Comedies • c. 1610
The Winter's Tale: Modern English Translation & Study Guide
King Leontes of Sicilia is gripped by unfounded jealousy toward his innocent queen Hermione.
Read The Winter's Tale Side by Side
Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.
- Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Antechamber in LEONTES' palace.
- Act 1, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. A room of state in the same.
- Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A room in LEONTES' palace.
- Act 2, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. A prison.
- Act 2, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A room in LEONTES' palace.
- Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A sea-port in Sicilia.
- Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. A court of Justice.
- Act 3, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Bohemia. A desert country near the sea.
- Act 4, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Bohemia. The palace of POLIXENES.
- Act 4, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A road near the Shepherd's cottage.
- Act 4, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. The Shepherd's cottage.
- Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A room in LEONTES' palace.
- Act 5, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Before LEONTES' palace.
- Act 5, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A chapel in PAULINA'S house.
The Winter's Tale study pathways
Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.