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The First Lord
One of the two Lords who attend Cloten and give crucial information about his character. Unlike the First Lord, the Second Lord seems not to respect Cloten, making many snide remarks to the audience about Cloten and disputing Cloten’s interpretations of events. This lord supports Imogen’s decision not to marry Cloten and he comments on Cloten’s foul odor and foolishness. However, he pretends to be a dutiful attendant to Cloten’s face.
The Second Lord Quotes in Cymbeline
The Cymbeline quotes below are all either spoken by The Second Lord or refer to The Second Lord. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes
That such a crafty devil as is his mother
Should yield the world this ass! a woman that
Bears all down with her brain; and this her son
Cannot take two from twenty, for his heart
And leave eighteen. Alas, poor princess,
Thou divine Imogen, what thou endurest,
Betwixt a father by thy step-dame govern’d,
A mother hourly coining plots, a wooer
More hateful than the foul expulsion is
Of thy dear husband, than that horrid act
Of the divorce he’ld make! The heavens hold firm
The walls of thy dear honour, keep unshaked
That temple, thy fair mind, that thou mayst stand,
To enjoy thy banish’d lord and this great land!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After Cloten complains about his ill luck in gambling, the First Lord tries to cheer him up. Meanwhile the Second Lord, through a series of asides to the audience, criticizes Cloten’s behavior. Like the Queen, the Second Lord is two-faced: he shows deference to Cloten’s face, but tells the audience that he loathes Cloten. That the Queen and the Second Lord alike engage in this kind of deceit deepens Shakespeare’s exploration of deception—characters of all social ranks are capable of treachery, and outward displays of fidelity don’t mean a character is trustworthy. Furthermore, the Second Lord’s assessment of Cloten demonstrates Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostru
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The Second Lord Character Timeline in Cymbeline
The timeline below shows where the character The Second Lord appears in Cymbeline. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 2
...vast lands that Cloten already owns. In a series of comments to the audience, the Second Lord gives his take on the fight: Cloten didn’t strike Posthumus with his sword, and what’s...
(full context)
...fought in earnest, and he marvels that Imogen could ever chose Posthumus over him. The Second Lord interjects that if Cloten and Posthumus fought, Cloten would have ended up lying flat on...
(full context)
Act 2, Scene 1
...paid the man back by cracking his head with his bowl. In an aside, the Second Lord says that if the injured man had a mind like Cloten’s, he would have run...
(full context)
...with lower social status can fight as much as they like. In an aside, the Second Lord calls Cloten a chicken who’s all talk. Cloten asks him what he said, and the...
(full context)
...the new arrival, or if people would think less of him for doing so. The Second Lord answers that he couldn’t possibly lower people’s opinions of him, whispering that that they’re low...
(full context)
...on the bowls match. As soon as Cloten and the First Lord have left, the Second Lord berates Cloten, calling him an “ass.” He expresses his sorrow for Imogen, bemoaning how her...
(full context)
Act 2, Scene 3
The Second Lord spots Cymbeline and the Queen coming their way. Cymbeline asks if Cloten is still waiting...
(full context)
