And so, Antigonus comes to his grisly demise, chased off stage by an angry bear who rips him to pieces then eats him. There is debate amongst those who study Shakespeare as to whether he would have used a theatrical device, such as a man dressed in a bear costume, or indeed a live bear from one of London's many bear baiting pits.
There is an argument which says Shakespeare's country roots had given him the rare and special gift of being able to control bears without resorting to chains, or even spending a great deal of time taming the animals.
John Fletcher, who collaborated with Shakespeare on works such as Henry VIII, published a brief study of The Winter's Tale, one of the only contemporary accounts on record. Contained in his report were a number of illustrations. These are the only real clues we have in revealing the mystery of the infamous bear.
One of the most well known of his sketches, is the 'Disco Bear' drawing.
This early impression of the scene when Antigonus is chased from stage, is often surprising to some. There certainly are shocking elements of the portrayal. The most striking detail is that Fletcher has included two bears in his drawing. This would suggest that Antigonus was the victim of more than one beast.
The connotations of this change the way we view other characters in the play. If there were two bears, this would challenge the Clown's account that 'the bear tore out his shoulder-bone'. He clearly only acknowledges a single bear. He repeatedly tells his father, the Sheperd, that there is only one bear.
The 'Third Gentleman' later in the play reveals that Antigonus
'..was torn to pieces with a bear: this
avouches the shepherd's son; who has not only his
innocence, which seems much, to justify him, but a
handkerchief and rings of his that Paulina knows.'
After the alleged bear attack, when describing the events to his father, the Clown says that the victim 'cried to me for help and said his name was Antigonus, a nobleman'. The Clown expects his audience to believe that he had time to find out this information while Antigonus was being attacked. It is mentioned in the Third Gentleman's speech that the Clown took items from Antigonus' body, robbing his corpse. Fletcher's sketches reveal that he is lying about the number of bears. This is an act of treason, as the Clown has obviously continued his lie in front of the King.
Fletcher argues that with all these arguments considered, it is possible that the Clown is responsible for the murder of Antignous. This throws Perdita's 'innocent' upbringing into disrepute - a girl raised by treasonous, murdering thieves could not be the angel described by Florizel, Leontes et al.
In this first sketch, the bear at the forefront of the picture appears to be wearing a party hat and holding an alchoholic drink and a number of small unidentified pills. There is a human underneath the bear that appears to have either been trampled, or seduced into willingly performing inter-species fellatio. The second bear is holding the first in a 'conga' style fashion, a popular dance move in Shakespeare's time and present day. The scene is completed by a solitary disco ball hanging above the three figures' heads.
However, Fletcher's drawings become even more astonishing.
In this sketch, there appears to be a family of bears. The figure, incredibly dressed as a native American, is intended to represent Antigonus. He is holding a bow and arrow, and fighting off one of the bears. This drawing suggests a number of things. It helps the case for an innocent Clown - the bear is illustrated as the main aggressor, with no sight of the Clown at this point. However, it would still mean the Clown lied in his account, claiming there to be only one bear.
Fletcher's last illustration of this scene is perhaps the most unbelievable.
From his accompanying notes, we know that in this drawing, Fletcher intended to represent the period momentarily before Antigonus' unfortunate entrance and subsequent death. Once again, there is more than one bear, a total of nine being visible in the diagram. There seems to be two bears standing patrol, one of whom who has recently parachuted into the woods. A further six bears wait in the back of the truck, and another can be seen sitting in the driver's seat.
All the bears appear to be armed, a number smoking cigarettes.
Fletcher's accounts command critical acclaim in studies of The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare and Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. To truly understand Shakespeare's work, we must look to Fletcher to educate and enlighten. You can order your copy on Amazon, or get it from any popular bookstore.
