Theatrical and National Spaces in Cymbeline

Abstract

This article explores the manner in which Cymbeline works to create a feeling of geographic scope and a sense of a coherent national space within the bounds of the theatre. To do so means examining the play’s experimentation with perspective, its fascination with the limits of eyesight, as well as its emphasis on movement and travel. Notions of perspective, time, and space are pervasive in Cymbeline ; accordingly, it is a play that frequently identifies and strains against the physical boundaries of the stage. Nevertheless, as evidenced by Simon Forman’s account of the play (1611), meta-theatrical moments that highlight the physical restrictions of the theatre coalesce with moments that revel in its physical possibilities. With references to early modern cartography, Marlowe’s Tamburlaine , Shakespeare’s Henry V , and the writings of King James, I contend that as Cymbeline telescopes between meta-theatrical and theatrical effects, the theatrical experience—the proclivity to imaginatively participate—is enhanced.