Belarius: The Exile Who Kept the Princes Safe
First appears: Act 3, Scene 3
Belarius was banished from Cymbeline's court on false charges of treason. In revenge, he stole the king's two infant sons, Guiderius and Arviragus, and raised them as his own in the Welsh hills.
He has lived there for twenty years, telling them stories of a corrupt court they have never seen. He calls himself Morgan. The boys have grown up brave and restless, with instincts for honour they cannot fully account for.
Shakespeare gives him a speech in Act 3 about how the forest life he was forced into became something he prefers: a quiet argument that exile can be clarifying rather than just punishing.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“How hard it is to hide the sparks of nature! These boys know little they are sons to the king;”
Belarius — Act 3, Scene 3
Themes
Other Characters in Cymbeline
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