Florizel (The Winter's Tale)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Florizel and Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie.
Florizel and Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie.

Florizel is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

Florizel is the son of Polixenes – King of Bohemia. He falls in love with Perdita wishing to marry her until his father protests; objecting to the marriage, warning Florizel that his inheritance will be revoked if he ever seeks Perdita again. Polixenes objects to the marriage because he believes Perdita is a shepherdess and therefore unworthy of a royal marriage with Florizel.

In spite of this, Florizel genuinely is in love with Perdita – his love remaining strong. With the intervention of Camillo, the dilemma is resolved owing to the fact that Perdita is actually of royal origin (the daughter of King Leontes).

[edit] See also