Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how, in William Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale", the idea of time and time passing are key elements in the drama. The paper analyzes how time is constantly expressed in the play through direct methods such as the use of Time as the chorus at the beginning of Act IV and, more indirectly, in the development and situation of characters. The paper examines how the two characters most controlled by time are Leontes, King of Sicilia, and his beautiful and devoted queen, Hermione.

From the Paper:

"It seems that late in his career, Shakespeare chose to play with new forms of drama. However, like his earlier works, The Winter's Tale is based on a story that already existed. In this case, a prose romance called Pandosto by Robert Greene inspired Shakespeare's play (Biemen 67). It is the changes that Shakespeare made to the existing story that make this such an interesting play for the famous playwright. Greene's version ended in complete tragedy. However, Shakespeare's play finds its way out of the tragic mode to end much like many of his comedies. Shakespeare's reason for this change is unknown, but it has raised many questions about his intentions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Biemen, Elizabeth. William Shakespeare: The Romances. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990.
• Dunn, Angela and Justin Eller. The Winter's Tale. 28 April 2006. http://www.cc.utah.edu/~mp2434/541wt.html
• Knight, G. Wilson. "'Great Creating Nature' An Essay on The Winter's Tale."
• Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.
• Shakespeare, William. The Winter's Tale. New York: Monarch Press, 1991.

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