Cymbeline

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 149K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Cymbeline by William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: Finnish, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 10, 2007

Editor's review

One of Shakespeare's late romances, it blends court intrigue, separated kin, cross-national war, and oracular prophecy into a plot of reversals that trends toward reconciliation. Princess Imogen's marriage to the commoner Posthumus enrages the king, and a chain of misunderstandings, disguises, and adventures drives the characters to the edge of fate. The play moves freely between tragedy and comedy, balancing venomous court power struggles with tenderness and forgiveness in the wilderness, and is often seen as Shakespeare's mature experiment with the romance form. This electronic edition is a Finnish translation from Project Gutenberg, suited to research on Shakespeare's reception and translation history in the Nordic countries and useful as a companion for language learners reading alongside the English original. Readers are advised to watch the thematic threads of identity, fidelity, and kingship.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Shakespeare enthusiasts looking to broaden their reading of the romances
Finnish learners hoping to improve reading skills through literary translation
Scholars of foreign literature interested in Nordic translation and dissemination of Shakespeare
Advanced students working on drama themes or translation comparison

Not a good fit for

General readers who read only modern English or Chinese translations, as the barrier is higher
Readers expecting pure comedy or pure tragedy, as this play mixes genres
Young readers, given adult themes such as court intrigue and sexual suspicion

Reading tips

Read an English or Chinese plot summary first to clarify relationships before entering the translation
Mark oracle, dream, and disguise episodes as you read and observe how the ending resolves them
Compare with The Winter's Tale and The Tempest to grasp shared traits and differences of the romances
Finnish learners can excerpt long sentences and do translation exercises against the English

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this edition in English or Finnish?

According to Project Gutenberg, the language of this edition is Finnish: it is a Finnish translation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, not the English original, so check that the language suits your needs before reading.

Can I read it without having read other Shakespeare works?

Yes, but read a plot summary and character list first. The play has many threads across court, war, and family, and mapping the relationships in advance makes it significantly easier.

Is this play a comedy or a tragedy?

It is usually classed as a romance, combining tragic crisis with a comic reconciliation, and does not fit neatly into the traditional comedy or tragedy categories.

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About the author

William Shakespeare Author · English · 1564–1616

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was the greatest playwright, poet and actor of the English Renaissance. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he is known as the "Bard of Avon." He wrote roughly thirty-seven to thirty-nine plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and narrative poems. His representative works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. His works span tragedy, comedy and history play, distinguished by rich, poetic language and profound characterization. His explorations of human nature, power, love and fate have had a lasting influence, and his works have been translated into many languages and circulated widely around the world.