"I think there is not in the world either malice or matter to alter it."
When Camillo remarks that the love between Leontes and Polixenes is remarkably strong, Archidamus agrees, and predicts that there is absolutely nothing in the world that could come between them. Of course, his assertion is an ironic foreshadowing of Leontes's jealousy that will soon destroy the friendship between the two men.
"We were as twinn'd lambs that did frisk i' the sun, / And bleat the one at the other: what we changed / Was innocence for innocence; we knew not / The doctrine of ill-doing, nor dream'd / That any did."
Before Leontes accuses Polixenes of seducing his wife Hermione, Polixenes describes the two men's youth by comparing them to "twinned lambs." Here, he emphasizes the glee and innocence they experienced as young boys, even suggesting at the end of the speech that, had they not grown up and become interested in sex, they would have been free of original sin.
"...women say so, / That will say anything but were they false / As o'er-dyed blacks."
As Leontes lets his jealousy grow, he thinks about whether his son, Mamillius, is actually his biological child. Despite the fact that Mamillius looks exactly like him, Leontes expresses his misogynistic perspective that women are inherently liars, and that they would lie to him about the likeness between him and his son. This passage also emphasizes a common conflict in Shakespeare's plays (and in the English Renaissance in general): that a man would raise and leave his fortune to a son that was not actually his own.
"Too hot, too hot! / To mingle friendship far is mingling bloods. / I have tremor cordis on me: my heart dances; / But not for joy; not joy."
As Hermione entertains Polixenes with graciousness and hospitality, Leontes – seemingly out of nowhere – begins to imagine that his wife and his best friend are having an affair. In this aside, he details his anxiety and paranoia over what he perceives is his wife's infidelity and his friend's disloyalty. Readers should note how erratic Leontes's language is in this speech: his words are marked by pauses and interruptions, emphasizing the extent to which his jealousy has overwhelmed his reason.
"Good queen, my lord, / Good queen; I say good queen; / And would by combat make her good, so were I / A man, the worst about you."
When Leontes casts doubt on Hermione's virtue, Paulina defends her, repeating fervently that she is a "good queen" despite Leontes's accusations. Here, she goes so far as to suggest that if she were a man, she would fight to defend Hermione's honor, implying that Leontes is wrong about his wife. After Leontes repents, he welcomes Paulina as a trusted advisor, likely based on her ability to see things as they truly are.
"I am sorry for't: / All faults I make, when I shall come to know them, / I do repent. Alas! I have show'd too much / The rashness of a woman."
After Leontes repents and asks forgiveness, Paulina makes a point to continue to remind Leontes of how his jealousy has led to the deaths of his wife and son. In this quotation, she apologizes for her behavior. However, her apology is so exaggerated that many interpret this passage as ironic, with Paulina mocking Leontes's own misogyny and refusing to absolve him of the mistakes he has made.
"Heavy matters! heavy matters! but look thee here, boy. Now bless thyself: thou mettest with things dying, I with things newborn."
In this quotation, the Old Shepherd describes how, at the exact moment he found an abandoned baby (Perdita), his son witnessed an old man (Antigonus) being eaten by a bear. The Shepherd philosophizes about the continuity of the life cycle, implying that despite the tragedy of death, there is still the promise of new life.
"I pray thee, good Camillo, be no more importunate: 'tis a sickness denying thee any thing; a death to grant this."
When Camillo asks to return to his home in Sicily, Polixenes is overcome with grief and begs him to stay. Here, he pleads with Camillo to stop asking, because continuing to deny him what he wants is torturing Polixenes. The intimacy and care with which Polixenes speaks to Camillo suggests that Camillo has replaced Leontes as Polixenes's best and most trusted friend.
"The blessed gods / Purge all infection from our air whilst you / Do climate here!"
When Florizel and Perdita arrive in Sicily, Leontes heaps upon them this hyperbolic compliment – that the arrival of the young Prince purges Sicily of all illness and disease. Of course, this assertion is more than just a laudatory comment for Florizel; it also represents Leontes's sense that he (and his kingdom) will be healed by the presence of the Prince and, more importantly, the presence of his daughter Perdita (though he is not yet aware of this fact).
"Your mother was most true to wedlock, prince; / For she did print your royal father off, / Conceiving you."
Looking at Florizel, Leontes remarks that he is the spitting image of his father, Polixenes. He compares Florizel's mother to a printing press that printed off the exact image of Florizel's father, thereby confirming her fidelity. This quotation is significant because, sixteen years prior, Paulina attempted to convince Leontes of Hermione's innocence by pointing out that Baby Perdita looked exactly like him.
