The Winter's Tale
Winter's Tale, The
Author: William Shakespeare
First Performance: 1611, London
Published: 1623
Genre: Romance in 5 acts; blank verse and prose
Setting: Sicilia and Bohemia, indeterminate period
Cast: 16m, 6f, extras
King Leontes of Sicilia begs his old friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia, to prolong his visit, but it is only the entreaties of Leontes's wife Hermione that persuades Polixenes to remain. This induces in Leontes an insane jealousy and he orders the death of Polixenes, who however escapes back to Bohemia. Hermione is cast into prison, where she bears a second child, a daughter, and is reported to have died. Their little son Mamillius dies of grief, and on Leontes's orders, their daughter is abandoned on the ‘coast of Bohemia’. She is found by a shepherd, who brings up the child as...
[The entire page is 330 words long]
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