The Winter's Tale

2025-09-05T20:42:01Z

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{{Short description|Play by Shakespeare}}
{{About|Shakespeare's play|other uses|Winter's Tale (disambiguation)}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
[[File:John Opie - Winter's Tale, Act II. Scene III.jpg|300px|thumb|Act II, scene III: Antigonus swears his loyalty to Leontes, in an attempt to save Leontes' young daughter's life. From a painting by [[John Opie]] commissioned by the [[Boydell Shakespeare Gallery]] for printing and display.]]

'''''The Winter's Tale''''' is a play by [[William Shakespeare]] originally published in the [[First Folio]] of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies,<ref>''WT'' comes last, following ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' which uncharacteristically ends with a blank recto page, suggesting to Arden editor J.H.P. Pafford there was some hesitation as to where ''WT'' belonged at the time of printing the Folio. (J.H.P. Pafford, ed. ''The Winter's Tale'' (Arden Shakespeare) 3rd ed. 1933:xv–xvii.)</ref> many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of [[Shakespeare's late romances]]. Some critics consider it to be one of Shakespeare's "[[Shakespearean problem play|problem plays]]" because the first three acts are filled with intense [[psychological]] drama, while the last two acts are comic and supply a [[happy ending]].<ref>William W. Lawrence, ''Shakespeare's Problem Comedies'', New York, Macmillan, 1931; pp. 9–13
.</ref>

The play has been intermittently popular, having been revived in productions and adaptations by some of the leading theatre practitioners in [[Shakespeare's plays#Performance history|Shakespearean performance history]]. In the mid-18th century, after a long interval without major performances, [[David Garrick]] premiered his adaptation ''Florizel and Perdita'' (first performed in 1753 and published in 1756). ''The Winter's Tale'' was revived again in the 19th century, when the fourth "[[pastoral]]" act was widely popular. In the second half of the 20th century, ''The Winter's Tale'' was often performed in its entirety, drawn largely from the First Folio text, with varying degrees of success.

== Characters ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
''Sicilia''
* [[Leontes]] – The King of [[Sicily]], and the childhood friend of Polixenes, King of [[Bohemia]].
* Hermione – The virtuous and beautiful Queen of Sicily.
* Camillo – An honest Sicilian nobleman.
* Paulina – A noblewoman of Sicily.
* Antigonus – Paulina's husband, and also a loyal friend of Hermione.
* Dion – A Lord of Sicily.
* Cleomenes – A Lord of Sicily.
* Mamillius – The young prince of Sicily, Leontes and Hermione's son.
* Emilia – One of Hermione's ladies-in-waiting.
* Gaoler – Charged with imprisoning Hermione.
* Mariner – His ship takes Antigonus to Bohemia.
{{col-2}}

''Bohemia''
* Polixenes – The King of [[Bohemia]], and Leontes's childhood friend.
* [[Florizel (The Winter's Tale)|Florizel]] – Polixenes's only son and heir.
* [[Perdita (The Winter's Tale)|Perdita]] – The daughter of Leontes and Hermione, unaware of her royal lineage.
* Shepherd – An old and honourable sheep-tender.
* Clown – or Young Shepherd, the Old Shepherd's buffoonish son, and Perdita's adoptive brother.
* Autolycus – A roguish peddler, vagabond, and pickpocket.
* Mopsa – A shepherdess, in love with Young Shepherd.
* Dorcas – A shepherdess, in love with Young Shepherd.

''Other Characters''
* Archidamus – A lord of Bohemia, visiting Sicily with his king.
* Lords, servants, gentlemen, ladies in Sicilia
* Shepherds, shepherdesses, servants in Bohemia
{{col-end}}

== Synopsis ==
[[File:Wageman - Fawcett as Autolycus.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Fawcett (actor)|John Fawcett]] as Autolycus in ''The Winter's Tale'' (1828) by [[Thomas Charles Wageman]]]]
[[File:Pauline Implores Leontes.jpg|thumb|An ink drawing of Act II, Scene III: Paulina imploring Leontes to have mercy on his daughter, Perdita. Illustration was designed for an edition of Lamb's Tales, copyrighted 1918.]]

Following a brief introductory scene, the play begins with the appearance of two childhood friends: Leontes, King of [[Sicily]], and Polixenes, the King of [[Bohemia]]. Polixenes is visiting the [[kingdom of Sicily]], and is enjoying catching up with his old friend. However, after nine months, Polixenes yearns to return to his own kingdom to tend to affairs and see his son. Leontes cannot persuade Polixenes to stay longer, so he decides to send his wife, Queen Hermione, to try to convince him. Hermione agrees and with three short speeches is successful. Leontes is surprised that Hermione could convince Polixenes so easily, so he begins to suspect that his pregnant wife has been having an affair with the other king. Leontes orders Camillo, a Sicilian lord, to poison Polixenes. Camillo instead warns Polixenes and they both flee to Bohemia.

Furious at their escape, Leontes publicly accuses his wife of infidelity and declares that the child she is bearing must be Polixenes' bastard. He throws her in prison, over the protests of his nobles, and sends two of his lords, Cleomenes and Dion, to the Oracle at Delphos for confirmation of his suspicions. Meanwhile, the queen gives birth to a girl, and her loyal friend Paulina takes the baby to the king, hoping that the sight of the child will soften his heart. He grows angrier, however, and orders Paulina's husband, Lord Antigonus, to take the child and [[Infant exposure|abandon it in a desolate place]]. Cleomenes and Dion return from Delphos with word from the Oracle and find Hermione on trial, asserting her innocence. The Oracle states categorically that Hermione and Polixenes are innocent, that Camillo is an honest man, and that Leontes will have no heir until his lost daughter is found. Leontes refuses to believe the oracle, but soon learns that his son Mamillius has died of a wasting sickness brought on by the accusations against his mother. At this, Hermione falls in a swoon and is carried away by Paulina, who subsequently reports the queen's death to her heartbroken and repentant husband. Leontes vows to spend the rest of his days atoning for the loss of his son, his abandoned daughter, and his queen.

Antigonus, meanwhile, abandons the baby on the coast of Bohemia, reporting that Hermione appeared to him in a dream and bade him name the girl Perdita. He leaves a fardel (a bundle) by the baby containing gold and other trinkets to suggest that the baby is of noble blood. A violent storm suddenly appears, wrecking the ship on which Antigonus arrived. He wishes to take pity on the child, but he is chased away in one of Shakespeare's most famous stage directions: "Exit, pursued by a bear." Perdita is rescued by a shepherd and his son, also known as "Clown".

[[File:Florizel and Perdita.jpg|thumb|240px|An engraving of Florizel and Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie.]]
"Time" enters and announces the passage of sixteen years. Camillo, now in the service of Polixenes, begs the Bohemian king to allow him to return to Sicily. Polixenes refuses and reports to Camillo that his son, Prince Florizel, has fallen in love with a lowly shepherd girl, Perdita. He suggests to Camillo that they disguise themselves and attend the sheep-shearing feast where Florizel and Perdita will be betrothed. At the feast, hosted by the Old Shepherd (who has prospered thanks to the gold in the fardel), the pedlar Autolycus picks the pocket of the Young Shepherd and, in various guises, entertains the guests with bawdy songs and the trinkets he sells. Polixenes and Camillo watch, disguised, as Florizel (under the guise of a shepherd named Doricles) and Perdita are betrothed. Polixenes tears off his disguise and intervenes, threatening the Old Shepherd and Perdita with torture and death and ordering his son never to see the shepherd's daughter again. Camillo, still longing for his native land, schemes to send Florizel and Perdita to Sicily, so that Polixenes will bring him along when he pursues them. The lovers take ship for Sicily, as do the two shepherds and Autolycus.

In Sicily, Leontes is still in mourning. Cleomenes and Dion plead with him to end his time of repentance because the kingdom needs an heir. Paulina, however, convinces the king to remain unmarried forever, since no woman can match the greatness of his lost Hermione. Florizel and Perdita arrive and are greeted effusively by Leontes. Florizel pretends to be on a diplomatic mission from his father, but his cover is blown when Polixenes and Camillo, too, arrive in Sicilia. The meeting and reconciliation of the kings and princes is reported by gentlemen of the Sicilian court: how the Old Shepherd raised Perdita, how Antigonus met his end, how Leontes was overjoyed at being reunited with his daughter, and how he begged Polixenes for forgiveness. The Old Shepherd and Young Shepherd, now made gentlemen by the kings, meet Autolycus, who asks them for their forgiveness for his roguery. Leontes, Polixenes, Camillo, Florizel and Perdita then go to Paulina's house in the country, where a statue of Hermione has been recently finished. The sight of his wife's form makes Leontes distraught, but then, to everyone's amazement, the statue shows signs of vitality: it is Hermione, miraculously restored to life—or simply having lived in seclusion with Paulina for the last sixteen years. As the play ends, Perdita and Florizel are engaged, and the whole company celebrates the miracle. Despite this happy ending typical of Shakespeare's comedies and romances, the impression of the unjust death of young prince Mamillius lingers to the end, which, combined with the years wasted in separation, brings an element of unredeemed tragedy to the play.

== Sources ==
[[File:Leslie - Autolycus.jpg|thumb|left|300px|''[[Autolycus (painting)|Autolycus]]'' (1836) by [[Charles Robert Leslie]]]]

The main plot of ''The Winter's Tale'' is taken from [[Robert Greene (16th century)|Robert Greene]]'s [[pastoral]] [[romance (heroic literature)|romance]] ''[[Pandosto]]'', published in 1588. Shakespeare's changes to the plot are uncharacteristically slight, especially in light of the romance's undramatic nature, and Shakespeare's fidelity to it gives ''The Winter's Tale'' its most distinctive feature: the sixteen-year gap between the third and fourth acts. This distinctive feature violates the [[Classical unities|Classical Unities]], a set of principles for dramatic tragedies that was introduced in 16th-century Italy based on the work of [[Aristotle]].

There are changes in names, places, and minor plot details, but the largest changes lie in the survival and reconciliation of Hermione and Leontes (Greene's Pandosto) at the end of the play. The character equivalent to Hermione in ''Pandosto'' dies after being accused of adultery, while Leontes' equivalent looks back upon his deeds (including an incestuous fondness for his daughter) and slays himself. The survival of Hermione, while presumably intended to create the last scene's [[wikt: coup de théâtre|coup de théâtre]] involving the statue, creates a distinctive thematic divergence from ''Pandosto''. Greene follows the usual [[ethos]] of Hellenistic romance, in which the return of a lost prince or princess restores order and provides a sense of humour and closure that evokes [[Divine Providence|Providence]]'s control. Shakespeare, by contrast, sets in the foreground the restoration of the older, indeed aged, generation, in the reunion of Leontes and Hermione. Leontes not only lives, but seems to insist on the happy ending of the play.

It has been suggested that the use of a pastoral romance from the 1590s indicates that at the end of his career, Shakespeare felt a renewed interest in the dramatic contexts of his youth. Minor influences also suggest such an interest. As in ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre|Pericles]]'', he uses a [[Greek chorus|chorus]] to advance the action in the manner of the naive dramatic tradition; the use of a bear in the scene on the Bohemian seashore is almost certainly indebted to ''[[Mucedorus]]'',<ref>C. F. Tucker Brooke, ''The Shakespeare Apocrypha'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908; pp. 103–126.</ref> a chivalric romance revived at court around 1610.

[[File:Scene from 'The Winter's Tale' (Act IV, Scene 4) (from the play by William Shakespeare) Augustus Leopold Egg (1816–1863) Guildhall Art Gallery.jpg|thumb|''Scene from 'The Winter's Tale' (Act IV, Scene 4) (from the play by William Shakespeare)'', [[Augustus Leopold Egg]] (1845)]][[Eric Ives]], the biographer of [[Anne Boleyn]] (1986),<ref>Ives, ''The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn'' 2004:421: in spite of other scholars' rejection of any parallels between Henry VIII and Leontes, asserts "the parallels are there", noting his article "Shakespeare and History: divergencies and agreements", in ''Shakespeare Survey'' '''38''' (1985:19–35), p 24f.</ref> believes that the play is meant to parallel the fall of that queen, who was beheaded on false charges of [[adultery]] on the orders of her husband [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] in 1536. There are numerous parallels between the two stories – including the fact that one of Henry's closest friends, [[Henry Norris (courtier)|Sir Henry Norreys]], was beheaded as one of Anne's supposed lovers and refused to confess in order to save his life, claiming that everyone knew the Queen was innocent. If this theory is followed, then [[Perdita (The Winter's Tale)|Perdita]] becomes a dramatic representation of Anne's only daughter, Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]].

== Date and text ==
[[File:Second Folio Title Page of The Winter's Tale.jpg|thumb|The first page of ''The VVinters Tale'', printed in the Second Folio of 1632]]
The play was not published until the [[First Folio]] of 1623. In spite of tentative early datings (see below), most critics believe the play is one of Shakespeare's later works, possibly written in 1610 or 1611.<ref>F. E. Halliday, ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964,'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 532.</ref> A 1611 date is suggested by an apparent connection with [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[Oberon, the Faery Prince|Masque of Oberon]]'', performed at Court 1 January 1611, in which appears a dance of ten or twelve satyrs; ''The Winter's Tale'' includes a dance of twelve men costumed as satyrs, and the servant announcing their entry says "one three of them, by their own report, sir, hath danc'd before the King." (IV.iv.337–338). [[Arden Shakespeare]] editor [[John Henry Pyle Pafford|J.H.P. Pafford]] found that "the language, style, and spirit of the play all point to a late date. The tangled speech, the packed sentences, speeches which begin and end in the middle of a line, and the high percentage of light and weak endings are all marks of Shakespeare's writing at the end of his career. But of more importance than a verse test is the similarity of the last plays in spirit and themes."<ref>Pafford, J.H.P., ed. "Introduction", ''The Winter's Tale'' [[Arden Shakespeare]] 2nd. series (1963, 1999), xxiii.</ref>

In the late 18th century, Edmond Malone suggested that a "book" listed in the ''[[Stationers' Register]]'' on 22 May 1594, under the title "a Wynters nightes pastime", might have been Shakespeare's, though no copy of it is known.<ref>Malone, Edmond. "An Attempt to Ascertain the Order in which the Plays Attributed to Shakspeare Were Written," ''The Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare in Ten Volumes''. Eds. Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. 2nd ed. London, 1778, Vol. I: 269–346; 285.</ref> In 1933, Dr. Samuel A. Tannenbaum wrote that Malone subsequently "seems to have assigned it to 1604; later still, to 1613; and finally he settled on 1610–11. [[Joseph Hunter (antiquarian)|Hunter]] assigned it to about 1605."<ref>Tannenbaum, "The Forman Notes", ''Shakespearean Scraps'', 1933</ref>

==Analysis and criticism==

=== Title of the play ===
A play called "The Winter's Tale" would immediately indicate to contemporary audiences that the work would present an "idle tale", an [[old wives' tale]] not intended to be realistic, and that it would offer the promise of a happy ending. The title may have been inspired by [[George Peele]]'s play ''[[The Old Wives' Tale (play)|The Old Wives' Tale]]'' of 1590, in which a storyteller tells "a merry winter's tale" of a missing daughter.<ref>John Olde (one of the translators of [[The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the newe testamente|Udall's New Testament]]) in 1556: "olde wiues fables and winter tales". Cited in {{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|edition=2nd|year=1989|chapter=winter, 5a|title-link=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bate|first1=Jonathan|author-link1=Jonathan Bate|last2=Rasmussen|first2=Eric|title=Complete Works|year=2007|publisher=Macmillan|location=London|page=698|isbn=978-0-230-00350-7}}</ref> Early in ''The Winter's Tale'', the royal heir, Mamillius, warns that "a sad tale's best for winter".<ref>Act 2 scene 1</ref> His mother is soon put on trial for treason and adultery{{snd}}and his death is announced seconds after she is shown to have been faithful and Leontes's accusations unfounded.

=== Debates ===
[[File:Perdita Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''Perdita'' by [[Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys]]]]
[[File:Statue Hermione comes back to life.jpg|thumb|left|A mid-19th-century painting of the statue of Hermione coming to life]]

==== The statue ====

While the language Paulina uses in the final scene evokes the sense of a magical ritual through which Hermione is brought back to life, there are several passages which suggest a far likelier case – that Hermione simply fainted, rather than died, at her trial in Act III, and that Paulina hid her at a remote location to protect her from Leontes' wrath and that the re-animation of Hermione does not derive from any magic. The Steward announces that the members of the court have gone to Paulina's dwelling to see the statue; Rogero offers this exposition: "I thought she had some great matter there in hand, for she [Paulina] hath privately twice or thrice a day, ever since the death of Hermione, visited that removed house" (5.2. 102–105). Further, Leontes is surprised that the statue is "so much wrinkled", unlike the Hermione he remembers. Paulina answers his concern by claiming that the age-progression attests to the "carver's excellence", which makes her look "as [if] she lived now". Hermione later asserts that her desire to see her daughter allowed her to endure 16 years of separation: "thou shalt hear that I, / Knowing by Paulina that the oracle / Gave hope thou wast in being, have preserved / Myself to see the issue" (5.3.126–129).

However, the action of 3.2 calls into question the "rational" explanation that Hermione was spirited away and sequestered for 16 years. Hermione swoons upon the news of Mamillius' death, and is rushed from the room. Paulina returns after a short monologue from Leontes, bearing the news of Hermione's death. After some discussion, Leontes demands to be led toward the bodies of his wife and son: "Prithee, bring me / To the dead bodies of my queen and son: / One grave shall be for both: upon them shall / The causes of their death appear, unto / Our shame perpetual" (3.2). Paulina seems convinced of Hermione's death, and Leontes' order to visit both bodies and see them interred is never called into question by later events in the play.

==== The seacoast of Bohemia ====
[[File:Gelett Burgess - Map of Bohemia 1896.jpg|thumb|A fanciful 1896 map by [[Gelett Burgess]] showing Bohemia's seacoast]]
Shakespeare's fellow playwright [[Ben Jonson]] ridiculed the presence in the play of a seacoast and a desert in Bohemia, since the landlocked [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] (corresponding to the western part of the modern-day [[Czech Republic]]) had neither a coast nor a desert.<ref name=wylie>{{cite book |title=The Winter's Tale |editor-last= Wylie|editor-first=Laura J. |year=1912 |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York |oclc=2365500 |page=147 |quote=Shakespeare follows Greene in giving Bohemia a seacoast, an error that has provoked the discussion of critics from Ben Jonson on.}}</ref><ref>Ben Jonson, 'Conversations with Drummond of Hawthornden', in Herford and Simpson, ed. ''Ben Jonson'', vol. 1, p. 139.</ref> Shakespeare followed his source (Robert Greene's ''Pandosto'') in giving Bohemia a coast, though he reversed the location of characters and events: "The part of Pandosto of Bohemia is taken by Leontes of Sicily, that of Egistus of Sicily by Polixenes of Bohemia".<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/dorastusfawnia00thomuoft/dorastusfawnia00thomuoft_djvu.txt Greene's 'Pandosto' or 'Dorastus and Fawnia': being the original of Shakespeare's 'Winter's tale'], P. G. Thomas, editor. Oxford University Press, 1907</ref> In support of Greene and Shakespeare, it has been pointed out that for a brief period in the 13th century, the territories ruled by [[Ottokar II of Bohemia]] did stretch to the Adriatic, even though Bohemia strictly speaking did not; so that if one takes "Bohemia" to mean all of the territories ruled by Ottokar II, it would have been possible to sail from Sicily to the "seacoast of Bohemia".<ref>See [[John Henry Pyle Pafford|J. H. Pafford]], ed. ''The Winter's Tale'', Arden Edition, 1962, p. 66</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fermor|first=Patrick|title=A Time of Gifts|publisher=John Murray|year=1977|isbn=0719566959|location=London|pages=258}}</ref> Jonathan Bate offers the simple explanation that the court of [[James VI and I|King James]] was politically allied with that of [[Rudolf II]], and the characters and dramatic roles of the rulers of Sicily and Bohemia were reversed for reasons of political sensitivity, and in particular to allow it to be performed at the wedding of the Princess Elizabeth.<ref name="bate2008">{{cite book|last=Bate|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Bate|title=Soul of the Age|publisher=Viking|location=London|year=2008|page=305|chapter=Shakespeare and Jacobean Geopolitics|isbn=978-0-670-91482-1}}</ref>

In 1891, [[Edmund Oscar von Lippmann]] pointed out that "Bohemia" was also a rare name for [[Apulia]] in southern Italy.<ref>Edmund O. von Lippmann, 'Shakespeare's Ignorance?', ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=1dxAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA250 New Review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408122954/https://books.google.com/books?id=1dxAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA250 |date=8 April 2023 }}'' 4 (1891), 250–254.</ref> More influential was [[Thomas Hanmer]]'s 1744 argument that Bohemia is a printed error for [[Bithynia]], an ancient nation in [[Asia Minor]];<ref>Thomas Hanmer, ''The Works of Shakespeare'' (Oxford, 1743–44), vol. 2.</ref> this theory was adopted in [[Charles Kean]]'s influential 19th-century production of the play, which featured a resplendent Bithynian court. At the time of the medieval Kingdom of Sicily, however, Bithynia was long extinct and its territories were controlled by the Byzantine Empire. On the other hand, the play alludes to Hellenistic antiquity (e.g. the Oracle of Delphos, the names of the kings), so that the "Kingdom of Sicily" may refer to Greek Sicily, not to the Kingdom of Sicily of later medieval times. This is irreconcilably contradicted by Hermione's identity as a princess of Russia, a country that did not exist in the classical period.

The [[pastoral]] genre is not known for precise verisimilitude, and, like the assortment of mixed references to ancient religion and contemporary religious figures and customs, this possible inaccuracy may have been included to underscore the play's fantastical and chimeric quality. As [[Andrew Gurr]] puts it, Bohemia may have been given a seacoast "to flout geographical realism, and to underline the unreality of place in the play".<ref>Andrew Gurr, 'The Bear, the Statue, and Hysteria in ''The Winter's Tale'', ''Shakespeare Quarterly 34'' (1983), p. 422.</ref>

A theory explaining the existence of the seacoast in Bohemia offered by [[C. H. Herford]] is suggested in Shakespeare's chosen title of the play. A winter's tale is something associated with parents telling children stories of legends around a fireside: by using this title, it implies to the audience that these details should not be taken too seriously.<ref>See C.H. Herford, ed. ''The Winter's Tale'', The Warwick Shakespeare edition, p.xv.</ref>

[[John A. Pitcher]] argues in the [[Arden Shakespeare]] Third Series edition (2010) that the coast of Bohemia is intended as a [[joke]], akin to jokes about a "[[Swiss Navy]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=1927-04-01 |title=Swiss Navy Joke Vanishing As This All-Fools' Day Dawns |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/04/01/archives/swiss-navy-joke-vanishing-as-this-allfools-day-dawns.html |access-date=2023-02-16 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=23 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223020759/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/04/01/archives/swiss-navy-joke-vanishing-as-this-allfools-day-dawns.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the novel ''[[Prince Otto]]'' by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] reference is made to the land of Seaboard Bohemia in the context of an obvious parody of Shakespeare's apparent liberties with geography in the play.

====The Isle of Delphos====
Likewise, Shakespeare's apparent mistake of placing the [[Oracle of Delphi]] on a small island has been used as evidence of Shakespeare's limited education. However, Shakespeare again copied this locale directly from ''Pandosto''. Moreover, the erudite Robert Greene was not in error, as the Isle of Delphos does not refer to Delphi, but to the [[Cyclades|Cycladic]] island of [[Delos]], the mythical birthplace of Apollo, which from the 15th to the late 17th century in England was known as "Delphos".<ref>Terence Spencer, ''Shakespeare's Isle of Delphos'', The Modern Language Review, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Apr., 1952), pp. 199–202.</ref> Greene's source for an Apollonian oracle on this island likely was the ''[[Aeneid]]'', in which [[Virgil]] wrote that [[Priam]] consulted the Oracle of Delos before the outbreak of the Trojan War and that [[Aeneas]] after escaping from Troy consulted the same Delian oracle regarding his future.<ref>Virgil, Aeneid, In. 73–101</ref>

==== The bear ====
[[File:Antigonus chased by a bear.jpg|thumb|An 1807 print of Act III, Scene III: Exit Antigonus chased by a bear.]]

The play contains the most famous of Shakespearean stage directions: ''Exit, pursued by a bear'', presaging the offstage death of Antigonus. It is not known whether Shakespeare used a real bear from the [[Bear-baiting#Bear-baiting in England|London bear-pits]]<ref>The main bear-garden in London was the [[Paris Garden]] at [[Southwark]], near the Globe Theatre.</ref> or an actor in bear costume. The [[Admiral's Men]], the rival playing company to the Lord Chamberlain's Men during the 1590s, are reported to have possessed "j beares skyne" among their stage properties in a surviving inventory dated March 1598. Perhaps a similar prop was later used by Shakespeare's company.

== Performance history ==
[[File:Mrs. Mattocks as Hermione.jpg|thumb|A depiction of Mrs. Mattocks as Hermione, from a 1779 performance at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane]]

===Shakespeare's day to the Restoration===
The earliest recorded performance of the play was reported by [[Simon Forman]], the Elizabethan "figure caster" or astrologer, who noted in his journal on 11 May 1611 that he saw ''The Winter's Tale'' at the [[Globe Theatre|Globe playhouse]]. The play was then performed in front of King James at Court on 5 November 1611. The play was also acted at [[Whitehall Palace|Whitehall]] during the festivities preceding [[Elizabeth of Bohemia|Princess Elizabeth's]] marriage to [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]], on 14 February 1613. Later Court performances occurred on 7 April 1618, 18 January 1623 and 16 January 1634.<ref>All dates [[Old Style and New Style dates|new style]].</ref> It was not revived during the [[English Restoration|Restoration]], unlike many other Shakespearean plays.

===18th and 19th century===
''The Winter's Tale'' was performed in 1741 at [[Goodman's Fields Theatre]] and in 1742 at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]]. Adaptations, titled ''The Sheep-Shearing'' and ''Florizal and Perdita'', were acted at Covent Garden in 1754 and at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]] in 1756.<ref>Halliday, pp. 532–533.</ref> Notable stagings in the 19th century included those featuring [[John Philip Kemble]] in 1811, [[Samuel Phelps]] in 1845 and [[Charles Kean]] in an 1856 production that was famous for its elaborate sets and costumes. [[Johnston Forbes-Robertson]] played Leontes memorably in 1887.

===20th century===
[[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]] took on the role of Leontes in 1906. The longest-running Broadway production<ref>Four previous productions in New York, the earliest that of 1795 are noted in the [http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=9410 Internet Broasdway Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023052025/http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=9410 |date=23 October 2012 }}; ''The Winter's Tale'' has not played on Broadway since 1946.</ref> starred [[Henry Daniell]] and [[Jessie Royce Landis]] and ran for 39 performances in 1946. One of the best remembered modern productions was staged by [[Peter Brook]] in London in 1951 and starred [[John Gielgud]] as Leontes. In the Guthrie Theater's 1976-1977 season, [[Michael Langham]] directed a Minneapolis production with Ken Ruta as Leontes and Helen Carey as Hermione; also featuring [[Barbara Bryne]], Tony Mockus, [[Mark Lamos]] and Oliver Cliff.<ref>Langham and Winter's Tale': Identity by Richard Eder Special to The New York Times, Dec. 11, 1976</ref> In 1980, [[David Jones (director)|David Jones]], a former associate artistic director of the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]], chose to launch his new theatre company at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] (BAM) with ''The Winter's Tale'' starring Brian Murray supported by Jones' new company at BAM<ref>"Brooklyn Bets on Rep", T. E. Kalem, ''Time'', 3 March 1980</ref> In 1983, the [[Riverside Shakespeare Company]] mounted a production based on the [[First Folio]] text at [[The Shakespeare Center]] in Manhattan. In 1993 [[Adrian Noble]] won a Globe Award for Best Director for his [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] adaptation, which then was successfully brought to the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] in 1994.<ref>"Critics Notebook", Ben Brantley, ''The New York Times'', 22 April 1994.</ref> In 1997, a production at [[Boise State University]] was directed by Gordon Reinhart and starred Ira Amyx, James B. Fisk, Richard Klautsch and [[Randy Davison]] as Polixenes.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1997 |title=Boise State University Department of Theatre Arts: The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare |url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1183&context=theatre_programs |journal=[[Boise State University]] |access-date=23 September 2023 |archive-date=17 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017163515/https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1183&context=theatre_programs |url-status=live }}</ref>

===21st century===
In 2009, four separate productions were staged. [[Sam Mendes]] inaugurated his transatlantic "Bridge Project" directing ''The Winter's Tale'' with a cast featuring [[Simon Russell Beale]] (Leontes), [[Rebecca Hall]] (Hermione), [[Ethan Hawke]] (Autolycus), [[Sinéad Cusack]] (Paulina), and [[Morven Christie]] (Perdita). The [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] mounted the show.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rsc.org.uk/WhatsOn/7291.aspx |title=RSC listing |publisher=Rsc.org.uk |access-date=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928040838/http://www.rsc.org.uk/WhatsOn/7291.aspx |archive-date=28 September 2008}}</ref> [[Theatre Delicatessen]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Francesca Whiting |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/24199/the-winters-tale |title=The Stage review of [Theatre Delicatessen]'s ''The Winter's Tale'' |publisher=Thestage.co.uk |date=2009-04-23 |access-date=2012-01-05 |archive-date=12 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612064615/http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/24199/the-winters-tale |url-status=dead }}</ref> also staged productions of ''The Winter's Tale'' in 2009. The play is in the repertory of the Stratford Festival of Canada and was seen at the [[New York Shakespeare Festival]], Central Park, in 2010. Last, the [[Hudson Shakespeare Company]] of New Jersey presented a production as part of their annual [[Shakespeare in the Park]]s series, set in central Europe during the early 1900s era of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] but with a decidedly diverse cast. African American actors Tony White played Leontes, Deirdre Ann Johnson played Hermione, and Monica Jones in a dual role of Mamillius and Perdita. Angela Liao appeared as Paulina.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hudson Shakespeare Company Returns|url=http://www.hudsonshakespeare.org/Articles/2009articles/winterstalepreviewconnpost.html|newspaper=The Connecticut Post|date=26 June 2009|access-date=18 August 2014|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819102727/http://www.hudsonshakespeare.org/Articles/2009articles/winterstalepreviewconnpost.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, the RSC staged a new production directed by [[Lucy Bailey (director)|Lucy Bailey]], starring [[Jo Stone-Fewings]] as Leontes and [[Tara Fitzgerald]] as Hermione.<ref name="rsc_winter's tale">{{cite web|title=Tara Fitzgerald To Make RSC Debut in Lucy Bailey's The Winter's Tale|url=http://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/press/releases/the-winters-tale-casting.aspx|publisher=Royal Shakespear Company|access-date=20 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520041001/http://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/press/releases/the-winters-tale-casting.aspx|archive-date=20 May 2014}}</ref> This production premiered at the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]] on 24 January 2013.<ref name="rsc_winter's tale" />

In 2015, the Kenneth Branagh Production company staged the play at the Garrick Theatre, with simultaneous broadcast to cinemas. The production featured [[Kenneth Branagh]] as Leontes, [[Judi Dench]] as Paulina, and [[Miranda Raison]] as Hermione.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/nov/08/the-winters-tale-review-kenneth-branagh-and-judi-dench-garrick|title=The Winter's Tale review – Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench offer intriguing touches|last=Billington|first=Michael|date=2015-11-08|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-07-01|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710214952/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/nov/08/the-winters-tale-review-kenneth-branagh-and-judi-dench-garrick|url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, [[Cheek by Jowl]] staged the play, directed by [[Declan Donnellan]] and designed by [[Nick Ormerod]]. The production toured globally, including to France, Spain, the US and Russia, and was livestreamed around the world in a partnership with the BBC and Riverside Studios.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://archive.cheekbyjowl.com/the-winters-tale/ | title=The Winter's Tale | access-date=24 October 2017 | archive-date=24 October 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024205251/http://archive.cheekbyjowl.com/the-winters-tale/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2017, [[The Public Theatre]] Mobile Unit staged the play, directed by [[Lee Sunday Evans]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mobile Unit: The Winter's Tale|url=https://www.publictheater.org/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/17-18-Season/Mobile-Unit-The-Winters-Tale/|publisher=The Public Theatre|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-date=26 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426011855/https://www.publictheater.org/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/17-18-Season/Mobile-Unit-The-Winters-Tale/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, [[Theatre for a New Audience]] staged the play Off-Broadway, directed by [[Arin Arbus]] with Kelley Curran as Hermione and Anatol Yusef as Leontes.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.playbill.com/article/theatre-for-a-new-audiences-the-winters-tale-begins-off-broadway| title=Theatre for a New Audience's the Winter's Tale Begins Off-Broadway| date=2018-03-13| access-date=23 March 2018| archive-date=23 March 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323155406/http://www.playbill.com/article/theatre-for-a-new-audiences-the-winters-tale-begins-off-broadway| url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, the play was also performed at [[Shakespeare's Globe]], in London.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Akbar |first1=Arifa |title=The Winter's Tale review – Blanche McIntyre celebrates the play's problems |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jun/28/the-winters-tale-review-shakespeares-globe-blanche-mcintyre |access-date=13 May 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 June 2018}}</ref> The Globe staged it again in 2023, in a production where the audience walked between the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (where the Sicilian scenes were staged) and the main Globe Theatre (where the Bohemian scenes were staged).<ref name="walking_globe_show">{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Anya |title='The Winter's Tale' review |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/the-winters-tale-review-1 |access-date=13 May 2024 |work=TimeOut |date=23 February 2023 |location=London}}</ref>

Also in 2023, Empty Space Productions and The University of New England staged a production in Armidale, Australia.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://www.foundregional.com.au/found-online/the-winters-tale-theatre-production-empty-space-productions-armidale-nsw | title= The Winter's Tale | access-date= 24 October 2023 | archive-date= 22 October 2023 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231022112749/https://www.foundregional.com.au/found-online/the-winters-tale-theatre-production-empty-space-productions-armidale-nsw | url-status= live }}</ref> The [[Folger Theatre]] in Washington, DC staged a production directed by Tamilla Wodard that fall as the first play shown in the Theatre after its multi-year, multimillion-dollar renovation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Floyd |first1=Thomas |title=Folger Theatre embraces a new era with 'The Winter's Tale' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2023/11/14/folger-theatre-reopening-winters-tale/ |access-date=13 May 2024 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=14 November 2023}}</ref>

The play was performed at Boston's "Shakespeare on the Common" for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company in July and August, 2024, and was directed by Bryn Boice.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

The play was part of the 2025 season of the [[Stratford Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Winter's Tale |url=https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/WhatsOn/PlaysAndEvents/Production/The-Winters-Tale |website=Stratford Festival |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref>

In 2025, the American Players Theatre, a regional company based in Spring Green, WI, staged "The Winter's Tale" during its 2025 season.

== Adaptations ==
{{Main|List of William Shakespeare screen adaptations#The Winter's Tale}}

There have been numerous film versions, including a [[The Winter's Tale (1910 film)|1910 silent film]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131137/ |title=''{{!}}The Winter's Tale'' (1910) |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=29 June 2018 |archive-date=9 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209143551/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131137/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a 1961 television film starring [[Robert Shaw (actor)|Robert Shaw]], and a [[The Winter's Tale (1967 film)|1967 version]] starring [[Laurence Harvey]] as Leontes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063820/ |title=''The Winter's Tale'' (1968) |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=29 June 2018 |archive-date=8 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208225352/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063820/ |url-status=live }}</ref> An "orthodox" [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] production was televised in 1981. It was produced by [[Jonathan Miller]], directed by [[Jane Howell]] and starred [[Robert Stephens]] as Polixenes and [[Jeremy Kemp]] as Leontes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081761/fullcredits|title=The Winter's Tale (1981, TV)|publisher=IMDB|access-date=22 January 2010|archive-date=9 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309024336/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081761/fullcredits|url-status=live}}</ref>

Choreographer [[Christopher Wheeldon]] created a [[The Winter's Tale (ballet)|full-length ballet]], with music by [[Joby Talbot]], based on the play. The ballet is a co-production between [[The Royal Ballet]] and [[National Ballet of Canada]], and premiered in [[Royal Opera House]] in London in 2014.<ref name="jennings_winter's-tale">{{cite news|last1=Jennings|first1=Luke|title=The Winter's Tale review – 'a ballet to keep'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/13/winters-tale-christopher-wheeldon-british-ballet|newspaper=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|access-date=3 June 2014|date=2014-04-12|archive-date=16 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616135108/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/13/winters-tale-christopher-wheeldon-british-ballet|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, author [[Jeanette Winterson]] published the book ''The Gap of Time'', a modern adaptation of ''The Winter's Tale''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/book/the-gap-of-time/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910171938/http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/book/the-gap-of-time/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=10 September 2015 | title=The Gap of Time }}</ref> In 2016, author [[E. K. Johnston]] published ''Exit, Pursued by a Bear'', another modern adaption.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ek-johnston/exit-pursued-by-a-bear/|title=EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR|date=8 December 2015|website=Kirkus Reviews|access-date=5 July 2016|archive-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805001820/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ek-johnston/exit-pursued-by-a-bear/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 1 May 2016, [[BBC Radio 3]]'s ''Drama on 3'' broadcast an audio production directed by David Hunter, with [[Danny Sapani]] as Leontes, [[Eve Best]] as Hermione, [[Shaun Dooley]] as Polixenes, [[Karl Johnson (actor)|Karl Johnson]] as Camillo, [[Susan Jameson]] as Paulina, [[Paul Copley]] as the Shepherd and Faye Castelow as Perdita.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b078wtnn | title=Drama on 3, the Winter's Tale | publisher=BBC Radio 3 | access-date=27 April 2018 | archive-date=14 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014185120/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b078wtnn | url-status=live }}</ref>

An [[The Winter's Tale (opera)|opera]] by [[Ryan Wigglesworth]], based on the play, was premiered at the [[English National Opera]] on 27 February 2017.<ref name=Chanteau>Chanteau, Clara. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/the-winter-s-tale-eno-review-rory-kinnear-sophie-bevan-hermione-a7603171.html The Winter’s Tale, ENO, London, review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301235135/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/the-winter-s-tale-eno-review-rory-kinnear-sophie-bevan-hermione-a7603171.html |date=1 March 2018 }}, ''The Independent'' online, 28 February 2017, retrieved 15 March 2017.</ref>

In 2021 Melbourne Shakespeare Company produced an abridged [[Musical theatre|musical]] production directed by Jennifer Sarah Dean<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-01|title=The Winter's Tale|url=https://artsreview.com.au/the-winters-tale-3/|access-date=2021-05-05|website=Australian Arts Review|language=en-AU|archive-date=5 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505082934/https://artsreview.com.au/the-winters-tale-3/|url-status=live}}</ref> at Central Park in [[Melbourne]].

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* Brooke, C. F. Tucker. 1908. ''The Shakespeare Apocrypha,'' Oxford, Clarendon press, 1908; pp. 103–126.
* Chaney, Edward, ''The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations since the Renaissance'' 2nd ed.(Routledge, 2000).
* Gurr, Andrew. 1983. "The Bear, the Statue, and Hysteria in ''The Winter's Tale''", ''Shakespeare Quarterly 34'' (1983), p. 422.
* Halliday, F. E. 1964. ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964,'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 532.
* Hanmer, Thomas. 1743. ''The Works of Shakespeare'' (Oxford, 1743–44), vol. 2.
* Isenberg, Seymour. 1983. "Sunny Winter", ''The New York Shakespeare Society Bulletin'', (Dr. Bernard Beckerman, chairman; [[Columbia University]]) March 1983, pp. 25–26.
* Jonson, Ben. "Conversations with Drummond of Hawthornden", in Herford and Simpson, ed. ''Ben Jonson'', vol. 1, p. 139.
* Kalem, T. E. 1980. "Brooklyn Bets on Rep", ''[[Time Magazine]]'', 3 March 1980.
* Lawrence, William W. 1931. ''Shakespeare's Problem Comedies'', Macmillan, New York. [[OCLC]] 459490669
* Von Lippmann, Edmund O. 1891. "Shakespeare's Ignorance?", ''New Review'' 4 (1891), 250–254.
* McDowell, W. Stuart. 1983. Director's note in the program for the Riverside Shakespeare Company production of ''The Winter's Tale'', New York City, 25 February 1983.
* Pafford, John Henry Pyle. 1962, ed. ''The Winter's Tale'', Arden Edition, 1962, p. 66.
* Tannenbaum, Dr. Samuel A. 1933. " Shakespearean Scraps", chapter: "The Forman Notes" (1933).
* Verzella, Massimo, "Iconografia femminile in The Winter's Tale", Merope, XII, 31 (sett chism and anti-Petrarchism in The Winter's Tale" in Merope, numero speciale dedicato agli Studi di Shakespeare in Italia, a cura di Michael Hattaway e Clara Mucci, XVII, 46–47 (Set. 2005– Gen. 2006), pp. 161–179.

== External links ==
{{Wikisource-multi|Winter's Tale (Shakespeare)|below=<div align="center">[[s:Author:William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's Plays]]</div>}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/the-winters-tale}}
* {{gutenberg|no=1539|name= Winters Tale}}
* [http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/facsimile/book/Bran_F1/295/?work=WT Scans of the First Folio version of the play]
* [http://william-shakespeare.classic-literature.co.uk/the-winters-tale/ ''The Winters Tale''] – HTML version of this title.
* {{librivox book | title=The Winter's Tale | author=William Shakespeare}}
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/concordance/ A thorough (open source) concordance of all of Shakespeare's plays]
* [https://digital.library.illinois.edu/collections/810eac30-e3fb-012f-c5b6-0019b9e633c5-e/items?q=Winter%27s+Tale Set Design] for the 1948 production at the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]] – [https://digital.library.illinois.edu/collections/810eac30-e3fb-012f-c5b6-0019b9e633c5-e Motley Collection of Theatre & Costume Design]

{{Shakespeare}}
{{The Winter's Tale}}
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