Ay, or a stomach.
Ay, or a stomach.
ay, or a stomach.
ay, or a stomach....
Most welcome, bondage! for thou art a way,
I think, to liberty. Yet am I better
Than one that’s sick o’ th’ gout, since he had rather
Groan so in perpetuity than be cur’d
By th’ sure physician death, who is the key
T’ unbar these locks. My conscience, thou art fetter’d
More than my shanks and wrists; you good gods, give me
The penitent instrument to pick that bolt,
Then, free for ever! Is’t enough I am sorry?
So children temporal fathers do appease;
Gods are more full of mercy. Must I repent,
I cannot do it better than in gyves,
Desir’d more than constrain’d. To satisfy,
If of my freedom ’tis the main part, take
No stricter render of me than my all.
I know you are more clement than vile men,
Who of their broken debtors take a third,
A sixth, a tenth, letting them thrive again
On their abatement; that’s not my desire.
For Imogen’s dear life take mine; and though
’Tis not so dear, yet ’tis a life; you coin’d it.
’Tween man and man they weigh not every stamp;
Though light, take pieces for the figure’s sake;
You rather mine, being yours. And so, great pow’rs,
If you will take this audit, take this life,
And cancel these cold bonds. O Imogen!
I’ll speak to thee in silence.
Most welcome, bondage! for you art a way, I think, to liberty. Yet am I better Than one that’s sick o’ th’ gout, since he had rather Groan so in perpetuity than be cur’d By th’ sure physician death, who is the key T’ unbar these locks. My conscience, you art fetter’d More than my shanks and wrists;
most welcome, bondage! for you art a way, i think, to liberty. yet am i better than one that’s sick o’ th’ gout, since he had rather groan so in perpetuity than be cur’d by th’ sure physician death, who is the key t’ unbar these locks. my conscience, you art fetter’d more than my shanks and wrists;
most welcome, bondage! for you art a way, i think,
No more, thou thunder-master, show
Thy spite on mortal flies.
With Mars fall out, with Juno chide,
That thy adulteries
Rates and revenges.
Hath my poor boy done aught but well,
Whose face I never saw?
I died whilst in the womb he stay’d
Attending nature’s law;
Whose father then, as men report
Thou orphans’ father art,
Thou shouldst have been, and shielded him
From this earth-vexing smart.
No more, you thunder-master, show your spite on mortal flies. With Mars fall out, with Juno chide, That your adulteries Rates and revenges. has my poor boy done aught but well, Whose face I never saw? I died whilst in the womb he stay’d Attending nature’s law; Whose father then, as men report you or
no more, you thunder-master, show your spite on mortal flies. with mars fall out, with juno chide, that your adulteries rates and revenges. has my poor boy done aught but well, whose face i never saw? i died whilst in the womb he stay’d attending nature’s law; whose father then, as men report you or
no more, you thunder-master, show your spite on mo
Lucina lent not me her aid,
But took me in my throes,
That from me was Posthumus ripp’d,
Came crying ’mongst his foes,
A thing of pity.
Lucina lent not me her aid, But took me in my throes, That from me was Posthumus ripp’d, Came crying ’mongst his foes, A thing of pity.
lucina lent not me her aid, but took me in my throes, that from me was posthumus ripp’d, came crying ’mongst his foes, a thing of pity.
lucina lent not me her aid, but took me in my thro...
Great Nature like his ancestry
Moulded the stuff so fair
That he deserv’d the praise o’ th’ world
As great Sicilius’ heir.
Great Nature like his ancestry Moulded the stuff so fair That he deserv’d the praise o’ th’ world As great Sicilius’ heir.
great nature like his ancestry moulded the stuff so fair that he deserv’d the praise o’ th’ world as great sicilius’ heir.
great nature like his ancestry moulded the stuff s...
When once he was mature for man,
In Britain where was he
That could stand up his parallel,
Or fruitful object be
In eye of Imogen, that best
Could deem his dignity?
When once he was mature for man, In Britain where was he That could stand up his parallel, Or fruitful object be In eye of Imogen, that best Could deem his dignity?
when once he was mature for man, in britain where was he that could stand up his parallel, or fruitful object be in eye of imogen, that best could deem his dignity?
when once he was mature for man, in britain where ...
With marriage wherefore was he mock’d,
To be exil’d and thrown
From Leonati seat and cast
From her his dearest one,
Sweet Imogen?
With marriage wherefore was he mock’d, To be exil’d and thrown From Leonati seat and cast From her his dearest one, Sweet Imogen?
with marriage wherefore was he mock’d, to be exil’d and thrown from leonati seat and cast from her his dearest one, sweet imogen?
with marriage wherefore was he mock’d, to be exil’...
Why did you suffer Iachimo,
Slight thing of Italy,
To taint his nobler heart and brain
With needless jealousy,
And to become the geck and scorn
O’ th’ other’s villainy?
Why did you suffer Iachimo, Slight thing of Italy, To taint his nobler heart and brain With needless jealousy, And to become the geck and scorn O’ th’ other’s villainy?
why did you suffer iachimo, slight thing of italy, to taint his nobler heart and brain with needless jealousy, and to become the geck and scorn o’ th’ other’s villainy?
why did you suffer iachimo, slight thing of italy,
For this from stiller seats we came,
Our parents and us twain,
That, striking in our country’s cause,
Fell bravely and were slain,
Our fealty and Tenantius’ right
With honour to maintain.
For this from stiller seats we came, Our parents and us twain, That, striking in our country’s cause, Fell bravely and were slain, Our fealty and Tenantius’ right With honour to maintain.
for this from stiller seats we came, our parents and us twain, that, striking in our country’s cause, fell bravely and were slain, our fealty and tenantius’ right with honour to maintain.
for this from stiller seats we came, our parents a...
Like hardiment Posthumus hath
To Cymbeline perform’d.
Then, Jupiter, thou king of gods,
Why hast thou thus adjourn’d
The graces for his merits due,
Being all to dolours turn’d?
Like hardiment Posthumus hath To Cymbeline perform’d. Then, Jupiter, thou king of gods, Why hast thou thus adjourn’d The graces for his merits due, Being all to dolours turn’d?
like hardiment posthumus hath to cymbeline perform’d. then, jupiter, thou king of gods, why hast thou thus adjourn’d the graces for his merits due, being all to dolours turn’d?
like hardiment posthumus hath to cymbeline perform...
The descent of Jupiter on an eagle is the most spectacular theatrical moment in the late romances, and it has made critics uncomfortable for centuries. Is it sincere? Is it satirical? Is it the work of an exhausted playwright handing off to a collaborator? The staging clues suggest Shakespeare took it seriously: the Eagle was a real theatrical device at the Blackfriars indoor theatre (where Cymbeline was likely also performed), operated by a flying rig. The god's speech is in the same rhymed tetrameter as the ghost's stanzas — a formal, elevated register distinct from the surrounding blank verse, signaling a change of ontological category. The scene is meant to be overwhelming. Jupiter does not appear because the play needs him — he appears because the play has been arguing for his existence since Act 1, and now it has to show up or the argument fails.
Thy crystal window ope; look out;
No longer exercise
Upon a valiant race thy harsh
And potent injuries.
Thy crystal window ope; look out; No longer exercise Upon a valiant race thy harsh And potent injuries.
thy crystal window ope; look out; no longer exercise upon a valiant race thy harsh and potent injuries.
thy crystal window ope; look out; no longer exerci...
Since, Jupiter, our son is good,
Take off his miseries.
Since, Jupiter, our son is good, Take off his miseries.
since, jupiter, our son is good, take off his miseries.
since, jupiter, our son is good, take off his mise...
Peep through thy marble mansion. Help!
Or we poor ghosts will cry
To th’ shining synod of the rest
Against thy deity.
Peep through thy marble mansion. Help! Or we poor ghosts will cry To th’ shining synod of the rest Against thy deity.
peep through thy marble mansion. help! or we poor ghosts will cry to th’ shining synod of the rest against thy deity.
peep through thy marble mansion. help! or we poor ...
Help, Jupiter! or we appeal,
And from thy justice fly.
Jupiter descends in thunder and lightning, sitting upon an eagle. He
throws a thunderbolt. The Ghosts fall on their knees.
Help, Jupiter! or we appeal, And from thy justice fly. Jupiter descends in thunder and lightning, sitting upon an eagle. He throws a thunderbolt. The Ghosts fall on their knees.
help, jupiter! or we appeal, and from thy justice fly. jupiter descends in thunder and lightning, sitting upon an eagle. he throws a thunderbolt. the ghosts fall on their knees.
help, jupiter! or we appeal, and from thy justice ...
No more, you petty spirits of region low,
Offend our hearing; hush! How dare you ghosts
Accuse the Thunderer whose bolt, you know,
Sky-planted, batters all rebelling coasts?
Poor shadows of Elysium, hence and rest
Upon your never-withering banks of flow’rs.
Be not with mortal accidents opprest:
No care of yours it is; you know ’tis ours.
Whom best I love I cross; to make my gift,
The more delay’d, delighted. Be content;
Your low-laid son our godhead will uplift;
His comforts thrive, his trials well are spent.
Our Jovial star reign’d at his birth, and in
Our temple was he married. Rise and fade!
He shall be lord of Lady Imogen,
And happier much by his affliction made.
This tablet lay upon his breast, wherein
Our pleasure his full fortune doth confine;
And so, away; no farther with your din
Express impatience, lest you stir up mine.
Mount, eagle, to my palace crystalline.
No more, you petty spirits of region low, Offend our hearing; hush! How dare you ghosts Accuse the Thunderer whose bolt, you know, Sky-planted, batters all rebelling coasts? Poor shadows of Elysium, hence and rest Upon your never-withering banks of flow’rs. Be not with mortal accidents opprest: No c
no more, you petty spirits of region low, offend our hearing; hush! how dare you ghosts accuse the thunderer whose bolt, you know, sky-planted, batters all rebelling coasts? poor shadows of elysium, hence and rest upon your never-withering banks of flow’rs. be not with mortal accidents opprest: no c
no more, you petty spirits of region low, offend o
He came in thunder; his celestial breath
Was sulphurous to smell; the holy eagle
Stoop’d as to foot us. His ascension is
More sweet than our blest fields. His royal bird
Prunes the immortal wing, and cloys his beak,
As when his god is pleas’d.
He came in thunder; his celestial breath Was sulphurous to smell; the holy eagle Stoop’d as to foot us. His ascension is More sweet than our blest fields. His royal bird Prunes the immortal wing, and cloys his beak, As when his god is pleas’d.
he came in thunder; his celestial breath was sulphurous to smell; the holy eagle stoop’d as to foot us. his ascension is more sweet than our blest fields. his royal bird prunes the immortal wing, and cloys his beak, as when his god is pleas’d.
he came in thunder; his celestial breath was sulph
Thanks, Jupiter!
Thanks, Jupiter!
thanks, jupiter!
thanks, jupiter!...
The marble pavement closes, he is enter’d
His radiant roof. Away! and, to be blest,
Let us with care perform his great behest.
The marble pavement closes, he is enter’d His radiant roof. Away! and, to be blest, Let us with care perform his great behest.
the marble pavement closes, he is enter’d his radiant roof. away! and, to be blest, let us with care perform his great behest.
the marble pavement closes, he is enter’d his radi...
A father to me; and thou hast created
A mother and two brothers. But, O scorn,
Gone! They went hence so soon as they were born.
And so I am awake. Poor wretches, that depend
On greatness’ favour, dream as I have done;
Wake and find nothing. But, alas, I swerve;
Many dream not to find, neither deserve,
And yet are steep’d in favours; so am I,
That have this golden chance, and know not why.
What fairies haunt this ground? A book? O rare one!
Be not, as is our fangled world, a garment
Nobler than that it covers. Let thy effects
So follow to be most unlike our courtiers,
As good as promise.
A father to me; and you hast created A mother and two brothers. But, O scorn, Gone! They went hence so soon as they were born. And so I am awake. Poor wretches, that depend On greatness’ favour, dream as I have done; Wake and find nothing. But, alas, I swerve; Many dream not to find, neither deserve
a father to me; and you hast created a mother and two brothers. but, o scorn, gone! they went hence so soon as they were born. and so i am awake. poor wretches, that depend on greatness’ favour, dream as i have done; wake and find nothing. but, alas, i swerve; many dream not to find, neither deserve
a father to me; and you hast created a mother and
The gaoler who appears after the Jupiter vision is one of Shakespeare's greatest minor characters precisely because he seems to have wandered in from a completely different play. His routine about tavern bills and the charity of a rope is dark comedy in the tradition of the gravedigger in Hamlet — low comedy that arrives immediately after the high, and makes the high feel more real by contrast. But Shakespeare gives this gaoler something the gravedigger doesn't have: a moment of accidental moral insight. His final speech — wishing he lived in a world where gaolers weren't needed — is a surprising grace note. He is not a wise fool. He is an ordinary man who has just watched someone die willingly, and for a moment it has made him think about what a good world might look like. That impulse toward decency, arriving in the most unlikely character in the most unlikely moment, is very much what this play is about.
Come, sir, are you ready for death?
Come, sir, are you ready for death?
come, sir, are you ready for death?
come, sir, are you ready for death?...
Over-roasted rather; ready long ago.
Over-roasted rather; ready long ago.
over-roasted rather; ready long ago.
over-roasted rather; ready long ago....
Hanging is the word, sir; if you be ready for that, you are well
cook’d.
Hanging is the word, sir; if you be ready for that, you are well cook’d.
hanging is the word, sir; if you be ready for that, you are well cook’d.
hanging is the word, sir; if you be ready for that...
So, if I prove a good repast to the spectators, the dish pays the shot.
So, if I prove a good repast to the spectators, the dish pays the shot.
so, if i prove a good repast to the spectators, the dish pays the shot.
so, if i prove a good repast to the spectators, th
A heavy reckoning for you, sir. But the comfort is, you shall be called
to no more payments, fear no more tavern bills, which are often the
sadness of parting, as the procuring of mirth. You come in faint for
want of meat, depart reeling with too much drink; sorry that you have
paid too much, and sorry that you are paid too much; purse and brain
both empty; the brain the heavier for being too light, the purse too
light, being drawn of heaviness. O, of this contradiction you shall now
be quit. O, the charity of a penny cord! It sums up thousands in a
trice. You have no true debitor and creditor but it; of what’s past,
is, and to come, the discharge. Your neck, sir, is pen, book, and
counters; so the acquittance follows.
A heavy reckoning for you, sir. But the comfort is, you shall be called to no more payments, fear no more tavern bills, which are often the sadness of parting, as the procuring of mirth. You come in faint for want of meat, depart reeling with too much drink; sorry that you have paid too much, and so
a heavy reckoning for you, sir. but the comfort is, you shall be called to no more payments, fear no more tavern bills, which are often the sadness of parting, as the procuring of mirth. you come in faint for want of meat, depart reeling with too much drink; sorry that you have paid too much, and so
a heavy reckoning for you, sir. but the comfort is
I am merrier to die than thou art to live.
I am merrier to die than thou art to live.
i am merrier to die than thou art to live.
i am merrier to die than thou art to live....
Indeed, sir, he that sleeps feels not the toothache. But a man that
were to sleep your sleep, and a hangman to help him to bed, I think he
would change places with his officer; for look you, sir, you know not
which way you shall go.
Indeed, sir, he that sleeps feels not the toothache. But a man that were to sleep your sleep, and a hangman to help him to bed, I think he would change places with his officer; for look you, sir, you know not which way you shall go.
indeed, sir, he that sleeps feels not the toothache. but a man that were to sleep your sleep, and a hangman to help him to bed, i think he would change places with his officer; for look you, sir, you know not which way you shall go.
indeed, sir, he that sleeps feels not the toothach
Yes indeed do I, fellow.
Yes indeed do I, fellow.
yes indeed do i, fellow.
yes indeed do i, fellow....
Your death has eyes in’s head, then; I have not seen him so pictur’d.
You must either be directed by some that take upon them to know, or to
take upon yourself that which I am sure you do not know, or jump the
after-inquiry on your own peril. And how you shall speed in your
journey’s end, I think you’ll never return to tell one.
Your death has eyes in’s head, then; I have not seen him so pictur’d. You must either be directed by some that take upon them to know, or to take upon yourself that which I am sure you do not know, or jump the after-inquiry on your own peril. And how you shall speed in your journey’s end, I think yo
your death has eyes in’s head, then; i have not seen him so pictur’d. you must either be directed by some that take upon them to know, or to take upon yourself that which i am sure you do not know, or jump the after-inquiry on your own peril. and how you shall speed in your journey’s end, i think yo
your death has eyes in’s head, then; i have not se
I tell thee, fellow, there are none want eyes to direct them the way I
am going, but such as wink and will not use them.
I tell thee, fellow, there are none want eyes to direct them the way I am going, but such as wink and will not use them.
i tell thee, fellow, there are none want eyes to direct them the way i am going, but such as wink and will not use them.
i tell thee, fellow, there are none want eyes to d...
What an infinite mock is this, that a man should have the best use of
eyes to see the way of blindness! I am sure hanging’s the way of
winking.
What an infinite mock is this, that a man should have the best use of eyes to see the way of blindness! I am sure hanging’s the way of winking.
what an infinite mock is this, that a man should have the best use of eyes to see the way of blindness! i am sure hanging’s the way of winking.
what an infinite mock is this, that a man should h...
Knock off his manacles; bring your prisoner to the King.
Knock off his manacles; bring your prisoner to the King.
knock off his manacles; bring your prisoner to the king.
knock off his manacles; bring your prisoner to the...
Thou bring’st good news: I am call’d to be made free.
Thou bring’st good news: I am call’d to be made free.
thou bring’st good news: i am call’d to be made free.
thou bring’st good news: i am call’d to be made fr...
I’ll be hang’d then.
I’ll be hang’d then.
i’ll be hang’d then.
i’ll be hang’d then....
Thou shalt be then freer than a gaoler; no bolts for the dead.
Thou shalt be then freer than a gaoler; no bolts for the dead.
thou shalt be then freer than a gaoler; no bolts for the dead.
thou shalt be then freer than a gaoler; no bolts f...
Unless a man would marry a gallows and beget young gibbets, I never saw
one so prone. Yet, on my conscience, there are verier knaves desire to
live, for all he be a Roman; and there be some of them too that die
against their wills; so should I, if I were one. I would we were all of
one mind, and one mind good. O, there were desolation of gaolers and
gallowses! I speak against my present profit, but my wish hath a
preferment in’t.
Unless a man would marry a gallows and beget young gibbets, I never saw one so prone. Yet, on my conscience, there are verier knaves desire to live, for all he be a Roman; and there be some of them too that die against their wills; so should I, if I were one. I would we were all of one mind, and one
unless a man would marry a gallows and beget young gibbets, i never saw one so prone. yet, on my conscience, there are verier knaves desire to live, for all he be a roman; and there be some of them too that die against their wills; so should i, if i were one. i would we were all of one mind, and one
unless a man would marry a gallows and beget young
The Reckoning
This is the play's most spectacular scene — and its strangest. A god literally descends on an eagle. Dead ancestors speak in rhymed verse. A prophecy is handed to a sleeping man. And yet Shakespeare brackets all of this supernatural machinery with a prison comedy: a gaoler who makes bookkeeping metaphors about hanging and a prisoner who banters about being 'over-roasted.' The tonal whiplash is deliberate. The Jupiter vision is the play's cosmic answer to every injustice that has accumulated; the gaoler scene is the reminder that from the outside, none of this looks like anything but a man about to be hanged. Both are true at once. The scene ends with Posthumus being called not to execution but to the king — and the machinery of resolution finally beginning to move.
If this happened today…
A man who has confessed to a crime he believes he committed — but which may never have actually happened — is sitting in a holding cell the night before sentencing. He writes a letter to the victim's family that is one of the most honest things he has ever written. He falls asleep and dreams that his dead parents and brothers appear and argue his case to a divine judge who finally tells them to relax, everything's being handled, go back to the afterlife. He wakes up and finds a mysterious note in his cell. He has no idea how it got there. A guard comes in and does fifteen minutes of gallows humor about the execution process — until a different officer arrives and says the judge wants to see him. In chambers. Today.