The Winter’s Tale (1623) , written by Shakespeare between 1609-11 deals with the story of Royal family segregation and their unification at the end. It is a tragicomedy that mingles both the elements of tragedy and comedy. Shakespeare has mixed both supernatural elements again in his tragicomedy but also inputted a pastoral elements. He grew and personally developed in a wide natural atmosphere and hence the pastoral elements transcends the natural blooming of his personality as well.
As a tragicomedy, the play has an incredible plot. Tragicomedy has a plot which appears really astonishing to the readers and audiences. It always starts with the tragic note leaving the audience that the play itself will end in deadly tragedy but ends with a happy ending. This makes the plot really incredible. The plot where Leontes keeps his wife Hermione imprison in the castle also heightens the incredibility of the plot of the play as it is astonishing to believe that a queen is imprison in the cell of the castle for the false assumptions of infidelity hypothesized by the King Leontes.
The play also shrouds the elements of tragedy and death. These elements of tragedy and death is what makes the story incredible and leaves the audience in an astonishing tone. There are many deaths that begin with the opening of the plot where one can see the death of King Leontes son Prince Mamillius is dead. The dead continues with the queen Hermione who also dies of grief over her deceased son. It also continues to Antigonus who has tragic death devoured by a bear because he responded to the loyalty of Leontes rather than responding to his conscience.
As a tragicomedy, Shakespeare’s comical element is gender equality. Shakespeare always play with the mind of his audiences making the woman characters appear infidel at the beginning of the play. Similarly, the play also projected the same plot where Hermione appears infidel to King Leontes eyes and she was accused of having an affair with Polixenes. However, Shakespeare gives justice to Hermione which reflects gender equality by establishing the fidelity of Hermione where she was put on a trail and the court members declared her fidelity and chastity.
The supernatural elements is also important aspect of Shakespearean tragicomedy. The supernatural elements actually helps to explore the human nature in most of his tragicomedies include The Tempest. In the play, Hermione’s ghost appears to Antigonus and declares the name of their daughter to be Perdita and as well highlighted that he would never be able to see her wife any longer. He was eaten by a bear. The human psyche is depicted with the use of supernatural elements where a clear human conscience is given to Antigonus who obeyed the loyalty to King Leontes order to abandon their daughter. A Christian morality is contrasted allegory where Antigonus was punished for his loyalty towards an evil service of King Leontes in contrast to the character Camillo who disobeyed Leontes loyalty and listen to his own conscience to shield and help escape Polixenes from Leontes. Critically, a clear binary opposition of conscience/loyalty was indicated at the approval of Christian morality.
However, the element of pastoral setting is uncommon for Shakespeare’s tragicomedy but he has used some pastoral elements in his play which heightens the effect of Shakespeare as a dramatist who grew up in a natural atmosphere as well as indicating the child Perdita who would grow up in a natural atmosphere. Critically, the Christian allegory of replenishing the sins of his father and a state of bliss to her mother’s soul could be attributed to pastoral setting. It indirectly suggests that the pastoral settings will give a positive and calm peaceful state of mind for the development of Perdita in contrast to the temperament which she would grew up with her father King Leontes. It is overall a replenish effect through a child who is replenishing his father’s sin indeed.
The separation and unification is also an important aspect of Shakespearean tragicomedy. One can observe in the play where Perdita was separated from her father since the day she was born. She was taken by the Shepherds and owned her as their daughter and raised her as their own. They were finally reunited after Autolycus overheard the conversation of shepherd who revealed the parentage of Perdita and soon both Perdita and Florizell was asked to visit Leontes. The unfication process started when the statue of Hermione is erected implying the unification of a Royal family once again.
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