In 'The Winter's Tale', sixteen years pass between the first and second halves of the play. Shakespeare marks the leap with the allegorical character Time, who announces the transition from the tragic events of the Sicilian court to the pastoral world of Bohemia.
Before the interval, King Leontes falsely suspects that his wife Hermione has been unfaithful with his childhood friend Polixenes. His jealousy leads to imprisonment, the apparent deaths of Hermione and their son Mamillius, and the abandonment of his infant daughter Perdita. A shepherd discovers and raises Perdita in Bohemia.
After sixteen years, Perdita has grown into a young woman and falls in love with Florizel, the son of Polixenes. Their romance eventually brings the separated families back together in Sicily. The long gap is essential: it allows Perdita to mature and gives Leontes time to live in remorse.
The interval also helps explain the play's unusual structure. Its first half resembles intense tragedy, while the later acts become pastoral romance and end with reconciliation. The gap is one reason modern editors often classify the work as a late romance rather than a straightforward comedy.