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The Winter’s Tale book cover

The Winter’s Tale

William Shakespeare · English text · 25,843 words

King Leontes’ sudden suspicion destroys his family and sends his infant daughter into exile. Years later, the story moves to a pastoral world where the next generation meets, and an unexpected return makes room for recognition and repair.

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Background

The play changes genre across a long time gap, moving from the severity of tragedy toward the wonder of romance. Its famous stage direction near the end asks an audience to experience restoration as an event unfolding before them.

Reading notes

  • Notice how quickly Leontes turns uncertainty into certainty and punishment.
  • Mark the shift in tone and setting after the time jump.
  • Consider what forgiveness can restore and what cannot simply be undone.

Version note

Text source: the Standard Ebooks EPUB edition identified on this page. This site extracted the English text and retained the source edition’s chapter order. Public-domain status must be checked for the territory where the text will be distributed.