THE HISTORY OF THE PLAY The Winter's Tale was apparently first printed in the folio of 1623, where it is the last of the "Comedies," as The Tempest is the first. Malone found a memorandum in the Office Book of Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, which he gives as follows: "For the king's players. An olde playe called Winter's Tale, formerly allowed of by Sir George Bucke, and likewyse by mee on Mr. Hemmings his worde that there was nothing profane added or reformed, thogh the allowed booke was missinge, and therefore I returned it without a fee, this 19 of August, 1623." Malone also discovered that Sir George Buck did not obtain full possession of his office as Master of the Revels until August, 1610; and he therefore conjectured that The Winter's Tale "was originally licensed in the latter part of that year or the beginning of the next." This date is confirmed by the Diary of Doctor Forman, who writes thus: "In the Winters Talle at the glob Observe ther howe Lyontes the Kinge of Cicillia was overcom w Ielosy of his wife with the Kinge of Bohemia his frind that came to see him. and howe he contriued his death and wold haue had his cup berer to have poisoned. who gave the King of bohemia warning therof & fled with him to bohemia/Remeber also howe he sent to the Orakell of appollo & the Aunswer of apollo. that she was giltles. and that the king was Ielouse &c and howe Except the child was found Agane that was loste the Kinge shuld die with out yssue. for the Ichild was caried into bohemia & ther laid in a forrest & brought up by a sheppard And the kinge of bohemia his sonn maried that wentch & howe they fled into Cicillia to Leontes and the sheppard hauing showed the letter of the nobleman by whom Leontes sent a [sic] was that child, and the Iewells found about her. she was knowen to be Leontes daughter and was then 16 yers old Re |