William Shakespeare
The Winter's Tale
The full script in Final Draft, Word & PDF
A king's sudden jealousy destroys his family, and sixteen years later a lost daughter and a statue offer a chance at forgiveness.
PDFs Only
$4.99
- ✓ Stageplay PDF (112 pp.)
- ✓ Screenplay PDF (101 pp.)
- ✓ Instant download
Full Package
$12.99
- ✓ Final Draft (.fdx)
- ✓ Microsoft Word + RTF
- ✓ Screenplay + Stageplay PDFs
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All 37 plays in every format cost $99, less than 8 single Full Packages. PDFs only: $55 for all 37.
- Genre
- Romance
- Written
- c. 1609–1611
- Setting
- Sicilia and Bohemia
- Scenes
- 15
- Speaking roles
- 34
- Uncut running time
- ~3h 05m
What happens in The Winter's Tale
Leontes, King of Sicilia, becomes convinced that his pregnant wife Hermione has been unfaithful with his friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia. He imprisons Hermione, orders his newborn daughter abandoned, and ignores the oracle of Apollo. Hermione's death and the loss of their son follow. The play then jumps forward in time.
The baby Perdita is left on the coast of Bohemia and raised by a shepherd. Sixteen years later, at a sheep-shearing feast full of songs and the rogue Autolycus, she is loved by Polixenes' son Florizel. The couple's flight takes them to Sicilia, where Leontes, still grieving, and Paulina, who has kept watch over his remorse, bring the story to an unexpected conclusion.
See the formatting
The first page of Act I, exactly as it appears in the files you download.
The biggest roles
Share of the play's spoken words, counted from the script. 34 characters speak; 20 of them have under 1% of the text — natural candidates for doubling.
| Role | Share of the text | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| Leontes | | 135 |
| Autolycus | | 75 |
| Paulina | | 67 |
| Camillo | | 75 |
| Polixenes | | 60 |
| Clown | | 65 |
| Hermione | | 35 |
| Florizel | | 46 |
For directors
Leontes carries 19.8% of the words, with Autolycus (9.8%), Paulina (9.6%), Camillo (8.5%), Polixenes (8.0%) and the Clown (6.5%) following, and eight roles over 5%. Thirty-four speaking roles across 15 scenes, 20 under 1%, makes doubling workable, and a common approach is to double the Sicilia and Bohemia companies. At about 3 hours 5 minutes uncut, it is a long evening. Hermione and Perdita need strong actors.
Cutting notes
- The long sheep-shearing feast in 4.4, with its songs and dances, is frequently shortened.
- Autolycus's pedlar scenes and the rustic comedy around the Clown are commonly trimmed.
- The trial scene in 3.2 and the oracle are normally kept, but surrounding exposition can be condensed.
For teachers
Typical themes include jealousy, time and forgiveness, the contrast between court and pastoral worlds, and the play's shift from tragedy to romance. Students often examine Leontes' jealousy in 1.2 and 2.1, the stage direction 'Exit, pursued by a bear', the sheep-shearing feast in 4.4, and the statue scene in 5.3. The play is also studied for its use of Time as a chorus.
Questions
Is this the complete, uncut text of The Winter's Tale?
Yes. Every file contains the full play — 15 scenes and about 24,700 spoken words. Cut it yourself in Word or Final Draft to fit your running time.
What is the difference between the stageplay and screenplay layouts?
The stageplay layout indents stage directions and sets dialogue full-width, like a theatre script. The screenplay layout follows film conventions: scene headings and action flush left, character names centred, dialogue in a narrower column. Both tiers include both layouts as PDFs; the Full Package adds editable Final Draft and Word files of each.
Can I use this The Winter's Tale script for a production or a class?
Yes. Shakespeare's plays are in the public domain, so there are no royalties to pay for staging them. Edit, stage, film or teach with these files.
How do I receive the files?
Right after checkout you land on a private download page, and the link is also emailed to you. It keeps working, so you can re-download any time.
