The Tragic Comedy of The Winter’s Tale Christa Ryan College

William Shakespeare’s vast collection of plays can generally be categorized by genre: his plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet are considered tragedies, while Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are considered comedies. One of his plays, however, falls short of both categories: The Winter’s Tale, written in the early 1600’s. Though The Winter’s Tale draws on elements of both comedy and tragedy, the play simply cannot be boxed into one genre because of all the different features that come into play throughout the story. The first few acts of the play tend to show off the more tragic elements of a Shakespearean production, while the last few bring about a more comedic mood; so which genre can The Winter’s Tale be considered? Due to the use of both tragic and comedic elements throughout The Winter’s Tale, I would like to contend that it is a tragic comedy as opposed to a comic tragedy because of its ending and the message it leaves.

The first three acts of The Winter’s Tale display elements typical of Shakespearean tragedies, especially regarding King Leontes. When the audience is first introduced to Leontes, he is unsuccessfully attempting to convince his good friend Polixenes to stay in their kingdom for...