The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 22

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Winter’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, a so-called ‘problem play’ that is believed to be one of the last works he ever wrote. It tells the story of Leontes, King of Sicily, who comes to (mistakenly) believe that his wife Hermione is having an affair with his friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia. After attempting to have Polixenes killed, he publicly accuses Hermione of adultery and banishes their newborn daughter. However, he comes to his senses after the apparent deaths of both Hermione and their young son, and spends the remainder of the play trying to atone for his actions. William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest playwrights in English literary history, and the popularity of his works remains undiminished even today, several centuries after his death.

Find out everything you need to know about The Winter’s Tale in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT AND POET

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.Died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.Notable works:Venus and Adonis (1593), poemHamlet (1603), playMacbeth (1623), play

William Shakespeare is regarded as the most influential writer in English history. His 37 plays have been performed countless times, and have been reproduced and adapted across a broad range of periods and cultural contexts. As well as the plays, which can be loosely divided into tragedies, histories and comedies, Shakespeare wrote a number of narrative poems and sonnets. He also had an indelible influence on the English language itself, bringing a huge variety of words and phrases – as varied as “swagger”, “bubble”, “mind’s eye” and “heart of gold” – into regular usage.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and had three children with her. Their only son, Hamnet, died at the age of 11. Very little else is known about Shakespeare’s life, which he spent between Stratford-upon-Avon and London. It is clear, however, that his literary talents were matched by a shrewd entrepreneurial spirit. He made a number of profitable investments in his lifetime, which gave him the financial freedom to devote himself to acting and writing. In 1599, Shakespeare and his acting company (The Lord Chamberlain’s Men) built the Globe Theatre on the banks of the River Thames in London. Many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays were written to be performed at this theatre.

THE WINTER’S TALE

A COMEDY IN FIVE ACTS

Genre: playReference edition: Shakespeare, W. (2008) The Winter’s Tale. London: Norton.1stedition: 1623Themes: jealousy, tyranny, innocence, redemption, the miraculous

The Winter’s Tale, one of Shakespeare’s later plays, was written between 1609 and 1611. Its most important source is Robert Greene’s novella Pandosto (1588). Although Shakespeare added and altered characters and revised some details of the plot, the general premise of the two texts remains the same: a jealous king suspects his wife of infidelity, and this unfounded suspicion threatens his kingdom and lineage.

Shakespeare’s play is divided neatly into two opposing parts, the first (Acts 1-3) covering King Leontes’ descent into destructive jealousy and the second (Acts 4-5) offering the prospect of redemption and renewal. The play’s two parts are differentiated through a series of sharp contrasts: the seasons change from winter to summer; the setting changes from Sicilia (Sicily) to Bohemia; tragedy turns to comedy; age makes way for youth. These contrasts are enabled by Shakespeare’s revolutionary decision to skip over 16 years in middle of the play, inventing the figure of Time to guide the audience through this transition.