current in England in the sixteenth century, and may account for certain features of the play; e. g. the introduction in Act I, sc. iv, of the representatives of the four nationalities,1 but it is not at all unlikely that Shakespeare was also acquainted with Boccaccio's narrative. A curious English version appeared in a tract entitled "Westward for Smelts," which was published in 1620; its chief interest lies perhaps in the fact that the story is there associated with English history, and referred to the times of Edward IV.2 III. IMOGEN AND SNOW-WHITE. Certain elements of the plot have still to be accounted for:—e. g. (i) the story of the wicked step-dame, with her subtle interest in the poisonous properties of herbs: (ii) the stealing of the princes, and their free life in the wilds and in their cavehome: (iii) Fidele's happy life with them in the cave; its sudden end; the re-awakening from death. These, and other points, serve to knit together the two main threads of the plot, but they are nowhere to be found in Holinshed, nor in Boccaccio, nor in the many variants of the "wagerstory." The bare enumeration of the three elements must, I think, serve to establish Shakespeare's obligation to another source, to a folk-story still among the most popular of all nursery tales,-the story of "Little Snow-white." The fairy tale as known to modern English children has come to them from Germany, but there can be little doubt that an English "Snow-white" was known to Shakespeare in his own youth, and was perhaps even dearer to him than the stories of "Childe Rowland" and "Mr. Fox." These latter fairy-tales are happily still preserved among the treasures of "English Fairy Tales": some day perhaps 1 It is interesting to note that not only was the story of "The Four Merchants" well known in Denmark in the XVIth century, but during the same century Iceland had ballads and rhymes on the same theme; the writer possesses transcripts of several such versions. 2 Malone alludes to an edition of 1603; but he probably made a mistake, the book may have existed in manuscript years before its publication. Shakespeare's "Snow-white" may be added; one would, however, be much surprised if it differed strikingly from the tale so dear to us from infancy. In the tale as in the play we have (i) a weak king surrendering his child to the tender mercies of a cruel stepmother, who, to quote from the popular version, “was a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty"; (ii) the cottage of the dwarfs which gives Snow-white shelter is described in the best and truest versions as a cave in the forest; (iii) Snow-white, hungry and thirsty, enters the cave uninvited, and is found by the kindly dwarfs, much in the same way as Fidele by Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus. "Oh, heavens! oh, heavens!" cried the dwarfs, "what a lovely child!" "By Jupiter, an Angel!" quoth Belarius, (iv) The dwarfs said, "If you will take care of our house, cook, and make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, you can stay with us and you shall want for nothing." Even so was it with Fidele. "But his neat cookery! he cut our roots In characters, And sauced our broths, as Juno had been sick (v) "Snow-white," the story tells us, "kept the house in order for them; in the mornings they went to the mountains and looked for copper and gold, in the evenings they came back, and then their supper had to be ready. The girl was alone the whole day, so the good dwarfs warned her and said, 'Beware of your step-mother, she will soon know that you are here; be sure to let no one come in.'" The situation is practically identical in the play, save that Imogen's wicked step-mother need not visit her, for she works her evil power by means of the poisoned cordial. Both in the play and in the tale the poison sends the victim into a death-like trance. (vi) The simple nar rative of the nursery story is perhaps the best commentary on the sweetest scene of the play, the finding of Fidele dead "the bird is dead that we have made so much on"-and the burial, the sorrow of the princes, and their dirge. "Snow-white was dead, and remained dead. The dwarfs laid her upon a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and wept for her, and wept three days long. Then they were going to bury her, but she still looked as if she were living, and still had her pretty red cheeks. They said 'we cannot bury her in the dark ground,' and they had a transparent coffin of glass made. They put the coffin out upon the mountains, and one of them always stayed by it and watched it. And birds came too, and wept for Snowwhite; first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.” Beneath all the complexity of plot created by Shakespeare, this original can still clearly be detected; in the play the homely robin, "the ruddock," does service for the owl, the raven, and the dove of the story. The parallels might easily be multiplied. These will perhaps suffice to show that Imogen, "the sweetest, fairest lily," and Fidele, “that sweet rosy lad," owed something of their beauty to the child "white as snow, as red as blood, and with hair as black as ebony." "Imogen" is in very deed "Snow-white," the best beloved of childhood's heroines, transfigured as manhood's ideal of all womanly perfection. "Hang there like Fruit, my Soul, DRAMATIS PERSONE CYMBELINE, king of Britain CLOTEN, son to the Queen by a former husband POSTHUMUS LEONATUS, a gentleman, husband to Imogen BELARIUS, a banished lord, disguised under the name of Morgan PHILARIO, friend to Posthumus, } Italians IACHIMO, friend to Philario, CAIUS LUCIUS, General of the Roman forces CORNELIUS, a physician A Roman Captain Two British Captains A Frenchman, friend to Philario Two Lords of Cymbeline's court Two Gentlemen of the same Two Jailers Queen, wife to Cymbeline IMOGEN, daughter to Cymbeline by a former queen HELEN, a lady attending on Imogen Lords, Ladies, Roman Senators, Tribunes, a Soothsayer, a Dutchman, a Spaniard, Musicians, Officers, Captains, Soldiers, Messengers, and other Attendants Apparitions SCENE: Britain. Rome |