Polixenes, king of Bohemia, has grown restless in his nine-month stay with his old friend King Leontes of Sicilia. Only the intervention of Leontes’ pregnant wife, Hermione, persuades him to prolong his visit. Consequently, Leontes suspects Hermione of adultery with Polixenes, believing the child she carries to be Polixenes’s. In an act of revenge Leontes persuades his friend, Lord Camillo, to poison the other king. However, Camillo is convinced of Polixenes’s innocence and, instead, the two flee to Bohemia.
To Leontes, Polixenes’s escape is confirmation of adultery and he rips Hermione away from her young son, Mamillius, and imprisons her. For further confirmation, Leontes dispatches servants to seek the truth from the Delphic Oracle of Apollo. The trauma of the day causes Hermione to go into labor early, giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Perdita. Paulina, counselor of the king and queen, takes the child to the king in an attempt to soften his heart. Leontes refuses to accept the new baby as his own and orders Antigonus, Paulina’s husband, to abandon the infant in the wilderness.
Hermione stands trial in front of her husband, who is unwavering in his belief of her “bed-swerving.” Dion and Cleomenes return from the Oracle to read the verdict that Hermoine is loyal and Polixenes innocent. Positive in his convictions, Leontes denounces the sacred Oracle. Suddenly a servant interrupts with the news that Prince Mamillius has died, and the queen swoons. The blow brings Leontes to his senses, but too late; Paulina announces that the queen has died. Guilt-stricken, Leontes vows perpetual penance for the lives of his wife and son.
The scene shifts to a seacoast in the country of Bohemia, where Antigonus begins to abandon the baby princess. However, as he debates this action, a bear appears and, in his attempt to guard the baby, Antigonus is killed––”exit, pursued by a bear”. A shepherd and his son looking for their lost sheep find the baby, and adopt her as daughter and sister.
The figure of Time interrupts the action and informs us that sixteen years have passed and that the lost Sicilian princess, Perdita, has grown up healthy and regal in the shepherd’s household in Bohemia, innocent to her true identity. Perdita loves Florizel, King Polixenes’s son, and despite her fears about their supposed difference in status, the young lovers resolve to marry.
Polixenes has grown worried about his son’s repeated absences and he and Camillo disguise themselves to attend the Old Shepherd’s sheep-shearing feast where they know Florizel will be. While out shopping for the occasion, the Shepherd’s son meets peddler Autolycus who cons him into an invitation after picking his pocket. At the feast, Autolycus finds success in selling his trinkets, stories, and bawdy songs.
Florizel declares his love for Perdita publically and proposes unknowingly in front of his father and Camillo. Polixenes throws off his disguise and forbids the marriage, threatening to disown Florizel. Florizel’s love for Perdita is paramount, and so they plan to run away. Camillo, longing to return to Sicilia, persuades Florizel and Perdita to fly to his homeland. Camillo then tells Polixenes the plan so that he will pursue them. The Old Shepherd and his son realize the box they found sixteen years ago with baby Perdita hints at her true identity, so they resolve to also follow to Sicilia.
The boats from Bohemia are greeted with joy by a repentant King Leontes who accepts his wronged friend’s son and Perdita whom he later reunites with as his daughter. King Polixenes soon follows, and is also welcomed by his old friend. The shepherds bring confirmation that Perdita is the princess of Sicilia, and so her marriage to Florizel unites the estranged kingdoms.
Paulina invites everyone to view a statue she commissioned of the late Hermoine. When the miraculous statue is unveiled, Leontes is overcome by its extraordinary likeness to the queen. Paulina urges him to “awake his faith” and the statue begins to move. Hermoine, whether through magic, trick, or miracle lives again. In all her grace, Hermoine forgives Leontes, and reunites with her husband and their long-lost daughter.
