The first thing I realized when reading A Winter's Tale is that it was written by Shakespeare. I have done a lot of reading in my life and mostly by a lot of different people. I also enjoy writing a little bit myself so I recognized from beginning this play that Shakespeare has his own voice and it is very unique to him. You see, there is Sci-Fi, Fantasy, classics, biographies, novels, textbooks, and then there is also Shakespeare. It is very different from anything else that I have read, besides maybe Beowulf...maybe...
And this difference, I've found, is what entrances me so. I very much enjoy the funny lines and interesting plots and different characters of his plays but I definitely enjoy the way Shakespeare expresses himself and the voice that he has and the uniqueness of it. He developed it very well.
On to the actual story of A Winter's Tale. I am already forming opinions about these characters and I've only read the first act! I think that Leontes loves his wife very much. I also think that he is way too judgmental and jumped too quickly to conclusions. Although this may be dismissed by the fact that Leontes may have had this inkling before we were introduced to him. In which case I believe the asking his best friend to stay longer was a test to see if his suspicion was true. Either way and in my opinion, Leontes loves his wife.
Shakespeare's tone is very distinctive. I've noticed that something that he often does is create conflict that exists only within his characters minds, and I definitely think that's happening here.
ReplyDeleteI think Leontes loves his wife (or, at least, he did at first), but another of Shakespeare's signatures is turning relationships on their heads. The status quo can't stay as it is, or there'd be no point in writing the play.