By Jove?

I would like to begin by addressing the trope that I will refer to as the 'Chastity Test.' In other words, a scheme or plot that involves tricking a woman into revealing her true character. This trope seems to run through a number of Jacobean plays (The Changeling, The Widow's Tears, obviously Cymbeline, and even a bit in Philaster), but why is it so predominant in this period? Is it something we should be associating with the rise of Tragicomedy? Is Cymbeline unique in the way that a confederate (in this case Giacomo) is used to test the woman's (Innogen's) honesty and then reports falsely to the husband (Posthumus)?

I would also like to ask about the way that the 'deus ex machina' is dealt with in Cymeline. When Jupiter descends his entrance is preempted by the entrance of the dead ancestors of Posthumus. Is this meant to tap into the Roman cultural practice of ancestor worship? Why is that connected, in this case with an obvious reference to the Ancient Greek practice of 'deus ex machina'? Is Shakespeare mixing his classical metaphors or does 'deus ex machina' appear in Roman drama? Is Shakespeare taking a shot at Aristotle, who attacked the use of 'deus ex machina' in his Poetics?