The generic classification of The Winter's Tale has posed problems for scholars. The play was originally considered one of Shakespeare's comedies, but the deeply psychological and tragic nature of the first three Acts defies that classification. By contrast, the last two Acts are more comedic, especially due to the introduction of "jester" or "fool" characters like Antigonus, as well as the romantic coupling of all the characters at the play's conclusion in accordance with the conventions of Shakespearean comedy: Leontes with Hermione, Florizell with Perdita, and Paulina with Camillo. The play might therefore be described as a Shakespearean tragicomedy or "romance," a term for late Shakespeare plays that merge tragic and comedic elements.
The shift in setting in Act 4 from the formalities of the Sicilian court to the shepherd's cottage in Bohemia also marks a temporary shift in the play to the pastoral or bucolic genre, which depicts the shepherd's idyllic rural lifestyle and celebrates its proximity to nature. By placing discrepant generic conventions side by side, Shakespeare reworks a tragic tale of death and loss into one of rebirth and hope—and thus highlights the redemptive power of artifice.
