The Secret Marriage

“In the garden of King Cymbeline's palace in ancient Britain, two courtiers spoke in low voices.”

From Cymbeline, by William Shakespeare

This reader is drawn from Cymbeline, a play by William Shakespeare, first published in the early seventeenth century. The play tells the story of a secret marriage in ancient Britain, and the separation, trials, and reunion that follow. It explores themes of loyalty, honour, and the conflict between a parent's will and a child's heart. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. Shakespeare's plays remain at the heart of English literature because they show human nature with clarity, beauty, and enduring truth.

Band

Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11

Length

medium · about 840 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures

Source

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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