Winter's Tale

Character Summary

Camillo: a lord of Sicilia who wisely disobeys his king's--Leontes'--order to poison and kill Polixenes

Archidamus: a lord of Bohemia who is so impressed with Sicilia's hospitality that he doubts his own nation--Bohemia--could extend a comparable hospitality to Sicilia

Leontes: king of Sicilia who suspects his wife and Polixines of sharing an unlawful intimacy on account of which he commissions the death of Polixenes

Polixenes: king of Bohemia

Hermoine: queen of Sicilia who reputedly dies of grief only to be resurrected

Mamillius: prince of Bohemia and the son to Hermoine and Leontes

Ladies: Hermione's attendants

Antigonus: Paulina's husband and a lord of Sicilia who dies while performing Hermione's commission which was made known to him in a dream

Lords 1 & 2: noblemen in Leontes' attendance; #1 believes as Antigonus that the Hermione is innocent of Leontes' accusations

Paulina: wife to Antigonus who takes it upon herself to confront the King and accuse him of madness for imprisoning Hermione

Emilia: one of Hermione's lady-in-waiting

Jailer: Hermione's jailer

Servants: menials attending on Leontes who are disparaged by Paulina for being obsequious to the point of harming rather than serving the King

Cleomines: a lord of Sicilia who goes to the oracle at Delphos

Dion: a lord of Sicilia who goes to the oracle at Delphos

Officer: the man in charge of directing the proceedings in Hermione's trial

Mariner: sailor who brings Antigonus and the discarded baby to the shores of Bohemia

Shephard: an old man who finds Perdita, the discarded baby, in the wilds of Bohemia

Clown: the shephard's son who witnesses Antigonus being mauled by a bear

Time: father time speaking as the play's chorus

Autolycus: a rogue and a thief who used to serve Prince Florizel and who cheats and steals from the Clown to make up for his lost revenue

Perdita: Hermione's and Leontes' lost daughter who grows up among shepherds and sheperdesses in the wilds of Bohemia

Florizel: a.k.a. Doricles, King Polixenes' son who is in love with Perdita, the shepherd girl, and will not give her up for the world

Mopsa: a shepherdess and the Clown's sweetheart

Dorcas: a shepherdess and Mopsa'a good friend

Gentlemen: gentlemen of Sicilia who relate the reconcilement between Polixenes, Leontes, the old Shephard, the Clown, Florizel and Perdita as Perdita's true identity is made known to all