William Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale": The Triumph of Art

Abstract

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare is a play of his latest period. It is a dramatized romance based on a story popular in his day. His primary source was Pandosto: The Triumph of Time, a euphuistic romance written by Robert Greene in 1588. The changes which Shakespeare made not only were of dramatic necessity, but also reflected a change of emphasis from the source. Symbolism and unreality are the two of the major aspects of The Winter's, and an understanding of the function of these two qualities may bring us close to Shakespeare's purpose in writing the play.