As You Like It in the winter and The Winter’s Tale in the summer might seem a little bit backwards, but there are more to these deceptive titles. Though As You Like It feels like a play that might take place in the spring or summer, with Orlando dashing from tree to tree in a lush green forest, the play has a consistent winter motif. Cold winter wind and foul weather is referenced over a dozen times in the text including a song entitled “Blow, blow thou winter wind”.

In The Winter’s Tale, half of the plot takes place at a summertime sheep shearing. The title has less to do with the setting of the play and more to do with a lost idiom. A “winter’s tale” is a story that is far-fetched, fantastical, or unlikely; the sort of story that would be told around the fire on a cold winter’s night. Often, “winter’s tales” would include ghosts, goblins, or other such supernatural elements. When considering the unlikely and fantastical plot of The Winter’s Tale, it is clear that this play is well-suited to its title.