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The Winter’s Tale, a la Shmoop. Shakespeare sure likes to mix things up. Take

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his play, The Winter’s Tale.

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It’s set in faraway lands with castles, lovers and magic. Sounds like a romance fit

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for Disney, right?

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Wrong, because then our playwright literally tries to kill babies.

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It begs the question, is this a happy romance or a dark tragedy? Or did Shakespeare visit

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the apothecary one too many times? Let’s study the facts.

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Kings and queen in a beautiful castle. Romance!

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King tries to murder best friend and throws very pregnant wife in the slammer because

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he thinks they’re having a love-child. Tragedy. A princess is born. Romance!

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Actually… Have you tried to give birth in a jail cell without an epidural? We’re going

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to say tragedy. Then, like a bad episode of Maury, the king

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won’t admit he’s the baby daddy.

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And he orders the baby killed.

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And the kid prince dies from despair over his mom.

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But maybe it’s a good thing he dies? Who wants a fragile mama’s boy to be the future

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king?

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Wait, no, not a good thing. Because the queen drops dead. Bummer.

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Although… the King’s servant doesn’t actually kill the baby, and instead leaves

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her in a faraway land to be raised by a funny shepherd and his clown-friend. Romance!

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Then the servant gets eaten by a bear.

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That’s right. Eaten. On stage. By a live bear. Tragedy.

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Time passes, and the pretty princess wins the sheep sheering festival’s beauty pageant.

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She’s even dating a prince. Sigh.

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Not so fast. The prince’s father… the king’s ex-best friend, awkward… thinks

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she’s just a country bumpkin and threatens to disfigure her. Double awkward.

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Back at the castle, the king is sad. It’s hard murdering your entire family.

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But sure enough, the Shepherd and clown-man come with documents and prove the princess

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is alive. And so, a perfectly logical ending occurs

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where…

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The king is reunited with his best bud.

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The princess and prince are allowed to get married.

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Everyone visits a statue of the dead queen.

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Which then comes alive!

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And they all live happily ever after. Perhaps we’ll never know Shakespeare’s

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intentions.

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But at least it all ends up right as rain in the end.

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Except for the king’s servant and son, who are still very much dead.

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