Shakespeare (Winter's Tale)

The Winter’s Tale was written by William Shakespeare in 1609 up through almost 1611. This was one of the last plays he wrote. The plot of the play was based off prose fiction. Prose fiction is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to everyday speech. The Winter’s Tale is a comedy and a tragedy mixed together also known as a romance or tragicomedy. All of the plays that Shakespeare wrote in this genre end happily. Although they end happily, each one highlights the danger and power of evil. The setting is quite ironic as the play is only in the winter time for the first three acts. The play takes place in Silicia and Bohemia. Silicia is an island off the coast of Italy, and Bohemia is an kingdom in present day Czech Republic. Shakespeare’s play was inaccurate because he has Bohemia have a coast where the ships are docked, but in real life Bohemia was surrounded by land. In the play the main character is Leontes. Leontes is the King of Sicilia and a close friend to the Bohemian King Polixenes. Also there is Leontes wife Hermione; the Queen of Sicilia, who is accused of cheating on her husband. Perdita is Leontes and Hermione’s daughter, who is believed to be illegitimate. King Polixenes is the one accused of being involved with Leontes wife even though he is a friend to Leontes. There are several themes in this play. Shakespeare would hide some of them, while others were quite obvious from within the play. One of the major themes is the comparisons of one’s sins against another’s. This leads to redemption. Jealousy is a theme that becomes deadly to Leontes and his wife. Also the fact that marriage should be based on love, not on one’s social standing. Lastly the fact that the king has all the power and that possibly his lower counterparts are smarter than the king himself.

In act I King Leontes is being visted by his childhood friend, and Bohemian King, Polixenes. Two noblemen from the two lords speak of the similarities and differences of the two. Their conversation ends well as they speak highly of Leontes son Mamillius. Leontes wife Hermione then enters as Polixenes is trying to convince Leontes that it is time for him to return to Bohemia. Leontes pleads but Polixenes doesn’t budge, then Hermione chimes in and request he stay longer, and then Polixenes agrees to stay longer. Soon after that his wife and Polixenes depart from him, and he feels jealousy, and mentions that they might be lovers. He then turns to look at his son to make sure he resembles himself. Leontes tells his lord; Camillo of his thoughts, and he is dumbfounded. Leontes orders Camillo to poison Polixenes at his first chance. Leontes soon leaves his lord, and as this happens Polixenes reenters and seeks the suspicious look on Camillo’s face and demands to know what is going on. Camillo tells him of Leontes plan, and the two soon flee the castle and head to Bohemia. The two lords in the beginning of the play lead the audience into the real action, Shakespeare did this normally. The beginning can be taken many different ways, one way is that Leontes jealousy does not become apparent till his wife’s request for the King’s stay, but some conversations hint otherwise.

Hermione and her son Mamillius are talking to each other, when they are abruptly interrupted by the King. Leontes had just found out about Polixenes and Camillo’s escape. Leontes claims that he had been right all along, and that his wife was pregnant with the Bohemian’s King son. He then orders her to be sent to jail. Many lords protest, the biggest one being Antigonus who pleads with him, but Leontes refuses. Paulina who is Antigonus’s wife attempts to see Hermione in jails but is stopped, but does here of the babies birth. Paulina decides to take the child to Leontes. Meanwhile, Maximllius becomes sick. When Paulina arrives Leontes is furious and demands that her husband take the child away and kill it. Leontes will power gets in the way of his thoughts and hurts his actions in this act. He says that “all’s true that is mistrusted,” this shows that he was truly paranoid. Unlike her husband, Hermione stays strong and take his actions for what they are and tells him that he is wrong.

Leontes lords return from the Oracle of Delphi to tell there findings. Before this though, Leontes had called a trial with himself being the judge. He charges her with guilt, and says that death is the only answer. She laughs and says that death would be better than what she was going through now. Then the lords arrive with the letter from the oracle, it reads that Hermione and Polixenes are innocent, and “Leontes a jealous tyrant, his innocent babe truly begotten, and the king shall live without an heir if that which is lost be not found.” Then Mamillus suddenly dies and also word that his wife had, and the King’s mistake abruptly starts to hurt him. Now in Bohemia, oblivious to any revelations, Antigonus names the baby Perdita. Antigonus lies the baby down, and surrounds it with gold and jewels then is suddenly killed by a bear as he walked off. A shepherd and his son then find the baby and its wealth. The men decide to keep the baby and raise I themselves. Sixteen years pass, and the scene returns to Polixenes’s castle where Camillo is begging to return to Sicily. He refuses, and then they discuss the whereabouts of his son Florizel who was never home because he spent so much time at a wealthy shepherd’s house. Right before the scene changes to sixteen years later marks the change in mood. This seeks the happy ending and the transformation of the play.

Polixenes and Camillo along with many others decide