The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale was a play written by William Shakespeare.
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
Act III[[edit] | [edit source]]
Act III Scene III saw the character of Antigonus leave the baby Perdita to fend for herself. In the version of the scene published in the 1623 (PROSE: Exit, by Another Means [+]Loading...["Exit, by Another Means (short story)"]) Folio, (PROSE: Timon of Athens [+]Loading...["Timon of Athens (short story)"]) Antigonus then departed the play after being killed offstage by a bear, the stage direction "famously" being "Exit, pursued by a bear". However, in an alternative draft which formed part of the Shakespeare Notebooks, Antigonus had clearly been based upon the Doctor. Instead, he claimed he "must haste return to Gallifrey" after which a strange "wheezing and groaning" sound was heard followed by the appearance of a blue box, which Antigonus identified as his. He subsequently entered the box, which then "vanishe[d] amid great clamour".
In both versions it was clear that Antigonus had been removed from the action and would not return, with 21st century academic publication The Shakespeare Notebooks making the observation that it was "amusing to think" Shakespeare may have replaced the version featuring the disappearing box with "Exit, pursued by a bear" as he believed the audience would find it more plausible. (PROSE: Exit, by Another Means [+]Loading...["Exit, by Another Means (short story)"]) Indeed, some evidently didn't find the final version realistic either. When Richard Maynarde and Lady Peinforte approached the tomb containing Nemesis, Maynarde became worried by the noise of a bear. Peinforte was unconcerned, replying "Come, the bear will not pursue us; such things only happen in the theatre". (TV: Silver Nemesis [+]Loading...["Silver Nemesis (TV story)"])
While defensively listing off some of his Shakespearean credentials after being asked if he had read Troilus and Cressida, the Eighth Doctor claimed to have hired the bear for The Winter's Tale. (PROSE: Apocrypha Bipedium [+]Loading...["Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)"])
Act V[[edit] | [edit source]]
Act V Scene III was the climax of the play, being set in the chapel at Paulina's house and seeing Paulina reveal what purported to be a statue of the dead Hermione but what the audience knew to be the real Hermione who wasn't actually dead. In a draft extract of the scene contained in the Shakespeare Notebooks, a a strange physician who had clearly been based upon the Eleventh Doctor entered the scene suddenly to deliver the news. He initially believed the statue to be a threat, comparing Paulina to Julius Grayle and telling everyone else present their lives depended on not looking away or even blinking. However, he lost confidence after Leontes opined that he was "sore vexed at heart" and he soon realised it was not 1904 as he believed and that Hermione was not a real statue. He then apologised for spoiling what was meant to be a big climactic reveal and for the abandonment of his iambic pentameters before awkwardly departing the scene. (PROSE: The Winter's Tale [+]Loading...["The Winter's Tale (short story)"])
