The winters Tale, one of Shakespeares later romantic comedies, offers a striking and challenging mixture of tragic and violent events, lyrical love-speeches, farcical comedy, pastoral song and dance, and, eventually, dramatic revelations and reunions. Thematically, there is a rich orchestration of the contrasts between age and youth, corruption and innocence, decline and regeneration. Both Leontes murderous jealousy and Perditas love-relationship with Florizel are eloquently intense. In the theatre, The Winters Tale often proves to be diversely entertaining and deeply moving. This volume is part of the new Wordsworth Classics ' Shakespeare Series.