it would be best for you to follow his order.

POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Yes your highness, I will leave today.

Exit

IMOGEN
She is such a hypocrite person! My dear husband, I am sometimes afraid of my
father's anger, but not all the time. But I believe that it is my duty as his daughter to
not make him angry. You must go, and I will be here suffering from his anger. You
are the reason why I still can survive this situation.

POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
My queen! My wife! Do not cry any more, or I will cry, and a man should not cry. I will
keep being the most loyal husband. I am staying in Rome at my father’s friend,
Philario. Send me your letters, I will be waiting for them.

The QUEEN re-enters.

QUEEN
Be brief, I pray you: If the king come, I shall incur I know not how much of his
displeasure.

QUEEN
Keep this short, please. If the king comes, I do not know how angry he will be at me.

She speaks to herself.

I will convince the king to walk this way. Not only do I do him wrong, but I make him
reward me for it: he does not know I am the person who causes the problems.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Even if we kept saying goodbye for the rest of our lives, it would keep getting harder
to leave. Goodbye!

IMOGEN
No, stay a little longer. It will never be enough goodbye for us. Look, my love, this
diamond ring was my mother's. Take it, sweetheart. Keep it only until you ask
another woman to marry you, when I am dead.

POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
What? Another woman? Kind gods, just give me this one I have, and if I try to kiss
another one then stop me by burning me to death!

He puts on the ring.

POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
[To the ring] Stay, stay there  

[To Imogen] as long as I am alive, I will keep it. Wear this bracelet as a sign of my
love.

He puts a bracelet on her arm.

IMOGEN
Oh gods! When will we see each other again?

CYMBELINE and some lords enter.

POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Oh no, the king!

CYMBELINE
Go away, out of my sight! Or else, you will die. Go away! 

POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
May the gods protect you! And bless those who stay in the court! I am gone.

POSTHUMUS exits.

IMOGEN
This hurts so badly.
CYMBELINE
You disloyal thing, you are such a burden.

IMOGEN
Please, sir, do not hurt yourself with your anger. 

CYMBELINE
So you are trying to go against me?

You could have married Cloten!

IMOGEN
I am lucky I did not choose Cloten, but instead I chose Posthumus.

CYMBELINE
You married a beggar. You wanted to ruin our descendants.

IMOGEN
No, I made it shine more brightly.

CYMBELINE
You disgusting person!

IMOGEN
Sir, it is your fault I fell in love with Posthumus. You brought him up to be my
playmate, and he is a kind man.

CYMBELINE
Are you crazy?

IMOGEN
Nearly, sir. I wish I were not your daughter and that I could happily married to
Posthumus.

CYMBELINE
You fool!

The QUEEN re-enters.

CYMBELINE
They were together again. You did not obey my order. Take her away and lock her
up.

QUEEN
Please forgive me. Calm down, dear daughter, calm down! Dear king, leave us
alone, and comfort yourself as best you can.

CYMBELINE
No, let her suffer!

CYMBELINE and the lords exit.

QUEEN
Come on! You have to give up.
PISANIO enters.

QUEEN
Here is your servant. Hey, sir, what is the news?

PISANIO
Your son fought my master Posthumus.

QUEEN
What! I hope no one was hurt?

PISANIO
They could have been except that my master didn't fight back, just played around
without feeling any anger. Some gentlemen who were nearby separated them.

QUEEN
I am very glad to hear that.

IMOGEN
Your son is my father's friend. He defends him. Why did you leave your master?

PISANIO
He ordered me to. He would not let me follow him to the port. He left these notes
about what my duties should be.

QUEEN
He has been a faithful servant to you. I am sure he will remain faithful.

PISANIO
Thank you, your highness.

QUEEN
Please, walk with me awhile.

IMOGEN
Talk to me in about half an hour. You will at least watch my husband get on his ship.
Leave me alone for now.

They exit.
 Act 1 scene II

CLOTEN and two Lords enter.

FIRST LORD
Sir, I recommend that you change your shirt. Your fight just now made you stink like
burned meat.

CLOTEN
I would change my shirt if it had blood on it. Have I hurt him?

SECOND LORD
[To himself] No, not even his feelings.

FIRST LORD
Hurt him! If he is not hurt, he is a dead body. He has been stabbed so many times.

CLOTEN
That criminal would not stand and fight me.

SECOND LORD
[To himself] No, he kept running away by going forward, towards your face.

FIRST LORD
What, stand and fight you? He kept avoiding you.

SECOND LORD
[To himself] He gave you many chances but you did not realise it.

CLOTEN
I wish they had not separated us.

SECOND LORD
[To himself] So do I, until you fell and realise how stupid you are.

CLOTEN
How could she love this man and refuse to marry me?

SECOND LORD
[To himself] She made a right decision.

FIRST LORD
Sir, as I have always told you, her beauty and her brain do not match. She looks
good, but she is dumb.

SECOND LORD
[To himself] She does not tolerate idiots, like you.

CLOTEN
Well, I will go to my room. I wish someone had gotten hurt!

SECOND LORD
[To himself] I do not, unless a you were knocked down, which would not be so bad.

CLOTEN
You will go with me?

FIRST LORD
I will visit you later, my lord.

CLOTEN
No, come on, let's all go together.

SECOND LORD
All right, my lord.

They exit.
 Act 1, Scene III
IMOGEN and PISANIO enter.
IMOGEN
If he wrote to me and I did not get the letter it would be so disappointing. What was
the last thing he said to you?

PISANIO
It was "my queen, my queen!"

IMOGEN
Then he waved his handkerchief?

PISANIO
And kissed it, ma'am.

IMOGEN
I wish I was that handkerchief! And that was all?

PISANIO
No, ma'am. For as long as I remember, he stayed on deck waving his glove, hat, or
handkerchief. He kept waving until the ship was gone from my sight.

IMOGEN
You should have kept watching him until he seemed as small as a crow, or smaller.

PISANIO
I did, ma'am.

IMOGEN
I would have wait for him until he was so far away. Good Pisanio, when will we hear
from him?

PISANIO
Definitely as soon as he lands somewhere, ma'am.

IMOGEN
I did not say goodbye to him because my father came in before I could tell
Posthumus. I would think about him at times. And before I could make him promise
not to cheat on me with Italian women and gave him a goodbye kiss, my father
interrupted us.

A LADY enters.
LADY
The queen would like to see you, your highness.
IMOGEN
[To PISANIO] Do the things I told you to do.
[To the LADY] I will go see the queen.

PISANIO
I will, ma'am.
Exeunt
They exit.