Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”: Tragedy + Time = Comedy

William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale summary, discussion, and analysis with Dr. Daniel Larson, Associate Professor of Literature. Genre conventions of the Tragicomedy. Full Text: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakes... Jealous tyrants, angry bears, and living statues: "The Winter’s Tale" is one of Shakespeare’s strangest plays—what the heck! This lecture takes on the weirdness that is Statue Hermione. To do so, I draw from some of Shakespeare’s contemporaries to come up with an idea of the “tragicomedy” that might fit this play particularly well; in the background here (way, waaaaay in the background) is Quentin Meillasoux’s essay on mourning called “Spectral Dilemma.” This video was originally part of a synchronous on-line course in Spring 2021 (during the COVID 19 pandemic). At the time, I had posted all of these lectures set to “private,” linked in an on-line forum with discussion questions and additional content; I’ve decided to make the video lectures public and share them now. Why? Who knows. I will include relevant handouts, discussion questions, and additional links in the description below—feel free to carry the conversation on in the comments! Also, if you’re interested in this kind of thing, let me know! Time Stamps: 0:00 Problem Play, Romance, or Tragicomedy? 2:19 Plot Summary (part 1) 4:55 The Tragedy 6:15 Plot Summary (part 2) 8:31 Essential Mourning 9:24 Plot Summary (part 3) 10:08 Tragicomedy Definition 12:27 Exit, pursued by a bear 14:14 Re-imagining Tragedy 15:55 Incomprehensible Joy 17:20 Good will win Questions for Discussion: Compare the first half of this play with one of the tragedies we’ve read. How does it follow the same beats and how/where does it deviate. Do you think the first three acts construct a compelling tragic arc? That is, are he first three acts sufficient to affect catharsis? Why or why not—be specific in your answer. Compare the second half of this play with one of the comedies we read earlier in the semester. How do the standard genre conventions for the comedy appear in this play? Whois our “malcontent” and what exactly happens to him and his schemes? How might this character in partial give us insight into the overarching themes or ideas of this play? Consider the end of this play—how would you adapt this scene for a modern audience in a medium other than stage or film/television? Additional Resources: Frederick Kiefer, “The Iconography of Time in “The Winter’s Tale,” Renaissance and Reformation 23.3 (Summer 1999): pp. 49-64 https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index... Northrop Frye, “The Triumph of Time” A Natural Perspective: the development of Shakespearean Comedy and Romance, Columbia UP, 1965: pp 72-117. E.K. Johnson, Exit, Pursued by a Bear. Penguin, 2017. https://www.amazon.com/Exit-Pursued-B... The Animated Tales of Shakespeare: The Winter’s Tale    • Video   #Shakespeare #winterstale #summary #tragicomedy #literaryanalysis #lecture