The Winter's Tale is Shakespeare's most perfectly realized tragi- comedy as notable for its tragic intensity as for its comic grace & throughout for the richness & complexity of its poetry. It concludes moreover with the most daring & moving reconciliation scene in all Shakespeare's plays. Though the title may suggest an escapist fantasy recent criticism has seen in the play a profoundly realist psychology & a powerful commentary on the violence implicit in family relationships & deep longlasting friendships. Stephen Orgel's edition considers the play in relation to Renaissance conceptions of both dramatic genre & the family traces the changing critical & theatrical attitudes towards it & places its psychological & dramatic conflicts within the Jacobean cultural & political context. The commentary pays special attention to the play's linguistic complexity & the edition also
Includes:: a complete reprint of Shakespeare's source Pandosto by Robert Greene. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more.