Time speaks in bouncy, slightly self-mocking rhyming couplets — the only character in the play to address the audience directly and admit he's bending dramatic convention. Watch for how he preemptively defends skipping sixteen years, as if he knows the audience will object.
I that please some, try all: both joy and terror
Of good and bad, that makes and unfolds error,
Now take upon me, in the name of Time,
To use my wings. Impute it not a crime
To me or my swift passage, that I slide
O’er sixteen years, and leave the growth untried
Of that wide gap, since it is in my power
To o’erthrow law, and in one self-born hour
To plant and o’erwhelm custom. Let me pass
The same I am, ere ancient’st order was
Or what is now received. I witness to
The times that brought them in; so shall I do
To th’ freshest things now reigning, and make stale
The glistering of this present, as my tale
Now seems to it. Your patience this allowing,
I turn my glass, and give my scene such growing
As you had slept between. Leontes leaving
Th’ effects of his fond jealousies, so grieving
That he shuts up himself, imagine me,
Gentle spectators, that I now may be
In fair Bohemia, and remember well,
I mentioned a son o’ th’ king’s, which Florizel
I now name to you; and with speed so pace
To speak of Perdita, now grown in grace
Equal with wondering. What of her ensues
I list not prophesy; but let Time’s news
Be known when ’tis brought forth. A shepherd’s daughter,
And what to her adheres, which follows after,
Is th’ argument of Time. Of this allow,
If ever you have spent time worse ere now;
If never, yet that Time himself doth say
He wishes earnestly you never may.
I that please some, try all: both joy and terror Of good and bad, that makes and unfolds error, Now take upon me, in the name of Time, To use my wings. Impute it not a crime To me or my swift passage, that I slide O’er sixteen years, and leave the growth untried Of that wide gap, since it is in my power To o’erthrow law, and in one self-born hour To plant and o’erwhelm custom. Let me pass The same I am, before ancient’st order was Or what is now received. I witness to The times that brought them in; so shall I do To th’ freshest things now reigning, and make stale The glistering of this present, as my tale Now seems to it. Your patience this allowing, I turn my glass, and give my scene such growing As you had slept between. Leontes leaving Th’ effects of his fond jealousies, so grieving That he shuts up himself, imagine me, Gentle spectators, that I now may be In fair Bohemia, and remember well, I mentioned a son o’ th’ king’s, which Florizel I now name to you; and with speed so pace To speak of Perdita, now grown in grace Equal with wondering. What of her ensues I list not prophesy; but let Time’s news Be known when ’tis brought forth. A shepherd’s daughter, And what to her adheres, which follows after, Is th’ argument of Time. Of this allow, If ever you have spent time worse before now; If never, yet that Time himself does say He wishes earnestly you never may.
I that please some, try all: both joy and terror Of good and bad, that makes and unfolds error, Now take upon me, in the name of Time, To use my wings. Impute it not a crime To me or my swift passage, that I slide O’er sixteen years, and leave the growth untried Of that wide gap, since it's in my power To o’erthrow law, and in one self-born hour To plant and o’erwhelm custom. Let me pass The same I'm, before ancient’st order was Or what is now received. I witness to The times that brought them in; so shall I do To th’ freshest things now reigning, and make stale The glistering of this present, as my tale Now seems to it. Your patience this allowing, I turn my glass, and give my scene such growing As you had slept between. Leontes leaving Th’ effects of his fond jealousies, so grieving That he shuts up himself, imagine me, Gentle spectators, that I now may be In fair Bohemia, and remember well, I mentioned a son o’ th’ king’s, which Florizel I now name to you; and with speed so pace To speak of Perdita, now grown in grace Equal with wondering. What of her ensues I list not prophesy; but let Time’s news Be known when ’tis brought forth. A shepherd’s daughter, And what to her adheres, which follows after, Is th’ argument of Time. Of this allow, If ever you have spent time worse before now; If never, yet that Time himself does say He wishes earnestly you never may.
i that please some try all both joy and terror of good and bad that makes and unfolds error
I pray thee, good Camillo, be no more importunate: ’tis a sickness
denying thee anything; a death to grant this.
I pray you, good Camillo, be no more importunate: ’tis a sickness denying you anything; a death to grant this.
I pray you, good Camillo, be no more importunate: ’tis a sickness denying you anything; a death to grant this.
i pray you good camillo be no more importunate ’tis a sickness denying you anything
It is fifteen years since I saw my country. Though I have for the most
part been aired abroad, I desire to lay my bones there. Besides, the
penitent king, my master, hath sent for me; to whose feeling sorrows I
might be some allay, or I o’erween to think so,—which is another spur
to my departure.
It is fifteen years since I saw my country. Though I have for the most part been aired abroad, I desire to lay my bones there. Besides, the penitent king, my master, has sent for me; to whose feeling sorrows I might be some allay, or I o’erween to think so,—which is another spur to my departure.
It is fifteen years since I saw my country. Though I have for the most part been aired abroad, I desire to lay my bones there. Besides, the penitent king, my master, has sent for me; to whose feeling sorrows I might be some allay, or I o’erween to think so,—which is another spur to my departure.
it is fifteen years since i saw my country though i have for the most part been aired abroad i desire to lay my bones there besides
Almost uniquely in the Shakespeare canon, the Time Chorus in The Winter's Tale directly addresses the audience to announce a sixteen-year gap — and explicitly asks forgiveness for it. Shakespeare knew this was unusual: his plays typically maintain the fiction of continuous time (or at least seamless compression). Here he abandons that completely. The Time character speaks in rhyming couplets rather than blank verse, marking himself as structurally outside the play's world — not a character within the drama but the mechanism of the drama itself. The self-deprecating tone ('if you've spent time worse ere now; / If never, yet that Time himself doth say / He wishes earnestly you never may') is disarming: Time admits the convention is a stretch, and bets on the audience's goodwill. It works because the play has earned it — we've been through the winter tragedy, and now we need summer. Keep watching for how quickly the tone shifts from this formal poetry to the earthy naturalism of Autolycus's entrance.
As thou lov’st me, Camillo, wipe not out the rest of thy services by
leaving me now: the need I have of thee, thine own goodness hath made;
better not to have had thee than thus to want thee. Thou, having made
me businesses which none without thee can sufficiently manage, must
either stay to execute them thyself, or take away with thee the very
services thou hast done, which if I have not enough considered (as too
much I cannot) to be more thankful to thee shall be my study; and my
profit therein the heaping friendships. Of that fatal country Sicilia,
prithee speak no more; whose very naming punishes me with the
remembrance of that penitent, as thou call’st him, and reconciled king,
my brother; whose loss of his most precious queen and children are even
now to be afresh lamented. Say to me, when sawest thou the Prince
Florizel, my son? Kings are no less unhappy, their issue not being
gracious, than they are in losing them when they have approved their
virtues.
As you lov’st me, Camillo, wipe not out the rest of your services by leaving me now: the need I have of you, yours own goodness has made; better not to have had you than thus to want you. you, having made me businesses which none without you can sufficiently manage, must either stay to execute them thyself, or take away with you the very services you have done, which if I have not enough considered (as too much I cannot) to be more thankful to you shall be my study; and my profit therein the heaping friendships. Of that fatal country Sicilia, please speak no more; whose very naming punishes me with the remembrance of that penitent, as you call’st him, and reconciled king, my brother; whose loss of his most precious queen and children are even now to be afresh lamented. Say to me, when sawest you the Prince Florizel, my son? Kings are no less unhappy, their issue not being gracious, than they are in losing them when they have approved their virtues.
As you lov’st me, Camillo, wipe not out the rest of your services by leaving me now: the need I have of you, yours own goodness has made; better not to have had you than thus to want you. you, having made me businesses which none without you can sufficiently manage, must either stay to execute them thyself, or take away with you the very services you have done, which if I haven't enough considered (as too much I can't) to be more thankful to you shall be my study; and my profit therein the heaping friendships. Of that fatal country Sicilia, please speak no more; whose very naming punishes me with the remembrance of that penitent, as you call’st him, and reconciled king, my brother; whose loss of his most precious queen and children are even now to be afresh lamented. Say to me, when sawest you the Prince Florizel, my son? Kings are no less unhappy, their issue not being gracious, than they are in losing them when they have approved their virtues.
as you lov’st me camillo wipe not out the rest of your services the need i have of you
Sir, it is three days since I saw the prince. What his happier affairs
may be, are to me unknown, but I have missingly noted he is of late
much retired from court, and is less frequent to his princely exercises
than formerly he hath appeared.
Sir, it is three days since I saw the prince. What his happier affairs may be, are to me unknown, but I have missingly noted he is of late much retired from court, and is less frequent to his princely exercises than formerly he has appeared.
Sir, it's three days since I saw the prince. What his happier affairs may be, are to me unknown, but I have missingly noted he is of late much retired from court, and is less frequent to his princely exercises than formerly he has appeared.
it is three days since i saw the prince what his happier affairs may be are to me unknown
I have considered so much, Camillo, and with some care; so far that I
have eyes under my service which look upon his removedness; from whom I
have this intelligence, that he is seldom from the house of a most
homely shepherd, a man, they say, that from very nothing, and beyond
the imagination of his neighbours, is grown into an unspeakable estate.
I have considered so much, Camillo, and with some care; so far that I have eyes under my service which look upon his removedness; from whom I have this intelligence, that he is seldom from the house of a most homely shepherd, a man, they say, that from very nothing, and beyond the imagination of his neighbours, is grown into an unspeakable estate.
I have considered so much, Camillo, and with some care; so far that I have eyes under my service which look upon his removedness; from whom I have this intelligence, that he is seldom from the house of a most homely shepherd, a man, they say, that from very nothing, and beyond the imagination of his neighbours, is grown into an unspeakable estate.
i have considered so much camillo and with some care so far that i have eyes under my
I have heard, sir, of such a man, who hath a daughter of most rare
note: the report of her is extended more than can be thought to begin
from such a cottage.
I have heard, sir, of such a man, who has a daughter of most rare note: the report of her is extended more than can be thought to begin from such a cottage.
I have heard, sir, of such a man, who has a daughter of most rare note: the report of her is extended more than can be thought to begin from such a cottage.
i have heard of such a man who has a daughter of most rare note
The conversation between Polixenes and Camillo is easy to read past, but it contains the play's most sustained portrait of a man caught between loyalty and longing. Camillo has been in Bohemia for fifteen years — effectively exiled, even if voluntarily, because serving Polixenes became necessary when serving Leontes became impossible. He wants to go home. Leontes has sent for him. And Polixenes is essentially saying: you can't go, because I need you, and besides, thinking about Sicilia makes me sad. Camillo's predicament is the predicament of the good person trapped between two competing obligations. His compliance here — 'I willingly obey your command' — is the compliance of someone who has calculated that this is not the moment to push. He will find a way back to Sicilia eventually, but not today.
That’s likewise part of my intelligence: but, I fear, the angle that
plucks our son thither. Thou shalt accompany us to the place, where we
will, not appearing what we are, have some question with the shepherd;
from whose simplicity I think it not uneasy to get the cause of my
son’s resort thither. Prithee, be my present partner in this business,
and lay aside the thoughts of Sicilia.
That’s likewise part of my intelligence: but, I fear, the angle that plucks our son there. you shalt accompany us to the place, where we will, not appearing what we are, have some question with the shepherd; from whose simplicity I think it not uneasy to get the cause of my son’s resort there. please, be my present partner in this business, and lay aside the thoughts of Sicilia.
That’s likewise part of my intelligence: but, I fear, the angle that plucks our son there. you shalt accompany us to the place, where we will, not appearing what we are, have some question with the shepherd; from whose simplicity I think it not uneasy to get the cause of my son’s resort there. please, be my present partner in this business, and lay aside the thoughts of Sicilia.
that’s likewise part of my intelligence i fear the angle that plucks our son there
I willingly obey your command.
I willingly obey your command.
I willingly obey your command.
i willingly obey your command
My best Camillo! We must disguise ourselves.
My best Camillo! We must disguise ourselves.
My best Camillo! We must disguise ourselves.
my best camillo! we must disguise ourselves
The Reckoning
The play's second half begins with one of Shakespeare's boldest theatrical gestures: a character called Time simply walks onstage and apologizes for skipping sixteen years. It works because it's completely unashamed — Time doesn't explain, Time announces. Then we're in a Bohemia that functions as the mirror image of Sicilia: warmth, friendship, practical concern. But there's trouble here too — a king's son disappearing to a shepherd's cottage. The play hasn't finished with the consequences of the first half yet.
If this happened today…
Imagine a TV drama that opens its third season with a 'Previously On' narrator who explicitly says: 'We're skipping sixteen years. Leontes has been in therapy. Perdita has grown up as a shepherd's daughter and is apparently extraordinary. Florizel has been driving to the same farm every day and his father has noticed.' Then two men — an exiled courtier now running the court, and the king he serves — have a very human conversation about a teenager who keeps sneaking off to see a girl, and decide to check her out in person, wearing baseball caps.