The Winter's Tale (Folger Library General Reader's Shakespeare)

""The Winter's Tale" is high fantasy, a tale to be told by the fire! The play belongs to the type known as "tragicomedy", but Shakespeare has separated the tragedy from the comedy. The first part has the same kind of tragic development as "Othello"; the second part is pure idyllic comedy. "The Winter's Tale" is a far better play to hear and see than to read; it needs the voice of the actor to give it life." - G.B. Harrison, editor of texts for The Shakespeare Recording Society.

The Winter's Tale is one of Shakespeare's most varied, theatrically self-conscious, and emotionally wide-ranging plays. This 2007 edition provides a newly-edited text, a comprehensive introduction that takes into account current critical thinking, and a detailed commentary on the play's language designed to make it easily accessible to contemporary readers.