Perceptions of Wales

In Cymbeline, Imogen travels to Milford Haven after Posthumus sends her a letter saying he is there. Little does she know, he isn’t there (or not yet anyway), but she does meet three “rustic mountainers”, aka Belarius and her two long-lost brothers. While Wales would have looked very different during the setting of the play, examining Shakespeare’s understanding of it can shed light on Britain’s ancestral identity. James I was interested in rooting his idea of Britain to its ancient past; the term “British” and “Britons” had Welsh connotations. James’ wishes explain Shakespeare’s portrayal of the Welshmen, which is consistent with historians’ oscillating characterization of them as “barbarous” yet “civilized”. For example, Polydor/Guiderius’ brutal beheading of Cloten is shortly followed by the formality of Imogen and Cloten’s funeral. Their help in defending Britain against the Roman invaders symbolizes a restorative act, returning it to its ancient glory.

Imperialism and indigenous assimilation can also be found in the Wales scenes. When Imogen first sees the cave at Milford, she remarks “‘Tis some savage hold”, and when she is proven wrong about her preconceptions, she says “Gods, what lies I have heard! / Our courtiers say all’s savage but at court; / Experience, O, thou disprov’st report!” The dynamic between England and Wales in Early Modern England is also comparable to that of Britain and Rome in Cymbeline: by that point, Pembrokeshire (aka “Little England beyond Wales”) had reached a similar level of assimilation as Cymbeline’s Britain had with Rome. The Welsh upper class was particularly interested in assimilation as a means of advancement in English society, learning Latin to work in English courts, for example.