Act IV, Scene IV, of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale marks a departure from the Sicilian and courtly world that dominates the three previous acts and much of 'Act IV. The chaos and disorder resulting from the events at court, the apparent death of Hermione, the abandonment of Perdita, the betrayal of Polixenes by Leontes, the exodus of Camillo from Sicily, for example, begin to resolve themselves into serenity and in the beauty of the pastoral world, closely connected to nature. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While Acts I, II, and III revolve around the actions and consequences of betrayed love, the fourth scene of Act IV is dominated by successful love stories. There is the central romance between Florizel and Perdita and a peripheral romance between the shepherd's son and a country maid. At the beginning of scene four, Florizel and Perdita reveal their feelings for each other in an exchange that incorporates the first of many references to ancient Roman deities and the natural world: “These strange weeds of yours to each part of you / Give a life; shepherdess, but Flora / Peering before April This sheep-shearing of yours / Is like a meeting of little gods, / And you are the queen of it” (4.4.1-5). Perdita is compared to Flora, the goddess of nature, and all the farmers who participate in the sheep shearing festival are compared to "little gods". Not only is Nature responsible for Perdita's "unusual weeds" on this day, but she is also responsible for giving Florizel an excuse to visit her, and also for bringing the two together in the first place. Florizel refers to their first meeting by saying, "I bless the time / When my good falcon flew through / Your father's land" (4.4.14-16). Florizel's hawk, a wild bird that typically prefers wide spaces, flew over Perdita's cottage and forced the two to meet. Interrupting the lovers' talk, Perdita's adoptive father approaches and implores his daughter to "make an offer / These unknown friends to 's welcome, for it is / a way to make us better friends, better known / come, turn off your blush and present yourself / what you are, mistress of the feast” (4.4.64-68). Being called the "mistress of the feast" brings to mind Florizel's reference to her as the sheep-shearing queen, and both monikers highlight the fact that Perdita should, indeed, one day be a true queen. following her father's plea, Perdita begins to welcome the unknown guests, who are actually Polisseno and Camillo in disguise, picking flowers for them. Perdita comments briefly on the various flowers she distributes, but elaborates eloquently on some flowers that are not present: O Proserpina, By the flowers now, how frightened you make you fall from Dis's chariot! Daffodils, who come before the sparrow dares, and take the March winds with beauty; violets, soft, but sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes, or the breath of Cytherea; pale primroses who die unmarried, before they can contemplate the bright Phoebus in his strength (a disease very common to handmaids); bold oxlips and The Imperial Crown; lilies of all kinds (the flower of light is one of them). Or I lack these to make garlands, and for my sweet friend, to scatter here and there! (4.4.116-129)This passage mentions Proserpine, who is the daughter of Ceres, a goddess connected with the goddess of earth, fertility, and death. Proserpina is the goddess of spring and the underworld. One connection between Proserpina and Perdita is that when Proserpina was kidnapped by Pluto (the god of the underworld, also known as Dis) to be queen of the underworld, she was picking flowers. Perdita also picks flowers in this scene andHe gives them to his guests. Another connection between Perdita and Proserpina is that Proserpina is the goddess of the underworld, and Perdita is believed dead by those who live in Sicily. The first flower mentioned by Perdita is the narcissus. Its appearance is interesting because it is the only play in which Shakespeare mentions it. It was typically seen as a symbol of rebirth, and this is appropriate because one of the main themes of TWT, and this scene in particular, is death and rebirth. During the show, Hermione and Perdita die, or so the Sicilian court believes. In this scene, spring is coming and the plants are blooming (a symbol of rebirth), and Perdita, thought dead, reappears in an apparent rebirth. Not only is she alive, but she is fully grown. Hermione is also reborn in a sense in the next and final act. The next flower Perdita mentions is the violet. Violets represent faithfulness and are an auspicious gift for a woman in any season. They also allude to Roman mythology: Cupid once thought a group of girls were more beautiful than Venus, who then beat them out of jealousy until they turned blue, thus transforming them purple. (“Cytherea,” which is used here, is another name for Venus.) Primroses represent budding love and refer to Perdita and Florizel's feelings for each other. Likewise, lilies represent purity, virginal modesty, and innocence: Perdita and Florizel agree to wait until marriage to consummate their relationship. The crown imperials represent power, evoking Florizel's status at court and Perdita's birthright at the Sicilian court. His lack of these flowers is a metaphor for his lost birthright. The theme of honesty and disguise is also prevalent in this scene. It is set in the pastoral world, leaving behind the more structured world of the court. Following the pastoral line, all members of the court who appear in the pastoral world disguise themselves as peasants. Each disguise is modified to serve the character's personal goal. Florizel calls himself "Doricles" and dresses as a peasant so he can freely woo Perdita. Camillo and Polisseno dress as peasants so that through them the king can monitor his son's behavior and observe the woman with whom Florizel has fallen in love. Autolycus is no longer a member of the court, but remains a master of disguise for entirely selfish reasons. As selfish as Autolycus is, he remains one of the most honest characters in the play. He's dishonest in taking advantage of people to line his own pockets, but his self-awareness and almost comical adherence to his mischievous behavior make him an almost likable villain. Loyalty to his dishonest lifestyle helps the play's happy ending. At one point he says that "If / I thought it was an act of honesty to make the King known / at the same time, I would not do it. I consider it even more / knavery to hide it; and in this I am constant in my profession". " (4.4.679-683). Autolycus thinks that revealing his son's intention to flee to Sicily to Polixenes would be too honest an action, so he abstains. In this way, Perdita can claim his birthright and his mother she is brought back to life.In the first half of the play, Leontes is guilty of tyranny. In this scene, Polixenes shows the same vice when he threatens Perdita and her family after his son chooses her as his bride is gone, Perdita says she wanted to tell him that "the same sun that shines on his court / Hides not his face from our cottage, but / Looks alike" (4.4.444-446). of the sun is often used to indicate kingship and the ordered right to the throne. The same meaning is found here: the sun shines on the court of Polyxenes because he is the king of Bohemia, but it also shines.