Why This Play?:

If I’m being honest, I read it because this was the next DVD that came up in my Netflix queue. So let’s continue on the late romance trend!

Cymbeline is known as the single play that includes all of Shakespeare's greatest hits -- a woman disguised as a man, a villain who incites jealousy without cause, reunion of family members, war. And that's just to name a few. There's a theme that takes over the entire final scene, with more examples than I've ever seen in any other Bard play -- forgiveness. Repentance/forgiveness happens in many other works (Hero forgives Claudio, Othello is devastated by his actions, etc). But in Cymbeline, we see it in spades. Nearly all the characters get into the game of apologizing and showing mercy. Which of course, gets me thinking about forgiveness in our own lives. Is there some secret formula to letting go of past issues and moving on without malice?

Why This Play?:

Behold, the play that everyone studied in high school except for yours truly (my lone wolf teacher pressed Hamlet upon us instead). For the life of me, I had trouble seeing why this one is so prevalent among tenth grade English classes. Most kids have studied Romeo and Juliet the year before – how about switching in one of the comedies instead of Caesar? I mean, let’s grant the youth of America a respite from the suicide motif. Perhaps teachers spin this play as a cautionary tale against hanging with the wrong crowd? Not being wrongly influenced by dumbass friends? I searched the Internet for teaching guides on this play, and found my hypothesis to be pretty spot on. Julius Caesar, warning kids of the dangers of peer pressure for decades. Don’t let your friends talk you into killing a potential tyrant, kids – you may end up causing a civil war and killing yourself over it!