Autolycus: The Thief Who Makes the Plot Work

Autolycus arrives in Act 4 Scene 3 singing about daffodils and declares himself 'a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles,' meaning someone who steals whatever people fail to pay attention to. He was once a servant to Florizel and has since become a professional small-time criminal. He robs the Clown while pretending to be the victim of a robbery, which requires the Clown to help him up from the road so he can pick the Clown's pocket.

At the festival in Act 4 Scene 4, he sells ballads and trinkets and steals from the crowd while Perdita and Florizel plan their escape to Sicilia. He accidentally ends up helping them, not from any kindness, but because the situation develops in a way that happens to be useful to him.

He is a character from a different genre dropped into a tragicomedy. His presence in the Bohemian scenes gives them a raucous energy the Sicilian court scenes do not have. He also provides the play's funniest moment: explaining to the Clown that he cannot help deliver an important letter to the king because he is 'not a man of good repute.' He is then disguised as a courtier by Florizel and immediately starts extracting money from the Clown with this fake authority.