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Available
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Collection
Publication
Signet Classics / New American Library (1963), Edition: 1ST, Paperback, 224 pages
Description
King Leontes of Sicilia is seized by sudden and terrible jealousy of his wife Hermione, whom he accuses of adultery. He believes the child Hermione is bearing was fathered by his friend Polixenes, and when the baby girl is born he orders her to be taken to some wild place and left to die. Though Hermione's child escapes death, Leontes' cruelty has terrible consequences. Loss paves the way for reunion, and life and hope are born out of desolation and despair. One of the late romances in Shakespeare's canon, this complex work is at times tragic, at times humorous, but always entertaining and enlightening.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ncgraham
Exit, pursued by a bear.
This is the most famous stage direction not only in Shakespeare, but probably in all of theater. Indeed, it is likely all that most people are familiar with from The Winter’s Tale. That was the case with me prior to this spring. This was the last play we read for my
Some Scholars read The Winter’s Tale as Othello in reverse, or Othello with a happy ending, which makes sense given the theme of jealousy and how it destroys Othello and Desdemona’s and Leontes and Hermione’s marriages. But I also see it as being a bit like King Lear in reverse, especially in regards to how Shakespeare used his source material. King Lear was a historical romance that he turned into a tragedy; The Winter's Tale, a tragedy he turned into a romance. Lear is tragic nearly from the beginning, although the appearance of Lear with Cordelia’s body would have been a grisly twist for Renaissance audiences. The transformation of The Winter's Tale into a romance involves a more marked change of tone. The first three and a half acts are entirely in the tragic mode, but with the removal of the action to the countryside, comic elements begin impinging on the plot, with the appearances of the rustic clown figure and of the bear, which is both an instrument of divine justice and a hilariously random plot device.
The Winter's Tale is not Shakespeare’s shortest play, but it felt very brief to me, partially because I was speed-reading it for class, partially because it covers such an extended period of time: seventeen years! There are also so many characters that some of them are frighteningly underdeveloped; Florizel in particular is little more than a cipher, just a necessary link between Perdita and Polixines. But all the female characters are strong and feisty, Paulina in particular.
Parts of this play are very, very silly—I didn’t find the comic characters (such as the clownish shepherd’s son and the knavish Autolycus) funny at all—but there are some good things here. The opening scene, in which Leontes begins suspecting his wife of adultery, caused me to start thinking like a director. How should Hermione and Polixines's interactions be staged? Make them too affectionate and the audience might believe them lovers, too; make them too reserved and there won’’t be anything at all for Leontes to base his suspicion on. I didn’t get around to watching the BBC video of this play, as I had planned, so I’m not sure yet how they handled this.
Later, the play develops into a discourse on art vs. nature and the relative value of hybrids. In Act IV scene 4, Perdita expresses disdain for carnations and gillyvors because they are “nature's bastards,” aka hybrids. This is ironic, because Perdita is (seemingly) engaging in an act of social hybridization via her romance with Folorizel. At the same time, she is herself a hybrid, though she does not know it: she was born in the court and has been raised in the country. Polixines counters that hybrids are not unnatural, but rather the marrying of natural and artificial means to create something beautiful and new. This idea is borne out by the least scene when Hermione comes to life: she is presented as being at once a statue and a living, breathing person.
If Stephen Orgel’s hack job on Macbeth is the worst introduction in The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, France E. Dolan’s take on The Winter's Tale is unquestionably the best. I’d like to close this review with a quote from her:
Many striking elements of The Winter's Tale are unique to Shakespeare’s vision: the bear, the appearance of Time as a character, Hermione’s sixteen-year absence, the sea sickness that prevents Autolycus from making the shepherd (and his story) known to Florizel, a statue that comes to life, Paulina’s sudden remarriage. These improbabilities, which might be summed up in the notorious stage direction ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ (III.3.57 s.d.), make it hard for some people to take this play seriously. But perhaps what is most unlikely, but also most moving, is not that a bear will turn up out of nowhere and eat you—which is one way of dramatizing the unexpected assaults of daily life—but that the bear does not eat the baby on whom hope depends; not that one is betrayed or aggrieved, but that one goes on; not that we grow wrinkled, but that love can be renewed and sustained, and that forgiveness can attend a process of loss.
Mmm. That’s lovely, both in phrasing and in meaning. The Bard himself might be pleased to put his name to it.
This is the most famous stage direction not only in Shakespeare, but probably in all of theater. Indeed, it is likely all that most people are familiar with from The Winter’s Tale. That was the case with me prior to this spring. This was the last play we read for my
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Shakespeare course, and the only romance (or serio-comedy). It was also the one I was the least familiar with, except for maybe Richard II.Some Scholars read The Winter’s Tale as Othello in reverse, or Othello with a happy ending, which makes sense given the theme of jealousy and how it destroys Othello and Desdemona’s and Leontes and Hermione’s marriages. But I also see it as being a bit like King Lear in reverse, especially in regards to how Shakespeare used his source material. King Lear was a historical romance that he turned into a tragedy; The Winter's Tale, a tragedy he turned into a romance. Lear is tragic nearly from the beginning, although the appearance of Lear with Cordelia’s body would have been a grisly twist for Renaissance audiences. The transformation of The Winter's Tale into a romance involves a more marked change of tone. The first three and a half acts are entirely in the tragic mode, but with the removal of the action to the countryside, comic elements begin impinging on the plot, with the appearances of the rustic clown figure and of the bear, which is both an instrument of divine justice and a hilariously random plot device.
The Winter's Tale is not Shakespeare’s shortest play, but it felt very brief to me, partially because I was speed-reading it for class, partially because it covers such an extended period of time: seventeen years! There are also so many characters that some of them are frighteningly underdeveloped; Florizel in particular is little more than a cipher, just a necessary link between Perdita and Polixines. But all the female characters are strong and feisty, Paulina in particular.
Parts of this play are very, very silly—I didn’t find the comic characters (such as the clownish shepherd’s son and the knavish Autolycus) funny at all—but there are some good things here. The opening scene, in which Leontes begins suspecting his wife of adultery, caused me to start thinking like a director. How should Hermione and Polixines's interactions be staged? Make them too affectionate and the audience might believe them lovers, too; make them too reserved and there won’’t be anything at all for Leontes to base his suspicion on. I didn’t get around to watching the BBC video of this play, as I had planned, so I’m not sure yet how they handled this.
Later, the play develops into a discourse on art vs. nature and the relative value of hybrids. In Act IV scene 4, Perdita expresses disdain for carnations and gillyvors because they are “nature's bastards,” aka hybrids. This is ironic, because Perdita is (seemingly) engaging in an act of social hybridization via her romance with Folorizel. At the same time, she is herself a hybrid, though she does not know it: she was born in the court and has been raised in the country. Polixines counters that hybrids are not unnatural, but rather the marrying of natural and artificial means to create something beautiful and new. This idea is borne out by the least scene when Hermione comes to life: she is presented as being at once a statue and a living, breathing person.
If Stephen Orgel’s hack job on Macbeth is the worst introduction in The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, France E. Dolan’s take on The Winter's Tale is unquestionably the best. I’d like to close this review with a quote from her:
Many striking elements of The Winter's Tale are unique to Shakespeare’s vision: the bear, the appearance of Time as a character, Hermione’s sixteen-year absence, the sea sickness that prevents Autolycus from making the shepherd (and his story) known to Florizel, a statue that comes to life, Paulina’s sudden remarriage. These improbabilities, which might be summed up in the notorious stage direction ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ (III.3.57 s.d.), make it hard for some people to take this play seriously. But perhaps what is most unlikely, but also most moving, is not that a bear will turn up out of nowhere and eat you—which is one way of dramatizing the unexpected assaults of daily life—but that the bear does not eat the baby on whom hope depends; not that one is betrayed or aggrieved, but that one goes on; not that we grow wrinkled, but that love can be renewed and sustained, and that forgiveness can attend a process of loss.
Mmm. That’s lovely, both in phrasing and in meaning. The Bard himself might be pleased to put his name to it.
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LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
We weep, we dance, we shiver, we bake, we live, we die. This is the Ecclesiastes of the dramatic canon and I want it played at my funeral.
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
It was more than thirty years since I had read this, one of the slightly less will-known of Shakespeare's plays. back then I was reading it slightly under duress as it was one of the set texts in my BA English course, and in my petulant way I took against it. That, I now appreciate, was a
Perhaps fittingly, the earliest surviving text for this play in the 1623 Folio edition, though we know from other contemporary records that it was performed in 1611. The point about the Folio edition is that that collection represented the first attempt to classify Shakespeare's plays, and within the Folio this play was placed at the end of the more obviously comic plays. For, although there are some amusing scenes, and although the last two acts are much lighter in tone, there are some very dark undertones throughout the play.
Now best known for the legendary stage direction, "Exit, pursued by a bear", the play displays some very bleak themes, certainly very far removed from those that one would associate with comedy, even Shakespearean comedy!
The play opens with Leontes, King of Sicilia, expounding upon how marvellous it has been for Polixenes, King of Bohemia, to be visiting, and beseeching him to stay a bit longer. Polixenes declines, pleading responsibilities of state. Leontes then asks Hermione, his wife, to help to persuade the reluctant Polixenes. As a true gentleman, Polixenes feels unable to deny Hermione, and agrees to stay for a little longer. At some point a hitherto hidden canker [the "green-eyed monster" from Othello (probably written some eight years previously)] erupts and Leontes's mind is contorted with a sudden jealousy, seeing Polixenes's decision to stay as proof of an affair with Hermione. Although his courtiers (including Camillo , his lifelong counsellor) argue on her behalf, Leontes becomes increasingly convinced of his wife's infidelity. So, not too many laughs there, then!
Shakespeare tended to respect the Aristotlean unities (time, place and action) but here he really cuts loose. Not only does he allow sixteen years to pass in the blinking of an eye between acts; he also allows for a complete transformation of Leontes's character. But so what? The play works - as always, the richness of the language allows the reader completely to suspend their disbelief.
Not his finest work, but far from his weakest (which isn't exactly weak anyway!).
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demonstration of poor judgement, though I take some comfort from knowing that I was not alone in this.Perhaps fittingly, the earliest surviving text for this play in the 1623 Folio edition, though we know from other contemporary records that it was performed in 1611. The point about the Folio edition is that that collection represented the first attempt to classify Shakespeare's plays, and within the Folio this play was placed at the end of the more obviously comic plays. For, although there are some amusing scenes, and although the last two acts are much lighter in tone, there are some very dark undertones throughout the play.
Now best known for the legendary stage direction, "Exit, pursued by a bear", the play displays some very bleak themes, certainly very far removed from those that one would associate with comedy, even Shakespearean comedy!
The play opens with Leontes, King of Sicilia, expounding upon how marvellous it has been for Polixenes, King of Bohemia, to be visiting, and beseeching him to stay a bit longer. Polixenes declines, pleading responsibilities of state. Leontes then asks Hermione, his wife, to help to persuade the reluctant Polixenes. As a true gentleman, Polixenes feels unable to deny Hermione, and agrees to stay for a little longer. At some point a hitherto hidden canker [the "green-eyed monster" from Othello (probably written some eight years previously)] erupts and Leontes's mind is contorted with a sudden jealousy, seeing Polixenes's decision to stay as proof of an affair with Hermione. Although his courtiers (including Camillo , his lifelong counsellor) argue on her behalf, Leontes becomes increasingly convinced of his wife's infidelity. So, not too many laughs there, then!
Shakespeare tended to respect the Aristotlean unities (time, place and action) but here he really cuts loose. Not only does he allow sixteen years to pass in the blinking of an eye between acts; he also allows for a complete transformation of Leontes's character. But so what? The play works - as always, the richness of the language allows the reader completely to suspend their disbelief.
Not his finest work, but far from his weakest (which isn't exactly weak anyway!).
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
exit, pursued by a bear!
LibraryThing member lyzadanger
The weakest Shakespeare I've read to date.
LibraryThing member Clif
I listened to the audio version of this Shakespeare play a year ago and just now noticed that I didn't add it to my Library Thing list of books. So I'm adding it belatedly.
Because of the passage of time, it's plot isn't so fresh in my mind. I do recall that it is unique for Shakespeare in that the
Because of the passage of time, it's plot isn't so fresh in my mind. I do recall that it is unique for Shakespeare in that the audience is misled into believing something that is later shown to not be true. The story contains an example of irrational jealousy which is certainly not unique. The story includes an incredible second chance to correct old wrongs. The story even includes a bear (that makes a brief appearance on stage) and a ship wreck (not on stage). The closing act has to be a significant experience to witness in a live production..
Read in December, 2007
Because of the passage of time, it's plot isn't so fresh in my mind. I do recall that it is unique for Shakespeare in that the
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audience is misled into believing something that is later shown to not be true. The story contains an example of irrational jealousy which is certainly not unique. The story includes an incredible...more I listened to the audio version of this Shakespeare play a year ago and just now noticed that I didn't add it to my Goodreads list of books. So I'm adding it belatedly. Because of the passage of time, it's plot isn't so fresh in my mind. I do recall that it is unique for Shakespeare in that the audience is misled into believing something that is later shown to not be true. The story contains an example of irrational jealousy which is certainly not unique. The story includes an incredible second chance to correct old wrongs. The story even includes a bear (that makes a brief appearance on stage) and a ship wreck (not on stage). The closing act has to be a significant experience to witness in a live production..
Read in December, 2007
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LibraryThing member jon1lambert
Published in Baltimore at 50 cents, this is an American Shakespeare Penguin
LibraryThing member lizpatanders
I enjoyed this play enough, but it certainly wasn't my favorite. I thought the plot was good. I thought the book raised interesting questions about faith and taking things at face value. I only really thought the writing was especially good in a couple of places, I found some of the characters a
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bit difficult to relate to. Thre's also one speculation about the title which I find interesting. At one point Hermione asks her son to tell a story and some people believe that this would be the story he'd have told. I also thought the play was a bit similar to Beauty and the Beast in that there seems to be points whre Leontes trusts no one yet by the end of the play it's everyone else, not himself, who have led to the play's conclusion. Overall, I enjoyed reading this play and I'm glad I did, it's just not one that stuck with me as much. Show Less
LibraryThing member Doondeck
One of his most accessible works
LibraryThing member amerynth
"The Winter's Tale" has to be the best Shakespeare play that I'd never heard of... it was only thanks to trying to read his complete works that I stumbled across it.
The play is one of his last and it shows, the story is tight and well-paced. It centers on the aftermath created by an extremely
This is definitely among by favorites by Shakespeare.
The play is one of his last and it shows, the story is tight and well-paced. It centers on the aftermath created by an extremely
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jealous king, who accuses his wife of sleeping with his childhood friend, a fellow king. Antics ensure (and of course disguises) and they are well-done in this play.This is definitely among by favorites by Shakespeare.
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LibraryThing member SeraphinaC.B4
King Leontes of Sicilia orders that his newborn female child be killed because he fears it is not his. However, Lord Antigonus takes her and abandons her in on the Bohemian coast. When King Leontes's wife is found innocent, he will have no other heir unless the daughter is found. Hermione, Leontes
I found this book very hard to follow. Because this is fiction, it is hard to tell whether things are figurative or not. It is a quick read. The plot is good if you can understand it. I would only recommend this book to someone who likes reading.
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wife, is reported dead to her heartbroken husband. Sixteen years passed, while Perdita, the lost daughter, is being taken care of by a shepherd. News gets to the king that there is a girl with no parents. The relationship is confirmed and everyone rejoices. I found this book very hard to follow. Because this is fiction, it is hard to tell whether things are figurative or not. It is a quick read. The plot is good if you can understand it. I would only recommend this book to someone who likes reading.
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LibraryThing member AliceAnna
A tragedy that wanted to be a comedy. The Deus ex Machina of the ending (a statue coming to life -- that of a woman who died of grief and mortification at the hands of her husband) was a little absurd. And Hermione (reincarnated) embraces the bastard. What is up with that? A highly implausible
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story -- it would have made a much better tragedy. Leonates should have gotten his comeuppance. Show Less
LibraryThing member mstrust
Deeply paranoid, Leontes, the King of Sicilia, decides that his wife has been having an affair with the visiting King of Bohemia, and that the baby she carries has been fathered by the visitor. Leontes demands that his friend Camillo murder King Polixenes, but instead, Camillo flees Sicilia with
This play is a twofer- you get both a intense tragedy, along the lines of "Othello", then a romance. It's weird, because it's hard to transition from a king demanding that a newborn be burned alive to young love. For me, the first half, with the King's madness, was way more compelling.
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the King. Since he can't take revenge on the man, Leontes punishes the Queen and the newborn child, who is taken to Bohemia and left to the elements. She is rescued by a poor shepherd, who raises and loves her as a daughter, and the local prince falls in love with her, which causes problems with his father.This play is a twofer- you get both a intense tragedy, along the lines of "Othello", then a romance. It's weird, because it's hard to transition from a king demanding that a newborn be burned alive to young love. For me, the first half, with the King's madness, was way more compelling.
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LibraryThing member AMQS
My daughter is a sophomore in high school, and a confirmed Shakespeare devotee. When assigned Shakespeare for English, she giggles or cries her way through the texts, often reading aloud her favorite bits to me. I confess I never found Shakespeare as accessible as she does, but I love her
Leontes, the king of Sicily, and his wife Hermione are hosting Polyxenes, the king of Bohemia and boyhood friend of Leontes. Leontes is unable to persuade his friend to stay in Sicily, and entreats Hermione to persuade him. When Polyxenes agrees, Leontes is suddenly seized with a jealousy so powerful he becomes crazed. He is convinced that Polyxenes and Hermione are having an affair and that the baby Hermione is carrying is Polyxenes's. He orders Camillo to poison the Bohemian king, but instead, Camiillo helps Polyxenes to escape, which further convinces Leontes of his guilt. He imprisons Hermione, and dispatches two of his lords to the Oracle at Delphi for confirmation of his wife's guilt. The Oracle proclaims Hermione's innocence, and prophesies that the king will be without an heir until that which has been lost is returned. Furious, Leontes sends his newborn daughter away with Antigonus to to abandoned to her fate, and brings Hermione to trial. Then the king's son dies, Hermione swoons and dies also, and Leontes is broken with grief and remorse.
Meanwhile, Antigonus leaves the baby, named Perdita, before being eaten by a bear (Exit, pursued by a bear). She is found, along with gold and royal trinkets by a shepherd and his son who take her in. Sixteen years later Perdita is a lovely girl being courted in secret by Polyxenes's son Florizel. King Polyxenes and Camillo visit the old shepherd's sheep-shearing feast in disguise, and attempt to persuade Florizel to include his father in his impending marriage to Perdita. When he refuses, the king throws off his disguise, disinherits his son, and threatens Perdita and the shepherd with torture. Camillo helps the lovers escape to seek refuge and support in Sicily, where he longs to return also. The shepherd shows the king the gold and royal trinkets found with Perdita as a baby. When Polyxenes realizes she is the lost princess of Sicily, he and the shepherd follow Perdita, Camillo, and Florizel to Sicily. There they are reunited with Leontes, still broken by grief and shame. That which was lost now returned and the prophecy fulfilled, the lady (and widow of Antigonus) Paulina reveals to them a statue of Hermione, astonishing in its likeness. In fact, it is Hermione, hidden away 16 years by Paulina and now restored to the family.
This was a wonderful way to experience Shakespeare, as well as the legendary performers -- I'm planning to look for more!
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enthusiasm for the bard, and when I found this audiobook at the library, I decided to give Shakespeare a go myself. After all, what better way to experience Shakespeare than through the performances of such amazing actors (this version is a fully dramatized audiobook performed by Sinead Cusack, Ciaran Hinds, Eileen Atkins, Paul Jesson, Sir John Gielgud and others)? And amazing they were -- and what a listening treat! The story is both sad and very funny.Leontes, the king of Sicily, and his wife Hermione are hosting Polyxenes, the king of Bohemia and boyhood friend of Leontes. Leontes is unable to persuade his friend to stay in Sicily, and entreats Hermione to persuade him. When Polyxenes agrees, Leontes is suddenly seized with a jealousy so powerful he becomes crazed. He is convinced that Polyxenes and Hermione are having an affair and that the baby Hermione is carrying is Polyxenes's. He orders Camillo to poison the Bohemian king, but instead, Camiillo helps Polyxenes to escape, which further convinces Leontes of his guilt. He imprisons Hermione, and dispatches two of his lords to the Oracle at Delphi for confirmation of his wife's guilt. The Oracle proclaims Hermione's innocence, and prophesies that the king will be without an heir until that which has been lost is returned. Furious, Leontes sends his newborn daughter away with Antigonus to to abandoned to her fate, and brings Hermione to trial. Then the king's son dies, Hermione swoons and dies also, and Leontes is broken with grief and remorse.
Meanwhile, Antigonus leaves the baby, named Perdita, before being eaten by a bear (Exit, pursued by a bear). She is found, along with gold and royal trinkets by a shepherd and his son who take her in. Sixteen years later Perdita is a lovely girl being courted in secret by Polyxenes's son Florizel. King Polyxenes and Camillo visit the old shepherd's sheep-shearing feast in disguise, and attempt to persuade Florizel to include his father in his impending marriage to Perdita. When he refuses, the king throws off his disguise, disinherits his son, and threatens Perdita and the shepherd with torture. Camillo helps the lovers escape to seek refuge and support in Sicily, where he longs to return also. The shepherd shows the king the gold and royal trinkets found with Perdita as a baby. When Polyxenes realizes she is the lost princess of Sicily, he and the shepherd follow Perdita, Camillo, and Florizel to Sicily. There they are reunited with Leontes, still broken by grief and shame. That which was lost now returned and the prophecy fulfilled, the lady (and widow of Antigonus) Paulina reveals to them a statue of Hermione, astonishing in its likeness. In fact, it is Hermione, hidden away 16 years by Paulina and now restored to the family.
This was a wonderful way to experience Shakespeare, as well as the legendary performers -- I'm planning to look for more!
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LibraryThing member Coach_of_Alva
I think this is as bipolar a play as I've ever read and I feel that I must give it two reviews to do it justice.
I found Leontes in his green-eyed frenzy more disturbing than Othello. The Moor was an honest soldier subtly deceived. Leontes was an absolute monarch who went mad, roaring his diseased
I liked the second half well enough with its bumpkins and moonstruck lovers. I loved Autolycus the vagabond, pickpocket, sharper, the last in Shakespeare's long line of sharp rogues and clever clowns.
I've never read a more preposterous happy ending. I didn't mind too much. I wanted this play to end happily.
I found Leontes in his green-eyed frenzy more disturbing than Othello. The Moor was an honest soldier subtly deceived. Leontes was an absolute monarch who went mad, roaring his diseased
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fancies in public, crushing dissent in those who knew better (with one exception), curable in the end only by the gods. (A regular Henry VIII, now that I think about it. ) The only person who stands up to him while he is in frenzy is the noblewoman Paulina, a great and unheralded creation, a role for Kathy Bates or Renee Zellweger.I liked the second half well enough with its bumpkins and moonstruck lovers. I loved Autolycus the vagabond, pickpocket, sharper, the last in Shakespeare's long line of sharp rogues and clever clowns.
I've never read a more preposterous happy ending. I didn't mind too much. I wanted this play to end happily.
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LibraryThing member jhudsui
Let's be real here. You're a typical nerd on the internet and you only know of this play as the "exit, pursued by a bear" play. To be honest, after reading the whole thing, that's not really an unfair conception of it. It's just not very interesting outside that one detail. What with the prevalence
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of bear-baiting in Shakespeare's time they probably used a real bear and I'm envisioning this play basically being a set-piece spectacle revolving around getting to see a bear chase a dude on stage. No need for the rest of the play to be any good, you're going to sell tickets just based on that. So clearly that's the real reason for the bear thing. I read some nerd on tumblr proclaiming that this was an example of laziness or recklessness audacity on Shakespeare's part because he needed to get rid of Antigonus to set up his ending and couldn't think of any other way to remove the character from the story. But that's bullshit. Paulina and Camillo's marriage is like the third-most important marriage in the ending sequence. It's an off-hand matter covered in a couple of lines, that pays off nothing because we never gave a shit about either of those two characters' love lives up until that point. No, Shakespeare put that bear in there because he damn well wanted a bear. Show Less
LibraryThing member jveezer
I really wanted to see this play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this year but had to settle for Hamlet on the night I rolled through Ashland. Really enjoyed this one, especially as I realized that I hadn't read it before. Also cool to realize the queen might be the namesake for the Harry Potter
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character. And the Folio Society Letterpress edition is a joy to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member deckla
It's the binding and illustrations that make this edition of The Winter's Tale special.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is another Shakespeare play I have read in anticipation of seeing it next weekend at The Globe, as I did a fortnight ago with Othello. However, I found this play to be nowhere near as enjoyable. The plot seems too thin and insubstantial in practice for five acts, and the atmosphere of fantasy
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does not work for me - this is considered one of the Bard's "problem plays", neither a true tragedy nor a comedy, though containing elements of both. Like Othello, it is marked by themes of jealousy and remorse, but nowhere near as vividly and convincingly for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member jonfaith
I have drunk and seen the spider.
One’s suspension of disbelief will be sorely tested here. The king of Sicily is a paranoid git. Was he always of this character or did he arrive at such by an untoward alignment of humors? Again, just go with it. The tyrant is convinced that his wife has been
The accused flee and then the sunny Czech coast becomes the subsequent location as sixteen years have lapsed since the previous act, the interim allowing the child to have grown to a plot pivot. There’s a bear, a clown and several royals in disguise. There is an amazing of wooing where the natural character of the garden is discussed and explored. I was hoping for something akin to The Tempest and alas it didn’t happen.
One’s suspension of disbelief will be sorely tested here. The king of Sicily is a paranoid git. Was he always of this character or did he arrive at such by an untoward alignment of humors? Again, just go with it. The tyrant is convinced that his wife has been
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untrue. The king of Bohemia is the suspect. His wife is pregnant, a physical symbol of his being cuckolded. This is a comedy, right? He's allowed to fume and bellow, allowing a stage of fire and fury to persist through a trial and beyond with a flourish of Nixonian exactness .The accused flee and then the sunny Czech coast becomes the subsequent location as sixteen years have lapsed since the previous act, the interim allowing the child to have grown to a plot pivot. There’s a bear, a clown and several royals in disguise. There is an amazing of wooing where the natural character of the garden is discussed and explored. I was hoping for something akin to The Tempest and alas it didn’t happen.
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LibraryThing member TobinElliott
Interestingly, despite being a rather conflicting mix of tragedy, humour, and romance, with a usual heapin' helpin' of coincidence, this one works better than the past two or three I've pounded through, but enjoyed very little.
But seriously, what kind of king can afford to hang with his BFF for
Overall, one I consider a touch more slight than his better known plays, but I had to laugh at the unexpected bawdiness of the mention of dildos, orgasms, and the "jump her and thump her" lines. Shakespeare, you old dog!
But seriously, what kind of king can afford to hang with his BFF for
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almost a year? Overall, one I consider a touch more slight than his better known plays, but I had to laugh at the unexpected bawdiness of the mention of dildos, orgasms, and the "jump her and thump her" lines. Shakespeare, you old dog!
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
Story of a jealous man (King) who destroys his life because of his paranoid jealousies that his wife is cheating on him. He rejects his wife and the daughter she has and he supposes his wife and daughter to be dead. He is all alone as a consequence of his jealousy and realizes his error.
LibraryThing member MrsLee
In spite of not really understanding about half the dialog, this play moved me as none of the other comedies of Shakespeare have. I was so angry with Leontes! Cheering for Paulina! Horrified at the tragic aspects of the tale, and surprised at the twist in the end. I look forward to seeing this one
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performed. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
This is not one of Shakespeare's best plays. It seems like a mashup of Othello (insane jealously) and Much Ado about Nothing (characters running around in disguises). The beginning feels like it's started in the middle. Some important revelations take place off-stage, described by minor characters
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instead of enacted by the central characters. Shakespeare's finest works seem to drip with cliches because they're the source of those cliches. This one does not. The most famous line from this play may be the stage direction “Exit pursued by a bear.” Recommended only for completists. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazyjerseygirl
This is one of Shakespeare's later works. There are a few gods coming out of the machine but they are bareable because of the superb writing. I like to think that this play was for Shakespeares wife and children who hardly saw him. It shows the rash king suffering for his wrongs, only to be
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rewarded in the end, but not without consequences. He missed his daughter's childhood and many years with his wife. Things are left hopefully though with a bittersweet ending typical of the aging bards later works. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1623
Physical description
224 p.; 7 inches
ISBN
0451505492 / 9780451505491