English 433G
Dr. Desmet
Summer 1996

Wordcruncher Exercise for The Winter's Tale

Since we're still early on in the quarter, limit your search to The Winter's Tale. Choose [1]Riverside Shakespeare, then [4]Romances and Poems, and finally [g]The Winter's Tale. If you want to make direct comparisons between this play and Othello, you can either go back to the original menu and choose [5]Combination of the above, which will search for your items in all plays. Or you can return to the Main menu, then choose [3]Tragedies and [g]Othello and repeat your search in that play alone.

I. Comparative References with Othello

1. Let's start by using Wordcruncher in its simplest mode, to find particular references that might help us make comparisons between these two plays about jealousy. The Winter's Tale, like Othello, hinges on accusations of female adultery and male jealousy. Witchcraft is also discussed. In both plays, look up:

jealous*
adult*
cuckold*
witch*
Remember that lack of frequency for any given word can be as significant as frequency. See where these references appear in both plays by using the frequency distribution. Try using the F2 function to combine lists and thus to see whether any two of these words appear in the same line or in the same scene. Is this significant?

2. Someone asked me last week if hands were an important motif in Shakespeare generally, and yes, that's one visual motif that these two plays share. Kissing and fiddling with women's hands is problematic in both cases. Look up references to:

hand*
finger*
palm*
Try the same process with Othello. (You'll need to push ESC to get back to the first menu. Choose [3]Tragedies and [g]Othello.) Don't forget to see what the Frequency Distribution might tell you about the use of these terms in each play.

3. One of the things that I noticed in reading The Winter's Tale this time is that this play lacks the references to god and devil, heaven and hell, that help to structure Othello. Using Wordcruncher in its simplest mode, as a searching engine, look up references in the play to "god," the "gods," or to particular gods in order to determine the relationship between humans and divine in this play. Does the frequency distribution tell you anything?

Mercury
Apollo
Proserpina
Dis
Juno
Cytherea

4. Another instructive example of the differences between these two plays could be their use of webs of animal imagery. There are many different kinds of animals in this play and they do not always have the same kind of symbolic resonance that they do in Othello. Try some of these words:

beast*
ram*
sheep*
bull*
ewe*
bear* (you'll get some references to "bear" as a verb) wolv*
lamb*
cricket*
bird*
basilisk
calf*
calv*
neat (and what exactly does this word mean?)
falcon
spider

II. Image Patterns in The Winter's Tale

1. Time appears as a character in this play, and he's a cranky old sod. Check to see where and in what spirit references to time are made in the play. Check such words as:

time*
month*
hour*
year*
What can you tell about the distribution of references to time and which units are favored for describing time? What does a frequency distribution check suggest? Finally you might look up references to the different seasons:
winter*
summer*
spring*
fall* or autumn*

2. Another particular concern of The Winter's Tale is the nature of nature and its relation to nurture, or education. Look up references to:

natur*
nobl*
What can you tell from these references?

3. This play concludes with a statue that comes to life. Thus, while symbolic imagery is still important, much of the play's language directs spectators to stage spectacle. Look for references that refer to the act of seeing, and try to see what they might tell you about the relation of vision to truth and deception. Try some of these words:

see*
behold*
eye*
You might also "see" what relationship obtains between the opposite sense, hearing, and the contrast between truth and deception. Try such words as:
hear*
story* and stor*
tale

4. In one of the paper options, I asked you to consider the relation between the character Autolycus and the realities of poverty. Look up references to:

Autolycus
Auto. (as the name prefix for this character)
to see what you can tell about Autolycus's relationship to the government's definition of a vagabond.

III. TRIVIA

Check out these interesting terms that are peculiar to The Winter's Tale:

bed-swerver
behind-door work
boild-brains
court-odor
Add them to your list of Shakespearean insults!

Christy Desmet