Product Description
In this magical story, a shepherdess falls, in love with a Prince. There is also one of Shakespeare’s most outrageous clowns – and a bear. This one hour version uses brief narrations to keep the story clear. The rest of the words are Shakespeare’s. Has been successfully produced with a K-6 cast. Suggestions for directors. Ideas for simple sets and costumes. Grade school students learn that Shakespeare is fun with this delightful adaptation. Even young children b… More >>
#1 by James Yanni on January 26, 2010 - 11:13 am
As usual in Shakespearean plays, the language here is very prettily written. As usual in Shakespearean comedies, there are plot holes that one could easily drive a tank squadron through. But since this is not just a comedy, but a tragicomedy, in which the first part is a tragedy and the second a comedy, not everything comes out well in the end: some worthy characters die. Also, as is usual for Shakespeare, we have a morality play on the evils of jealousy and closed-mindedness. Really, though, other than the pretty Shakespearean turns of phrase, there isn’t much to recommend this book.
Rating: 3 / 5
#2 by Anonymous on January 26, 2010 - 12:17 pm
a good read, but can be confusing for kids. It takes a while to comprehend all of the Shakespearian langauge, but is very interesting. It is boring at parts.
Rating: 3 / 5
#3 by MrSherlockHolmes on January 26, 2010 - 12:28 pm
Ask anyone to name a play by Shakespeare and it most likely will be Romeo and Juliet, or Hamlet, or Macbeth or even Othello. Rarely will you ever hear anyone say The Winter’s tale, but is its lack of popularity due to it being any lesser than Shakespeare’s other works? Unfortunately I would have to say yes.
The play is taken from Greene’s Pandosto and follows it quite closely in most parts. The plot is fairly simple, Leontes, the King of Sicilia gets into a jealous rage over his what he believes is his wife’s infidelity with his friend. This causes him to break off a close relationship with his childhood friend the King of Bohemia and his servant Camillo. He also banishes his daughter, and kills his wife and son by flouting Apollo’s judgement that Hermione, his wife, is innocent.
The second part of the play is concerned with the reunion of his banished daughter and her newly acquired husband with Leontes. There is a surprise at the ending which I will not spoil for those who have not yet had the opportunity to read the play.
If you’ve read Othello, you will find similarities between Othello and Leontes and also between Desdemona and Hermione. The only major difference is that there is no Iago in this play; Leontes is his own Iago. Shakespeare in Othello develops the reasons for Othello’s suspicion of Desdemona, unfortunately this is lacking in The Winter’s Tale. There is not much of a motive and the reader (or audience) is asked to believe that Leontes develops his jealous rage over one minor incident and almost immediately.
Another problem I have with this play is with the surprise ending. Here again, there is not much of a clue as to how this happens, it is just assumed that we will accept it unquestioningly as fact. Apart from these minor `faults’ the play is still an interesting read, and as always the inclusion of the clowns and Autolycus give it some lightness which balances the tragedies.
If you’d like to dive deeper into the play, I’d suggest the commentary by Fitzroy Pyle (1969) which I found to be quite helpful.
Rating: 3 / 5
#4 by R. Caputa on January 26, 2010 - 3:06 pm
I have always favoured the Oxford Shakespeare series over others (Folger, etc), and the Winter’s Tale is no exception. It’s translation notes and lexigraphical assistance makes reading a joy and brings out the true heart and soul of one of Shakespeare’s commonly overlooked tragi-comedies.
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by Kirby Frank on January 26, 2010 - 4:33 pm
I really, really liked this play. This was my third of Shakespeare’s, and I was pleased to discover that I hadn’t wasted my time reading it. Oh, how sorry I felt for Hermione! After Leontes had done that to her, I just held a grudge against him for the rest of the play. I couldn’t help it! Hehe. Anyway, this play is probably amongst my favorites of Shakespeare so far. It’s light tone that lacks in syrupy drama and exaggeration yet contains elements that get you where it counts makes for a well put-together play. I recommend it.
Rating: 4 / 5