The Winter's Tale
Category: Books,Literature & Fiction,Dramas & Plays
The Winter's Tale Details
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
Reviews
People have tended to react one of two ways about The Winter’s Tale. One is exemplified by the Oxford World Classics edition and has a near one hundred page introduction. Here the editor sees perennial Shakespearean themes, comments on its subtleties and generally provides a defense of the play as a great work of art.On the other hand The Winter’s Tale has also consistently been derided as written when Shakespeare’s imaginative powers were declining (it is one of his last works). This is the typical reaction of a first time reader. One notices the lack of pithy sayings, the seeming disorder of the plot and the deus ex machina sort of ending.I can’t say that I differed from any other first time reader in seeing the play as largely an exercise in banality. But I plan on returning to the play and seeing whether I can start to see the brilliance described by the editor. My only recommendation is for first time readers to buy an edition with an ample introduction so that one gets a hint of the ostensible depth of the play.I did enjoy reading the Winter’s Tale. Perhaps the editor is right and there is depth beyond the surface inanity. But I would recommend this work only to those, like me, who cannot get enough of Shakespeare.