Pericles
What is Pericles about?
King Antiochus has issued a challenge to any suitor proposing marriage to his daughter: answer a seemingly impossible riddle correctly, or die. Pericles, the Prince of Tyre, discovers the answer to the puzzle, but in doing so, he unearths the incestuous relationship between the king and his daughter. Pericles decides not to reveal the truth, and King Antiochus gives him forty days before his execution. When Antiochus hears that the prince has fled back to Tyre, he sends an assassin after him. At the advice of his councilor, Helicanus, Pericles plans to travel until Antiochus no longer wants to kill him. On his journeys he encounters a brutal storm that leaves him shipwrecked in Pentapolis. This play draws from many sources: Confessio Amantis by John Gower (who appears in the play as the chorus), The Odyssey , Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia , and Plutarch’s Lives . The themes of separated families and mistaken death refer back to Shakespeare’s earlier plays, like The Comedy of Errors . This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright’s 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition.
Main themes in Pericles
Loss and restoration
Loss and restoration emerges as a defining element in Pericles, shaping character development.
Sea and storms
The theme of sea and storms weaves through Pericles, adding depth to its narrative.
Patience and endurance
In Pericles, patience and endurance provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Virtue tested
Pericles thoughtfully explores virtue tested through its central conflicts.
Why Pericles is still relevant today
Pericles is Shakespeare's first romance, pioneering the pattern of loss, wandering, and miraculous reunion that characterizes his late plays. Its episodic structure follows the medieval poet Gower as narrator. Though partly collaborative and textually corrupt, the play contains powerful scenes of recognition and redemption, including Marina's escape from a brothel and the reunion with her father.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pericles about?
Prince Pericles flees a tyrant's wrath, loses his wife in childbirth at sea, and leaves his daughter Marina to be raised by others. Years later, after Marina's own trials, father and daughter are reunited, and his wife is also restored from apparent death.
Did Shakespeare write all of Pericles?
Scholars believe Acts 1-2 were written by George Wilkins, with Shakespeare writing Acts 3-5. The text is also corrupt, perhaps reconstructed from memory. Despite these problems, the play was popular and contains unmistakably Shakespearean scenes.
Why is there a narrator in Pericles?
The medieval poet John Gower appears as Chorus, introducing acts and bridging gaps in the episodic story. This old-fashioned device emphasizes the tale's folk quality and ancient sources, distancing it from realistic drama.
What happens to Marina in Pericles?
Marina, Pericles' daughter, is sold to a brothel but preserves her virtue through eloquence, converting would-be customers. She eventually encounters her father, whom she heals from grief-stricken catatonia through the power of her words.