Cleomenes and Dion Two more lords of Sicilia. Mopsa and Dorcas Two shepherdesses who dramatize the role models for young women of their social level; they fail to sway Perdita from her natural inclinations toward graciousness and gentility. We do not know what he is like in ordinary times, for he is struck by an almost insane fit of jealousy soon after the play begins. The Winter’s Tale, play in five acts by William Shakespeare, written about 1609–11 and produced at the Globe Theatre in London. CAMILLO, ANTIGONUS, CLEOMENES, DION, Lords of Sicilia. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. The First Servant is charged with reporting on Mamillius’s condition when the boy falls ill, and announces the child's death. But he has his own personal crisis, which involves the perfidy of his son, Florizel. A Bear lives by the seacoast of Bohemia, and makes a meal of Antigonus. Polixenes, King of Bohemia. She never utters a sigh or a word of remonstrance about the loss of her children or her freedom after she forgives Leontes. from your Reading List will also remove any Emilia is one of Hermione’s ladies, allowed to attend on the Queen as she gives birth. MAMILLIUS, young Prince of Sicilia. Archidamus is a Bohemian lord, part of Polixenes’s suite when the latter visits Sicily. Indeed, his mother is soon put on trial f… The Old Shepherd is a Bohemian. He seems to be the most influential lord in Leontes' court after Camillo leaves. Because he listens to Camillo and cares about Perdita, he is able to emerge from his ardent, youthful fantasy without destroying anyone. Identified only as the traditional clown role that he fills in the play, the character is developed enough to be a remarkable favorite for generations of audiences. Paulina is Antigonus’s wife. Perdita The daughter of Leontes and Hermione; Princess of Sicilia; later, the wife of Florizel, and Princess of Bohemia. Paulina, his wife and lady-in-waiting to Hermione. PERDITA, Daughter to Leontes and Hermione. Leontes is the King of Sicily. Antigonus, a Sicilian courtier. At a young age, Mamillius is wrenched away from his mother and forbidden to see her again. HERMIONE, Queen to Leontes. Hermione is Leontes’s wife, and the daughter of the Emperor of Russia. He is married to Paulina, and has three daughters. At the age of 67, searching for sheep, he comes across the baby Perdita and adopts her. Unaware of her royal lineage, she falls in love with the Bohemian Prince Florizel. The Servant of the Old Shepherd is very enthusiastic about all comers to the feast, be they peddlers or dancers. The King of Bohemia, and Leontes's boyhood friend. Perdita is Hermione’s and Leontes’s daughter, though she is unaware of this. Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. The Officer is the highest official in Hermione’s trial other than the King, charged with reading the indictment and administering oaths, as well as reading the oracle. Although he does appropriate the gold that was left with his foundling "daughter," he otherwise seems to raise Perdita in a fair and nurturing atmosphere. This quality is also used effectively to bring authenticity to a character who would otherwise be only two-dimensional. The virtuous and beautiful Queen of Sicilia. Leontes. He cannot control his wife, Paulina, nor can he contrive a humane fate for the infant Perdita. Learn more about The Winter’s Tale in this article. Their most important role in the play is to fetch and deliver the oracle's message from Delphos. She loves a good ballad and enjoys singing. He is also wise and skilled enough to reconcile the love between Polixenes and his son, Florizel, into a tapestry of reunion and reconciliation among all the surviving, original sufferers in the play. When Leontes ends their friendship, Polixenes develops in a different and more wholesome way. Her outstanding virtue is common sense, which Florizel needs from their union more than he ever seems to realize. A lord of Sicilia, sent to Delphi to ask the Oracle about Hermione's guilt. The King of Sicilia, and the childhood friend of the Bohemian King Polixenes. The daughter of Leontes and Hermione. The First Gentleman was present at the opening of the fardel that was found with Perdita, but was sent away before he could witness the whole scene of reconciliation. © 2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Without any environmental influence, she grows up with a quality of royalty being one of her most innate traits and with an uncanny resemblance to her mother in behavior as well as appearance. A Gentleman Attendant [mute role] attends on Paulina when she visits the prison. (She too may be Emilia.). He is falsely accused of having an affair with Leontes's wife, and barely escapes Sicilia with his life. Shepherds and Shepherdesses come to the sheep-shearing festival, where they dance, listen to ballads, have a merry time – along with having their pockets picked. Old Shepherd The shepherd who finds and raises Perdita. Autolycus is a short rogue, formerly one of Florizel’s servants. A play called "The Winter's Tale" would immediately indicate to contemporary audiences that the work would present an "idle tale", an old wives' tale not intended to be realistic and offering the promise of a happy ending. The site's critical consensus reads, "Winter's Tale tries to retain the grandiose sweep of its source novel, but fails to fill it in with characters worth rooting for or a sensible plot." He is a close childhood friend of Leontes’s, and is willing to abandon his kingdom for nine months to visit the latter. A Jailer appears sympathetic to Paulina, but follows his orders to the letter. PAULINA, Wife to Antigonus. Because her father believes her to be illegitimate, she is abandoned as a baby on the coast of Bohemia, and brought up by a Shepherd. She is also the agent of the (apparently) dead Queen's resurrection. Identified only as the traditional clown role that he fills in the play, the character is developed enough to be a remarkable favorite for generations of audiences. Russian by birth, this character is an unbelievably pure combination of virtues, including a sufficiently patient optimism that sustains her through sixteen years while she hides and waits for the right moment to rejoin her repentant husband. Mamillius Young son of Leontes; Prince of Sicilia. Mamillius' death seems, to Leontes, to be a punishment by the gods and causes Leontes to realize that his persecution of his wife has been a horrible mistake. Cleomines is one of the Sicilian lords sent to Delphi to ask Apollo’s oracle for a verdict on Hermione’s case. FLORIZEL, his Son. Dion is one of the Sicilian lords sent to Delphi to ask Apollo’s oracle for a verdict on Hermione’s case. Antigonus suffers more than circumstances justify, however, when he is chased and devoured by a bear. Polixenes is the King of Bohemia. He is deeply in love with Perdita, whom he visits disguised as a countryman; to all but her he goes by the name of Doricles. As noted by Polixenes at the beginning of the play, Leontes has everything that love, loyalty, family and power can provide — until he is dominated by jealousy and tyranny. Previous He is gripped by jealous fantasies, which convince him that Polixenes has been having an affair with his wife, Hermione; his jealousy leads to the destruction of his family. Much later in life, he sees his only son fall in love with a lowly Shepherd's daughter—who is, in fact, a Sicilian princess. Cleomenes. The moody, precocious boy dies, presumably of a broken heart, before his mother's sexual fidelity and innocence is accepted by his father. The Third Servant announces Cleomenes and Dion’s return. An honest Sicilian nobleman, he refuses to follow Leontes's order to poison Polixenes, deciding instead to flee Sicily and enter the Bohemian King's service. Autolycus Another favorite character from this play. Florizell, his son. Camillo, a courtier, friend to Leontes and then to Polixenes. He plays a minor but key role in the final reconciliation; and when the goodhearted clown promises to reward Autolycus, the groundwork is prepared for our feeling that rewarding the rogue is more just than punishing him for his earlier thievery. The Winter's Tale study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. About The Winter's Tale. The Shepherd's buffoonish son, and Perdita's adopted brother. A brash and high-spirited young man, he is willing to throw away all responsibilities, loyalty, and filial love in exchange for the chance to live with and love Perdita. Polixenes King of Bohemia and childhood friend of Leontes. After he has caused those most dear to him to die and disappear, he repents for sixteen years until he is ready to be offered a second chance for happiness.

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