The Winter’s Tale: ‘What a Fool Honesty Is’.

Philip Rowe (0:09)

Welcome to The History Of European Theatre podcast, and thanks for joining me on this journey through millennia of theatrical history. Episode 236, The Winter's Tale. What a full honesty is.

Last time, Ben Jonson's farcical satire of greed and avarice probably didn't take Londoners' minds off the horrors of the plague. But for those who survived, the pestilence did eventually abate, and the theatres reopened in the capital. During these days when the theatres were closed, we don't know if Shakespeare accompanied the king's men on tour, holed up in London, or returned to Stratford-upon-Avon for an extended stay. But when he emerged from whatever the Jacobean version of lockdown was, he had a new play ready for the 1611 reopening of the theatres, and it was one that carried on with his recent experiments in theatre.

It is thanks to the notebook of Simon Forman that we have an idea for the dating of the first production of The Winter's Tale. He saw the play being performed at the Globe in May 1611 Also, court records show the play was being performed on 5th November that same year. Other than that, there is no definitive external evidence to date the play more precisely, but the dance of the satires in Act IV seems to be borrowed from Ben Johnson's Mask of Oberon, which was performed for the court on 1st January 1611 However, this section is widely thought to most likely be a later insert into the play, so can't really be used to push the date of the play back any earlier. Other internal evidence is equally sketchy, but stylistic analysis favours a slightly earlier date, putting composition sometime in 1609 or 1610

The earliest published text is that in The First Folio, where it is positioned as the last of the comedies. There are suggestions that it may have been a late addition to The Folio, transcribed from a prompt book copy of the play.

The main source for the play is Robert Green's prose romance Pandosto, The Triumph Of Time, which was first published in 1588 This was a very popular work and had been reprinted four times by 1611, so there's every reason to believe that Shakespeare knew the work well. We can even tell that he wasn't working from the latest edition of the romance, which was published in 1607, as this includes some changes that he didn't follow, preferring to almost exactly follow the language of the earlier editions. In other respects, Shakespeare makes some significant changes to Green's work, changing names, locations and the very climax of the story. Some of the play's most memorable moments, such as the statue scene, were added by Shakespeare, although that particular scene of course draws on the Pygmalion story from Ovid's Metamorphoses, one of Shakespeare's favourite texts. There are other possible minor sources that are common to Shakespeare's and to Green's versions. Some scholars have also suggested that the scene involving Hermione's statue in Paulina's gallery may have been inspired by painted memorial sculptures of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, that James 1st commissioned for Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth's memorial was completed in 1607 and the work on his mother's statue was almost complete as Shakespeare wrote The Winter's Tale.

Here is a brief synopsis of the plot.

In Sicily, King Leontes has been entertaining his childhood friend, King Polyxenes of Bohemia, for the last nine months. He encourages him to stay longer, but Polyxenes says that he has to get home to attend to urgent matters. Once Leontes has involved his wife Hermione in the urging, their visitor finally agrees to stay. This leads Leontes to think that his friend and his wife are having an affair, although when he asks his advisor Camillo about it, he dismisses any and all suspicions. Leontes remains unconvinced and orders Camillo to poison Polyxenes. Unable to bring himself to follow the king's orders, Camillo warns Polyxenes who promises to reward him and treat him with equal respect in his own kingdom if he helps him and his people escape, to which Camillo agrees. Camillo's betrayal and Polyxenes' escape only fuel the jealousy of Leontes, and he confronts Hermione about her infidelity. He imprisons her, separating her from their son Mammilius. The attendant, Lord Antigonus, argues on her behalf, but is dismissed by the king. Cortius, Cleomynes and Dion are sent to the oracle at Delphi to ascertain the truth about Hermione and Polyxenes. Hermione gives birth to a daughter in prison. Paulina, the wife of Antigonus, takes the child to Leontes, hoping that sight of the newborn will soften his heart. But despite her defence of Hermione, he remains unmoved. Once she has left, Leontes orders Antigonus to take the baby far away and to abandon her.