The Winter's Tale (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author), Sylvan Barnet (Introduction) "Two courtiers exchange compliments, speaking in an elegant, formal prose..." (more)
Key Phrases: sweet sir, The Winter's Tale, Enter Leontes, Exeunt Scene (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Play in five acts by William Shakespeare, produced in 1610-11 and published in the First Folio of 1623. One of Shakespeare's final plays, The Winter's Tale is a romantic comedy with elements of tragedy and is noted for its use of realism. The plot is based on the play Pandosto (1588) by Robert Greene. Leontes, the king of Sicilia, jealously believes that his faithful wife Hermione has committed adultery with his old friend Polixenes, the king of Bohemia. After various mishaps, all three are ultimately reconciled after the wedding of Florizel (son of Polixenes) and Perdita (daughter of Leontes and Hermione). -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
`a valuable edition of The Winter's Tale. ... this is a well-focused and helpful edition.' Paul Hammond, Review of English Studies --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics; Revised edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451527143
• ISBN-13: 978-0451527141
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #558,736 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Terrible Costs of Jealous Rage, October 18, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Winter's Tale (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

The Winter's Tale contains some of the most technically difficult solutions to telling a story that have ever appeared in a play. If you think you know all about how a play must be constructed, read The Winter's Tale. It will greatly expand your mind.

The play opens near the end of a long visit by Polixenes, the king of Bohemia, to the court of his childhood friend, Leontes, the king of Sicily. Leontes wants his friend to stay one more day. His friend declines. Leontes prevails upon his wife, Hermione, to persuade Polixenes. Hermione does her husband's bidding, having been silent before then. Rather than be pleased that she has succeeded, Leontes goes into a jealous rage in which he doubts her faithfulness. As his jealousy grows, he takes actions to defend his misconceptions of his "abused" honor that in fact abuse all those who have loved him. Unable to control himself, Leontes continues to pursue his folly even when evidence grows that he is wrong. To his great regret, these impulsive acts cost him dearly.

Three particular aspects of the play deserve special mention. The first is the way that Shakespeare ties together actions set 16 years apart in time. Although that sounds like crossing the Grand Canyon in a motorcycle jump, Shakespeare pulls off the jump rather well so that it is not so big a leap. The second is that Shakespeare captures entirely different moods from hilarious good humor to deep depression and remorse closely adjacent to one another. As a result, the audience is able to experience many more emotions than normally are evoked in a single play. Third, the play's final scene is as remarkable a bit of writing as you can imagine. Read it, and marvel!

After you finish reading this play, think about where your own loss of temper has had bad consequences. How can you give yourself time to get under control before acting rashly? How can you learn to be more open to positive interpretations of events, rather than dark and disturbing ones?

Love first, second, and always!

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Redemptive Tragedy, May 27, 2003

By	oddsfish (Winters, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winter's Tale (The New Folger Library Shakespeare) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Winter's Tale is a lot of things: heart-breaking, exhilerating, funny, beautiful, romantic, profound, etc. Yeah, it's all here. This is one of the bard's best plays, and I can't believe they don't teach this in schools. Of course, the ones they teach are excellent, but I can see high school kids enjoying this one a lot more than some of those others (Othello, King Lear).

The story is, of course, brilliant. King Leontes goes into a jealous rage at the beginning against his wife Hermione. Leontes is very mistaken in his actions, and the result is tragic. Shakespeare picks the story back up sixteen years later with the children, and the story works to a really, really surprising end of bittersweet redemption.

This is one of Shakespeare's bests. The first half is a penetrating and devestating, but the second half shows a capacity for salvation from the depths of despair. Also, this being Shakespeare, the blank verse is gorgeous and the characters are well drawn, and the ending is a surprise unparalleled in the rest of his plays. The Winter's Tale is a truly profound and entertaining read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A curious play, July 15, 2005

By	Zane Parks (Livermore, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Winter's Tale (Cambridge School Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Early compilers of Shakespeare's plays classified this a comedy, but there is much tragedy in it. Later it was called a romance. Through irrational jealousy a king is apparently responsible for the deaths of his entire family -- wife, son and daughter -- by mid-play. Time is a character in the play and at his one appearance summarizes the passage of sixteen years. If you have an overy high regard for realism, you may not much enjoy this play, but that will be true of more of Shakespeare than just this one tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I look forward to seeing it. I've ordered the BBC DVD and it's being performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2006. These Cambridge School editions have the play's text on right-hand pages; they have summary, commentary and exercises, and vocabulary on the facing left-hand pages. As I read through the play, I'd read the summary, read the play text paying attention to vocabulary, and then read the commentary and exercises. Some additional, unusual vocabulary was only explained in the commentary. I felt I got a deeper understanding of the play than if I had just read the play proper.mmary, commentary and exercises, and vocabulary on the facing left-hand pages. As I read through the play, I'd read the summary, read the play text paying attention to vocabulary, and then read the commentary and exercises. Some additional, unusual vocabulary was only explained in the commentary. I felt I got a deeper understanding of the play than if I had just read the play proper.