The Winters Tale - William Shakespeare

The Winter’s Tale is one of Shakespeare’s Comedy (hovering on the brinks of tragedy) titles the meaning of which is not simple but complex and elusive. In it’s day the title would have related to a fantastic tale, especially a ghost story, so today we can only assume that we are in for an incredible story. First published in 1623 (seven years after Shakespeare’s death) although it was preformed many years in advance of this on stage at the Globe Theatre and it is known to have been seen on 15 May 1611 by Simon Forman. It is believed that this play was based on the Elizabethan Prose fiction called Pandosto by Richard Green which was first published in 1588 and ...

The Winter's Tale, like Shakespeare's other last plays, (Pericles, Cymbeline and The Tempest) is a "romance" (this term is misleading) written for indoor performance at the Blackfriars. First performed in 1611 and published in the First Folio of 1623, it deals with jealousy, loss, and reconciliation through "grace", as well as the nature/nuture debate. It makes use of, while going beyond, theatrical notions of spectacle, magic and implausible endings. "A sad tale's best for winter" The first act is tragic. Leontes, King of Sicilia, has played host for months to his childhood friend, Polixenes, King of Bohemia. ...