William Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale’ has long been hailed as one of his more poignant and moving works (part comedy, part tragedy), exploring the repercussions of jealousy and false accusations of betrayal.
At the outset of the play, all is well in Sicily, where King Leontes and his pregnant wife Hermione are playing host to Leontes’ childhood friend Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. But when Hermione manages to convince Polixenes to extend his visit (a task Leontes himself could not accomplish), Leontes becomes convinced that the two are lovers and begins to plot his revenge.
Enlisting a confidant named Camillo to agree to assassinate Polixenes, Leontes has his wife arrested and accused of infidelity. Camillo, unwilling to commit regicide, instead warns Polixenes of the plot and the two flee together to Bohemia. Driven to madness in his rage, Leontes even doubts the legitimacy of his own child and when Hermione gives birth in prison, the King summons a courtier, Antigonus, to take the child to a distant land and kill her. It is not until his own son dies (and Hermione soon afterwards) that Leontes realizes that the gods are punishing him for his tragic folly in falsely accusing Hermione. The question remains: Can there be redemption for Leontes in causing so much heartbreak and death?
At times beautiful, disturbing and even hilarious, ‘The Winter’s Tale’ is presented here in its original and unabridged format.
Tentang Penulis
William Shakespeare is generally acknowledged as the greatest dramatist in the history of English literature. Also a poet and actor, Shakespeare was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he received an education at the local grammar school, but whether he attended any educational institution subsequent to his early tutelage is unknown. By eighteen, Shakespeare was married – to an already-pregnant Anne Hathaway – and the couple would go on to have three children, Susanna and the twins Hamnet and Judith. (Hamnet died at 11 years old.) Shakespeare moved to London soon after the birth of the twins and began publishing poems (‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) and ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ (1594)) and joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare stayed with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men throughout his career, producing some of his finest work – ‘King Lear, ‘ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Tempest’ among them – after the company fell under the patronage of King James I and became The King’s Men. During his career, Shakespeare penned 38 plays, two narrative poems and over 150 sonnets and enjoyed considerable financial success, eventually buying New Place, one of the largest homes in Stratford. Following his death in 1616 at the age of 52, thirty-six of his plays were collected and published as the First Folio and his entire canon – including his extant plays, sonnets and poems – were published as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays are the most produced dramatic works in existence and they have been translated and adapted into countless stage, screen and television productions over the years. Entire theatres are devoted to producing his works and his writings are studied and analyzed in literature classes around the world.
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