Q. How effective is the reappearance of Hermione after sixteen years? What would the play gain or lose without this scene?
The revival of Hermione is to this day a historic moment in dramatics. Shakespeare has merged elements of magic and disguise to create an unexpected ending that leaves the audience speechless, trying to grasp the twist of events.
'The Winter's Tale' in known to be a problem play, it has comedy, tragedy, romance and with the rebirth of Hermione we also see elements of fantasy. Besides being unexpected, this scene is also unrealistic. It presents an idea that does not fit in with the overall tragic, yet realistic, outlook of the play. We could even argue that this scene was forcefully added into the play to perhaps get out more gasps from viewers or to fit into the idea of perfect happy endings as we know original plays were usually edited on bases on the audience's reactions. Thus, the reappearance somewhat ruins the flow of the play for some viewers and ca be criticised for its questionable credibility.
Shakespeare has depicted this scene in the presence of the main characters unlike how he showed Leontes finding out Perditha is his daughter through a conversation between lords. This would indicate that Hermione's revival is perhaps of even higher importance than Perditha being found. We see a family reunite after sixteen years of repentance, hiding or living false life unknowingly. The emotional impact of this reunion is undeniable, without it perhaps the audience would feel unsatisfied by nth ending. Since Leontes and Perditha finding their way back to each other is somewhat predictable, adding the reappearance of Hermione contributes in creating suspense in the play. In addition, Shakespeare's stage directions and language hat bring Hermione back to life are undeniably beautiful, they add to the colourful flavours the play radiates and perhaps removing this scene would be the equivalent of removing a crucial ingredient from a recipe, it would ruin the dish.
Removing Hermione's revival as the ending would lose more than it would gain. It allows the audience to have an emotional connection with the moment of reunion between Hermione, Leontes and Perditha. The moments where Leontes is depicted swearing that he saw Hermione's statue move, or saw the fine wrinkles it has that Hermione did not, adds not only to the suspense but also allows the audience to realise the bond they shared, how close Leontes was to Hermione that he knew even the minutest details and noticed them moulded differently in the statue while everyone else thought she looked the same. If this scene were lost we would not have been able to realise Leontes' emotional attachment to Hermione, his character development, and what really flamed his jealously. Watching Hermione's revival also reminds the audience of Mamillius, bringing abut hopes of his revival as well, but here Shakespeare leaves us disappointed emphasising that perhaps it is not the perfect ending some might criticise it to be. Thus Hermione's reappearance can be said to have a positive effect in the play and is a good way to have ended the play.
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English Literature 9695
Non-FictionThis is a compilation of all the essays and notes I wrote while I was in ALevels. It must be noted that not all of of these are A* material (though none goes lower than a grade B) so they aren't meant to be copy pasted for your school assignments. U...
