The Bard's Challenge: Week Seven, The Winter's Tale

The Bard’s Challenge: Week Seven

The Winter’s Tale

In this post:

The Winter’s Tale

Thoughts on The Winter’s Tale

Comedy or Tragedy?

Most people think of Shakespeare’s plays in four categories: Comedy, Tragedy, History, and Problem plays. However, recently scholars have created a new genre to Shakespeare’s repertory: “Tragicomic Romances.” The name says it all. In his later years Shakespeare seemed to turn over a new leaf with plays like, Cymbeline, Pericles, The Winter’s Tale, and even The Tempest. These plays generally contained elements of both comedy and tragedy. The Winter’s Tale was Shakespeare’s first big success with this new genre. In it, he managed to perfectly capture the grim worlds of Othello, Hamlet, and Lear, as well as the visionary optimism in plays like Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In The Winter’s Tale, I noticed, Shakespeare almost splits it in half. The first half of the play, up until Act four, is almost pure tragedy, (killing babies!) whereas the second half sins are forgiven, relationships built, and happiness ensues.

What’s With the Title?

Even today when we hear the word “winter” we think of two things: Christmas, and cold. Up here in Alaska, Snow and darkness is usually involved. So the title of the play, just like the comedy/tragedy plot, is a mixed matter. The first half of the play is dark, cold, and foreboding, just like winter can often seem. The second half of the play is warm, light, inviting, and full of forgiveness. Similar to the Christmas season.

“It is requir’d / you do awake your faith.”

Was anyone else struck by the huge religious themes in the play? Most obvious of all being the Christ-like sacrifice and rebirth of Hermione? Or the sin and repentance of Leontes? I think what Shakespeare does here is brilliant. Usually in the tragedies we see a figure like Leontes with a huge character flaw fall and often die because of his faults. In this play Leontes is given a second chance. He still has to live with the consequences of his actions, (his son’s death, and his wife and daughter’s apparent deaths.) but he repents and vows to do whatever he can to make amends.

Human Virtue

Although there are a large number of religious themes running throughout the play, one theme seems to rise above all others: the capacity for human virtue. Although Apollo and the Oracle provide small roles in the plays events, the happy ending is eventually achieved not because of divine intervention or chance, but because people like Paulina chose virtue over selfishness or fear, and did the right thing. I loved reading this play because I was able to relate to the characters and their struggle, and for some reason their virtue boosted my own innate need to do good. In this play, Shakespeare manages to capture not only the dark and dreary world of jealousness and fear that are most assuredly a part of our human nature, but also our innate capacity of love and kindness that, if we let it, will far outweigh our darker tendencies.

Next Week:

·         Pericles, Prince of Tyre

·         Sonnets 24-29