‘The Contents o’th’ Story’: The Diana and Actaeon Myth in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline

ABSTRACT: Moving from the rich Ovidianism that characterizes Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and from the retrospective and ‘valedictory’ character of this late play, the aim of this essay is to explore how the Diana and Actaeon myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses serves to connect several motifs that are at the core of the drama: from sexual exposure and illicit viewing to matters of reading, writing, and publishing. As will be demonstrated, references to this myth also contribute to reinforcing the imagery of birth and of reunion that is so central in the final part of the play.