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William ShakespeareA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Shakespeare wrote his plays in the literary culture of the early modern London theatrical scene, which developed during Elizabeth I’s reign and continued to thrive under James I. He probably wrote around 38 plays, and Cymbeline is one of the latest: The first recorded production was in 1611. In this play, Shakespeare engages with conventions already well-established in early modern theatre generally and in his own works, in terms of both literary devices and thematic concerns.
Cymbeline explores a number of themes and tropes that are featured throughout Shakespeare’s earlier works. In particular, the trope of a heroine disguising herself as a man is featured in Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Shakespeare used this trope within the context of early modern theatre practices, in which the heroines would have been played by a young male actor: The audience saw a boy pretending to be a girl pretending to be a girl. This device is ripe for both comedy and dramatic misunderstandings driving the plot, but is also used thematically.
By William Shakespeare
All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
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As You Like It
As You Like It
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Coriolanus
Coriolanus
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Hamlet
Hamlet
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Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
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Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2
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Henry V
Henry V
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Henry VIII
Henry VIII
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Henry VI, Part 1
Henry VI, Part 1
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Henry VI, Part 3
Henry VI, Part 3
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Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
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King John
King John
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King Lear
King Lear
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Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost
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Macbeth
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Measure For Measure
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Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
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Othello
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