THE WINTER'S TALE

WITH

AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES

BY

K. DEIGHTON, B.A.

INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS, BAREILLY, LATE PRINCIPAL OF AGRA COLLEGE

London

MACMILLAN AND CO.

AND NEW YORK

1890

[All rights reserved]

INTRODUCTION.

publication;

in Shake

The Winter's Tale appears to have first seen public light The date of in the spring of 1611; and the internal evidence from style and thought shows, even if no external evidence were forthcoming, that it must have been one of Shake- and the period speare's latest plays, written not merely when his wisdom speare's life. of life and his power over language were most complete, but when, after all his struggles, inward and outward, he had reached that perfection of peace which his latest plays so delightfully reflect.

For the materials of his plot, Shakespeare has, as fre- The source. quently, been content to take a well known novel of the time, in the present instance, that of Pandosto, or Dorastus and Fawnia, by Robert Greene; but though closely following the story in its main incidents, more especially in the earlier portions, he has introduced characters (Antigonus, Paulina, and Autolycus) which have no antitypes in the novel, and by his spiritual treatment of the subject has made it as much his own as if he had drawn upon his invention for the whole story.

the earlier

Before entering upon a consideration of the more Opinions of noticeable points in the play, it may be interesting to critics. refer briefly to some of the earlier criticisms that have come down to us. These are, to say the least, amusing

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