Act 4, Scene 3 — Cymbeline — Study Shakespeare

The argument Cymbeline, overwhelmed by the Queen's illness, Imogen's disappearance, Cloten's absence, and news of the Roman landing, vents his frustration at Pisanio, who remains loyal but ignorant; left alone, Pisanio resolves to serve his country and wait for Fortune.

Enter Cymbeline, Lords, Pisanio and Attendants.

CYMBELINE dialogue

Again! and bring me word how ’tis with her.

again! and bring me word how ’tis with her.

again! and bring me word how ’tis with her....

[_Exit an Attendant._]

A fever with the absence of her son;

A madness, of which her life’s in danger. Heavens,

How deeply you at once do touch me! Imogen,

The great part of my comfort, gone; my queen

Upon a desperate bed, and in a time

When fearful wars point at me; her son gone,

So needful for this present. It strikes me past

The hope of comfort. But for thee, fellow,

Who needs must know of her departure and

Dost seem so ignorant, we’ll enforce it from thee

By a sharp torture.

PISANIO ≋ verse dialogue

Sir, my life is yours;

I humbly set it at your will; but for my mistress,

I nothing know where she remains, why gone,

Nor when she purposes return. Beseech your Highness,

Hold me your loyal servant.

Sir, my life is yours; I humbly set it at your will; but for my mistress, I nothing know where she remains, why gone, Nor when she purposes return. Beseech your Highness, Hold me your loyal servant.

sir, my life is yours; i humbly set it at your will; but for my mistress, i nothing know where she remains, why gone, nor when she purposes return. beseech your highness, hold me your loyal servant.

sir, my life is yours; i humbly set it at your wil...

LORD ≋ verse praise

Good my liege,

The day that she was missing he was here.

I dare be bound he’s true and shall perform

All parts of his subjection loyally. For Cloten,

There wants no diligence in seeking him,

And will no doubt be found.

Good my liege, The day that she was missing he was here. I dare be bound he’s true and shall perform All parts of his subjection loyally. For Cloten, There wants no diligence in seeking him, And will no doubt be found.

good my liege, the day that she was missing he was here. i dare be bound he’s true and shall perform all parts of his subjection loyally. for cloten, there wants no diligence in seeking him, and will no doubt be found.

good my liege, the day that she was missing he was

CYMBELINE dialogue

The time is troublesome.

the time is troublesome.

the time is troublesome....

[_To Pisanio._] We’ll slip you for a season; but our jealousy

Does yet depend.

LORD ≋ verse dialogue

So please your Majesty,

The Roman legions, all from Gallia drawn,

Are landed on your coast, with a supply

Of Roman gentlemen by the Senate sent.

So please your Majesty, The Roman legions, all from Gallia drawn, Are landed on your coast, with a supply Of Roman gentlemen by the Senate sent.

so please your majesty, the roman legions, all from gallia drawn, are landed on your coast, with a supply of roman gentlemen by the senate sent.

so please your majesty, the roman legions, all fro

"The Roman legions, all from Gallia drawn" The war with Rome has been brewing since Act 3 when Cymbeline refused to pay tribute. Now the consequence arrives at the worst possible moment — when the king's family is in chaos.

CYMBELINE ≋ verse dialogue

Now for the counsel of my son and queen!

I am amaz’d with matter.

Now for the counsel of my son and queen! I am amaz’d with matter.

now for the counsel of my son and queen! i am amaz’d with matter.

now for the counsel of my son and queen! i am amaz

🎭 Dramatic irony Cymbeline laments that he needs Cloten's counsel now of all times — but Cloten is already dead at Guiderius's hand. The king is mourning the loss of the one advisor he should not be mourning.

LORD ≋ verse praise

Good my liege,

Your preparation can affront no less

Than what you hear of. Come more, for more you’re ready.

The want is but to put those pow’rs in motion

That long to move.

Good my liege, Your preparation can affront no less Than what you hear of. Come more, for more you’re ready. The want is but to put those pow’rs in motion That long to move.

good my liege, your preparation can affront no less than what you hear of. come more, for more you’re ready. the want is but to put those pow’rs in motion that long to move.

good my liege, your preparation can affront no les...

CYMBELINE ≋ verse dialogue

I thank you. Let’s withdraw,

And meet the time as it seeks us. We fear not

What can from Italy annoy us; but

We grieve at chances here. Away!

I thank you. Let’s withdraw, And meet the time as it seeks us. We fear not What can from Italy annoy us; but We grieve at chances here. Away!

i thank you. let’s withdraw, and meet the time as it seeks us. we fear not what can from italy annoy us; but we grieve at chances here. away!

i thank you. let’s withdraw, and meet the time as ...

[_Exeunt all but Pisanio._]

PISANIO ≋ verse affection

I heard no letter from my master since

I wrote him Imogen was slain. ’Tis strange.

Nor hear I from my mistress, who did promise

To yield me often tidings. Neither know I

What is betid to Cloten, but remain

Perplex’d in all. The heavens still must work.

Wherein I am false I am honest; not true, to be true.

These present wars shall find I love my country,

Even to the note o’ th’ King, or I’ll fall in them.

All other doubts, by time let them be clear’d:

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.

I heard no letter from my master since I wrote him Imogen was slain. ’Tis strange. Nor hear I from my mistress, who did promise To yield me often tidings. Neither know I What is betid to Cloten, but remain Perplex’d in all. The heavens still must work. Wherein I am false I am honest; not true, to be

i heard no letter from my master since i wrote him imogen was slain. ’tis strange. nor hear i from my mistress, who did promise to yield me often tidings. neither know i what is betid to cloten, but remain perplex’d in all. the heavens still must work. wherein i am false i am honest; not true, to be

i heard no letter from my master since i wrote him

"Wherein I am false I am honest; not true, to be true." One of the play's sharpest paradoxes: Pisanio lied to both Posthumus and Imogen, but his underlying motive was their protection. He was unfaithful to orders in order to be faithful to the people he served.

"Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer'd." A genuine proverb in Shakespeare's time — the idea that Providence guides some things beyond human control. Pisanio isn't being passive; he's acknowledging that the forces in play are bigger than any one person's navigation.

Why it matters This soliloquy is Pisanio's moral self-accounting — he knows he's been deceptive but insists his deception served truth. His final couplet is the play's clearest statement of faith in providential order: when human plans are overwhelmed, something else takes the helm.

↩ Callback to 3-4 Pisanio refers to writing Posthumus that Imogen was slain — the direct consequence of his bargain with Imogen in 3-4, where he handed her the letter and she chose her own disguise.

[_Exit._]

The Reckoning

This is a scene of cascading crisis — every pillar of the court has cracked at once. Cymbeline is barely holding together, threatening his most loyal servant out of sheer helplessness. Pisanio's closing lines are among the most quietly dignified in the play: a good man in an impossible position, choosing honesty over self-preservation and trusting that time will sort what he cannot. The audience, knowing far more than Cymbeline does, feels the irony of watching a king rage at the one man who is telling the truth.

If this happened today…

Imagine a CEO whose company is simultaneously dealing with a PR crisis, a missing executive, a family member in the hospital, and a hostile acquisition announcement — all on the same Monday morning. He calls his most trusted PA into the office and screams at her because she doesn't know where the missing executive is. She calmly says she wasn't involved and offers her resignation. He doesn't fire her — he needs her. She walks out, phones a friend, and says: 'I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to keep showing up and do my job and hope it becomes clear.' That's Pisanio.

Continue to 4.4 →