Paulina speaks in volleys — urgent, logical, quick to pivot when blocked, and absolutely relentless. She rarely wastes a sentence on pleasantry when argument is available. Watch for how she reframes every obstacle as someone else's moral problem rather than hers.
The keeper of the prison, call to him;
Let him have knowledge who I am.
The keeper of the prison, call to him; Let him have knowledge who I am.
The keeper of the prison, call to him; Let him have knowledge who I'm.
the keeper of the prison call to him let him have knowledge who i am
Shakespeare wrote many characters who speak truth to power, but Paulina is unusual in that she has a plan. She doesn't just name what Leontes is doing wrong — she identifies a lever that might move him and immediately organizes around it. When the gaoler blocks her from the queen, she pivots to the ladies. When the ladies are inaccessible, she pivots to Emilia. When Emilia brings news, Paulina is already forming a counter-strategy before the conversation ends. This is the profile not of a tragic truth-teller (like Cassandra, whose prophecies are always ignored) but of a political operative — someone who understands that moral urgency must be translated into tactical action. The irony is that her tactic will fail. But Paulina's failure doesn't discredit her method; it indicts Leontes's imperviousness to evidence.
The Gaoler is a man of rules trying to be decent, which is not the same as being useful. He defers to authority, which here means Paulina steamrolls him. Watch for how his final scruple — 'I know not what I shall incur' — is the voice of institutional complicity meeting someone who refuses to let it stand.
For a worthy lady
And one who much I honour.
For a worthy lady And one who much I honour.
For a worthy lady And one who much I honour.
for a worthy lady and one who much i honour
Pray you then,
Conduct me to the queen.
Pray you then, Conduct me to the queen.
Pray you then, Conduct me to the queen.
pray you then conduct me to the queen
I may not, madam.
To the contrary I have express commandment.
I may not, madam. To the contrary I have express commandment.
I may not, madam. To the contrary I have express commandment.
i may not to the contrary i have express commandment
Here’s ado, to lock up honesty and honour from
Th’ access of gentle visitors! Is’t lawful, pray you,
To see her women? any of them? Emilia?
Here’s ado, to lock up honesty and honour from Th’ access of gentle visitors! Is’t lawful, pray you, To see her women? any of them? Emilia?
Here’s ado, to lock up honesty and honour from Th’ access of gentle visitors! Is’t lawful, pray you, To see her women? any of them? Emilia?
here’s ado to lock up honesty and honour from th’ pray you to see her women? any of them? emilia?
So please you, madam,
To put apart these your attendants, I
Shall bring Emilia forth.
So please you, madam, To put apart these your attendants, I Shall bring Emilia forth.
So please you, madam, To put apart these your attendants, I Shall bring Emilia forth.
so please you to put apart these your attendants i shall bring emilia forth
I pray now, call her.
Withdraw yourselves.
I pray now, call her. Withdraw yourselves.
I pray now, call her. Withdraw yourselves.
i pray now call her withdraw yourselves
And, madam,
I must be present at your conference.
And, madam, I must be present at your conference.
And, madam, I must be present at your conference.
i must be present at your conference
Well, be’t so, prithee.
Well, be’t so, please.
Well, be’t so, please.
be’t so please
Paulina's argument that the baby cannot be imprisoned because she was 'freed' by birth is one of Shakespeare's most subtle legal moments. The argument follows real Elizabethan legal reasoning: an infant in utero is not yet a legal person and therefore cannot be charged or held. The baby has committed no crime, is party to no treason, and was delivered — in both the medical and legal senses — from her mother's imprisonment. By invoking 'the law and process of great nature,' Paulina is essentially making a common-law argument about personhood: this child's existence is prior to and independent of the king's accusation. The gaoler finds this convincing, which tells us something: even men with direct orders have consciences, and the right argument at the right moment can activate them. Paulina has been finding those moments her whole life.
Emilia speaks with the economy and gravity of someone carrying news that is both terrible and precious. Her sentences are short and exact — she has learned to say exactly what is needed and no more. Watch for how she defers to Paulina while making clear that Hermione had already thought of this plan herself.
As well as one so great and so forlorn
May hold together: on her frights and griefs,
(Which never tender lady hath borne greater)
She is, something before her time, deliver’d.
As well as one so great and so forlorn May hold together: on her frights and griefs, (Which never tender lady has borne greater) She is, something before her time, deliver’d.
As well as one so great and so forlorn May hold together: on her frights and griefs, (Which never tender lady has borne greater) She is, something before her time, deliver’d.
as well as one so great and so on her frights and griefs (which never tender lady has borne greater) she is something before her time
A boy?
A boy?
A boy?
a boy? not a boy a daughter
A daughter; and a goodly babe,
Lusty, and like to live: the queen receives
Much comfort in ’t; says “My poor prisoner,
I am as innocent as you.”
A daughter; and a goodly babe, Lusty, and like to live: the queen receives Much comfort in ’t; says “My poor prisoner, I am as innocent as you.”
A daughter; and a goodly babe, Lusty, and like to live: the queen receives Much comfort in ’t; says “My poor prisoner, I'm as innocent as you.”
a daughter and a goodly babe and like to live
For the entire scene, Hermione is offstage — and yet she is its emotional center. We learn she has given birth prematurely under conditions of terror and grief. We hear her exact words to her newborn daughter. We learn she had already thought of this plan but was afraid to ask anyone. Everything we hear builds the portrait of a woman of extraordinary resource who is still losing badly. The scene's dramatic function is to make us desperate for Paulina's plan to work — to make the audience want what Paulina wants. By keeping Hermione offstage and making her present only through Emilia's reports, Shakespeare achieves a remarkable effect: Hermione becomes the still point around which everyone else revolves. She is not passive — she thought of the plan first — but she cannot act. Everything she is has to travel through intermediaries. Keep watching for how often Hermione must speak through others, or not at all, until the very end.
I dare be sworn.
These dangerous unsafe lunes i’ th’ king, beshrew them!
He must be told on’t, and he shall: the office
Becomes a woman best. I’ll take’t upon me.
If I prove honey-mouth’d, let my tongue blister,
And never to my red-look’d anger be
The trumpet any more. Pray you, Emilia,
Commend my best obedience to the queen.
If she dares trust me with her little babe,
I’ll show’t the king, and undertake to be
Her advocate to th’ loud’st. We do not know
How he may soften at the sight o’ th’ child:
The silence often of pure innocence
Persuades, when speaking fails.
I dare be sworn. These dangerous unsafe lunes i’ th’ king, beshrew them! He must be told on’t, and he shall: the office Becomes a woman best. I’ll take’t upon me. If I prove honey-mouth’d, let my tongue blister, And never to my red-look’d anger be The trumpet any more. Pray you, Emilia, Commend my best obedience to the queen. If she dares trust me with her little babe, I’ll show’t the king, and undertake to be Her advocate to th’ loud’st. We do not know How he may soften at the sight o’ th’ child: The silence often of pure innocence Persuades, when speaking fails.
I dare be sworn. These dangerous unsafe lunes i’ th’ king, beshrew them! He must be told on’t, and he shall: the office Becomes a woman best. I’ll take’t upon me. If I prove honey-mouth’d, let my tongue blister, And never to my red-look’d anger be The trumpet any more. Pray you, Emilia, Commend my best obedience to the queen. If she dares trust me with her little babe, I’ll show’t the king, and undertake to be Her advocate to th’ loud’st. We don't know How he may soften at the sight o’ th’ child: The silence often of pure innocence Persuades, when speaking fails.
i dare be sworn these dangerous unsafe lunes i’ th’ king beshrew them! he must be told on’t and he shall
Most worthy madam,
Your honour and your goodness is so evident,
That your free undertaking cannot miss
A thriving issue: there is no lady living
So meet for this great errand. Please your ladyship
To visit the next room, I’ll presently
Acquaint the queen of your most noble offer,
Who but today hammer’d of this design,
But durst not tempt a minister of honour,
Lest she should be denied.
Most worthy madam, Your honour and your goodness is so evident, That your free undertaking cannot miss A thriving issue: there is no lady living So meet for this great errand. Please your ladyship To visit the next room, I’ll presently Acquaint the queen of your most noble offer, Who but today hammer’d of this design, But durst not tempt a minister of honour, Lest she should be denied.
Most worthy madam, Your honour and your goodness is so evident, That your free undertaking can't miss A thriving issue: there is no lady living So meet for this great errand. Please your ladyship To visit the next room, I’ll presently Acquaint the queen of your most noble offer, Who but today hammer’d of this design, But durst not tempt a minister of honour, Lest she should be denied.
most worthy madam your honour and your goodness is so evident that your free undertaking cannot miss a thriving there is no lady living so meet for
Tell her, Emilia,
I’ll use that tongue I have: if wit flow from ’t
As boldness from my bosom, let’t not be doubted
I shall do good.
Tell her, Emilia, I’ll use that tongue I have: if wit flow from ’t As boldness from my bosom, let’t not be doubted I shall do good.
Tell her, Emilia, I’ll use that tongue I have: if wit flow from ’t As boldness from my bosom, let’t not be doubted I shall do good.
tell her emilia i’ll use that tongue i have if wit flow from ’t as boldness from my bosom
Now be you blest for it!
I’ll to the queen: please you come something nearer.
Now be you blest for it! I’ll to the queen: please you come something nearer.
Now be you blest for it! I’ll to the queen: please you come something nearer.
now be you blest for it! i’ll to the queen please you come something nearer
Madam, if ’t please the queen to send the babe,
I know not what I shall incur to pass it,
Having no warrant.
Madam, if ’t please the queen to send the babe, I know not what I shall incur to pass it, Having no warrant.
Madam, if ’t please the queen to send the babe, I know not what I shall incur to pass it, Having no warrant.
if ’t please the queen to send the babe i know not what i shall incur to pass it having no warrant
You need not fear it, sir:
This child was prisoner to the womb, and is,
By law and process of great nature thence
Freed and enfranchis’d: not a party to
The anger of the king, nor guilty of,
If any be, the trespass of the queen.
You need not fear it, sir: This child was prisoner to the womb, and is, By law and process of great nature thence Freed and enfranchis’d: not a party to The anger of the king, nor guilty of, If any be, the trespass of the queen.
You need not fear it, sir: This child was prisoner to the womb, and is, By law and process of great nature thence Freed and enfranchis’d: not a party to The anger of the king, nor guilty of, If any be, the trespass of the queen.
you need not fear it this child was prisoner to the womb and is
I do believe it.
I do believe it.
I do believe it.
i do believe it
Do not you fear: upon mine honour, I
Will stand betwixt you and danger.
Do not you fear: upon mine honour, I Will stand betwixt you and danger.
Do not you fear: upon mine honour, I Will stand betwixt you and danger.
do not you fear upon mine honour i will stand betwixt you and danger
The Reckoning
This is Paulina's introduction to the audience and she arrives in exactly the register she'll maintain throughout the play: energetic, practical, morally furious, and absolutely certain she's right. The prison scene is brief but crucial — we learn the baby is born, we learn Hermione is holding together by sheer will, and we watch Paulina turn a visit into a plan. The baby becomes a weapon, or rather an argument — a visible, incontrovertible piece of evidence that Paulina proposes to walk right into the king's chambers.
If this happened today…
A lawyer with a high-profile client being held in pre-trial detention without access to anyone gets turned away at the front desk. She talks her way into speaking to a guard, gets information from a paralegal who has access, and on the spot devises a strategy: she'll take the client's newborn directly to the judge's chambers during a recess. 'The silence of a baby is more persuasive than argument.' The gaoler is worried about liability. She waves it off — the baby hasn't been charged with anything. The lawyer leaves with a plan, which is more than she came in with.