The Winter’s Tale

Polixenes, King of Bohemia, has been on a nine-month visit to the court of his childhood friend Leontes, King of Sicilia, and his wife, Queen Hermione. Groundlessly, Leontes becomes convinced that his pregnant wife has been having an affair with Polixenes.  The Winter’s Tale has been labeled both a comedy and a romance and has also been described as one of Shakespeare’s ‘problem plays’ because it combines intense psychological drama with a happy ending.