THE WINTER’S TALE: Tragedy in Acts 1-3
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In Act 2 when Leontes hears of Camillo's and Polixeness escape from Sicilia, he is further convinced of Hermione's guilt, which leads to her public humiliation and imprisonment. This is ironic because in Act 1 Leontes assures Camillo that he will not hurt Hermione's reputation if Polixenes is murdered. One can see that Leontes paranoia is at an extreme level, with his tone of voice constantly changing from persuasive to angry. This is in keeping with his irrational behaviour.
Act 2 scene 1 started off in a light-hearted vein with gentle joking between Hermione and Mamilius. This provides mild comic relief to the tense and serious end of the previous scene. The arrival of Leontes with the news of the secret departure of Polixenes and Camillo creates tension and abruptly changes the tone of the scene. From this point on it is grave and serious. There is much t ...
