Befitting the play’s status as one of Shakespeare’s later tragicomic works, Cymbeline is marked by an ambivalent tone that shifts rapidly between moments of intense drama or tragedy and lighter comedic scenes. The play’s emphasis on the bitter hardships, personal betrayals, and perilous trials experienced by its characters is, in some ways, characteristic of tragedy. However, these same characters often experience redemption, reconciliation, and moments of happiness, aligning the play with comedy. This dual nature of the characters' journeys contributes to the play’s ambiguity, making it challenging to categorize its overall tone.
Further, the ending of the play leaves a number of difficult questions unresolved, falling between the cheerful resolution of a comedy and the more somber conclusion of a tragic work. Iachimo, for example, serves as an antagonist for much of the play, driving a wedge between the newlyweds Posthumus and Imogen with results that almost lead to all of their deaths. At the end of the play, he claims to have seen the error of his ways and apologizes profusely to Imogen and Posthumus. Without consulting Imogen, who was most deeply injured by Iachimo’s actions, Posthumus forgives him, but with a significant caveat:
POSTHUMUS
Kneel not to me.
The power that I have on you is to spare you;
The malice towards you to forgive you. Live
And deal with others better.
CYMBELINE
Nobly doomed
Posthumus forgives him not out of affection but rather “malice.” In forgiving him, he proves himself Iachimo’s superior. Posthumus, Cymbeline notes, has “nobly doomed” his enemy. Here, as in a number of other subplots, the tensions between characters are not neatly resolved despite the largely “happy” ending, pointing to the possibility of future conflicts and highlighting the emotional ambiguity at the core of the play.
