Original: My gracious lord,
Modern: My honorable lord,

Original: I may be negligent, foolish and fearful;
Modern: I admit I can be careless, stupid, and afraid;

Original: In every one of these no man is free,
Modern: Every person has these flaws,

Original: But that his negligence, his folly, fear,
Modern: Because everyone’s carelessness, foolishness, and fear,

Original: Among the infinite doings of the world,
Modern: Among all the countless things that happen in the world,

Original: Sometime puts forth. In your affairs, my lord,
Modern: Sometimes show themselves. In serving you, my lord,

Original: If ever I were wilful-negligent,
Modern: If I was ever deliberately careless,

Original: It was my folly; if industriously
Modern: It was because I was foolish; if I worked hard

Original: I play’d the fool, it was my negligence,
Modern: To act like an idiot, it was my carelessness,

Original: Not weighing well the end; if ever fearful
Modern: Not thinking about the consequences; if I was ever afraid

Original: To do a thing, where I the issue doubted,
Modern: To do something because I wasn’t sure of the outcome,

Original: Where of the execution did cry out
Modern: Where the task itself demanded action

Original: Against the non-performance, ‘twas a fear
Modern: Even though I wasn’t doing it, that was a fear

Original: Which oft infects the wisest: these, my lord,
Modern: That even affects the smartest people: these faults, my lord,

Original: Are such allow’d infirmities that honesty
Modern: Are accepted human weaknesses that even honest people

Original: Is never free of. But, beseech your grace,
Modern: Can’t escape. But I beg you, your grace,

Original: Be plainer with me; let me know my trespass
Modern: Speak more directly with me; tell me clearly what I did wrong

Original: By its own visage: if I then deny it,
Modern: By showing me exactly what it looks like: if I then deny it,

Original: ‘Tis none of mine.
Modern: Then it’s not something I did.

In Act I, Scene ii of “The Winter’s Tale,” King Leontes of Sicilia has been hosting his childhood friend King Polixenes of Bohemia for nine months. When Polixenes announces his intention to return home, Leontes attempts to persuade him to extend his visit but fails. However, when Queen Hermione joins the conversation and successfully convinces Polixenes to stay longer, Leontes becomes increasingly suspicious of the warm friendship between his wife and his guest. As he observes their interactions, Leontes begins to interpret their innocent exchanges as evidence of an adulterous affair.

Leontes confides his suspicions to his trusted lord Camillo, asking him to poison Polixenes. Initially shocked and disbelieving, Camillo attempts to reason with his king, but Leontes becomes more entrenched in his jealous convictions, citing what he perceives as obvious signs of his wife’s infidelity. When Camillo realizes he cannot dissuade Leontes from his dangerous course, he agrees to carry out the poisoning. However, Camillo instead warns Polixenes of the king’s murderous intent, and the two men decide to flee Sicilia immediately for Bohemia, leaving behind a king now convinced that their sudden departure confirms his worst suspicions about his wife’s betrayal.

The Winter’s Tale begins in Sicilia, where King Leontes hosts his childhood friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia. When Leontes asks his pregnant wife Hermione to persuade Polixenes to extend his visit, her success in convincing him to stay triggers Leontes’ sudden and violent jealousy. He becomes convinced that Hermione and Polixenes are having an affair and that her unborn child is illegitimate. Despite protests from his courtiers, Leontes orders Polixenes’ death, but Camillo, the lord commanded to poison Polixenes, instead warns him and they both flee to Bohemia.

Leontes publicly accuses Hermione of adultery and imprisons her. She gives birth to a daughter in prison, and Leontes orders the baby to be abandoned in the wilderness. When Hermione is brought to trial, the Oracle of Delphi declares her innocent, but Leontes rejects this divine judgment. Immediately after, news arrives that their young son Mamillius has died from grief, and Hermione collapses and is reported dead. Stricken with remorse, Leontes vows to spend his life repenting. Meanwhile, the baby is abandoned on the coast of Bohemia, where a shepherd finds and raises her, naming her Perdita.

Sixteen years pass. Perdita, now a beautiful young shepherdess unaware of her royal birth, falls in love with Prince Florizel, son of King Polixenes. Polixenes, disguised with Camillo, discovers his son’s romance with a shepherd’s daughter and angrily forbids the match. The young lovers flee to Sicilia with Camillo’s help, accompanied by the shepherd and his son, who carry the tokens that were left with Perdita as a baby. In Sicilia, these tokens reveal Perdita’s true identity as Leontes’ lost daughter, leading to joyful reunions and Polixenes’ forgiveness when he arrives in pursuit of his son. The play concludes when Paulina, Hermione’s loyal friend, reveals that she has kept a statue of the dead queen. In a miraculous moment, the statue comes to life—Hermione has been hidden away for sixteen years, waiting for her daughter’s return. The royal family is reunited, Florizel and Perdita are betrothed with both fathers’ blessings, and Leontes encourages Paulina to marry Camillo.