The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio, in 1623. It was grouped among the comedies, but some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W. Lawrence, consider it to be one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comedic and supply a happy ending. 