Pericles - William Shakespeare

Summary

Pericles, Prince of Tyre tells the story of its eponymous hero, Pericles, who must flee his kingdom after discovering the incestuous secret of King Antiochus. His subsequent voyages are fraught with peril, including shipwrecks, famine, and betrayal. He finds love and marries Thaisa, the daughter of King Simonides of Pentapolis. However, a storm at sea causes Thaisa to appear to die after giving birth to their daughter, Marina, and she is cast overboard in a chest. Pericles leaves Marina in the care of Cleon and Dionyza, the governor and his wife of Tarsus. Years later, he believes Marina has been murdered, leading him into a deep depression. Meanwhile, Marina is kidnapped by pirates and sold to a brothel but maintains her virtue, converting many to chastity. Eventually, through a series of coincidences orchestrated by the goddess Diana, Pericles and Marina are reunited. Thaisa, who did not die but was rescued and became a priestess of Diana, is also reunited with her family, restoring joy and order after years of suffering.

Book Sections

Section 1

The play opens with Gower, the chorus, introducing Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Pericles travels to Antioch to woo the beautiful daughter of King Antiochus. To win her hand, suitors must solve a riddle, and failure means death. Pericles solves the riddle, which reveals that Antiochus is engaged in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Though he fears death, Pericles feigns ignorance and asks for more time to consider the answer. Antiochus, understanding that Pericles knows his secret, plots to have him murdered. Pericles flees Antioch, realizing the danger he is in. He sends his trusted lord, Helicanus, to rule Tyre in his absence, while he sails away to avoid Antiochus's assassins.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Gower (Chorus)	Narrator, storyteller	To guide the audience through the complex plot and provide moral commentary.
Pericles	Prince of Tyre, honorable, intelligent, courageous, somewhat naive initially	To find a wife, to escape the wrath of Antiochus, to protect his kingdom.
Antiochus	King of Antioch, tyrannical, incestuous, vengeful	To maintain his power and his illicit relationship, to eliminate anyone who discovers his secret.
Antiochus's Daughter	Beautiful, complicit in her father's incest	To remain with her father, to fulfill her role in his deceptive game.
Helicanus	Lord of Tyre, loyal, wise, honorable	To serve Pericles, to ensure the stability and safety of Tyre.

Section 2

Pericles travels to Tarsus, a city suffering from famine. He generously provides food from his own ships, saving the city. The governor, Cleon, and his wife, Dionyza, express their profound gratitude. Pericles decides to stay in Tarsus for a time to recover from the threat of Antiochus. Meanwhile, Helicanus in Tyre is urged by other lords to take the throne, as Pericles has been absent for too long. Helicanus refuses, loyal to Pericles, and declares that if Pericles does not return within a year, he will then consider taking the crown. He sends lords to search for Pericles.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Cleon	Governor of Tarsus, initially grateful, later weak-willed	To save his city, to maintain good relations with Pericles.
Dionyza	Wife of Cleon, initially grateful, later cruel and ambitious	To save her city, to advance her own children's prospects.

Section 3

Pericles continues his travels and is shipwrecked near Pentapolis. He loses all his possessions but is rescued by some poor fishermen who offer him hospitality and reveal that King Simonides is holding a tournament for his daughter's hand. With the help of the fishermen, who retrieve his rusty armor from the sea, Pericles decides to participate. He performs remarkably well despite his poor equipment, impressing King Simonides and his daughter, Thaisa.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Fishermen	Humble, kind-hearted, practical	To help a fellow human in distress, to earn a living.
Simonides	King of Pentapolis, jovial, wise, discerning	To find a worthy husband for his daughter, to test the suitors.
Thaisa	Daughter of Simonides, beautiful, intelligent, virtuous	To find love and a suitable husband, to obey her father.

Section 4

Thaisa falls in love with Pericles, despite his seemingly low status. King Simonides tests Pericles's sincerity and worth, and Pericles proves himself honorable. Simonides, pleased with Pericles's character, gives his blessing for Pericles and Thaisa to marry. News reaches Pericles that Antiochus and his daughter have been killed by divine fire, removing the threat to Tyre. Pericles decides to return to Tyre with his new wife, who is now pregnant.

Section 5

During their voyage back to Tyre, a violent storm erupts. Thaisa goes into labor prematurely and gives birth to a daughter, Marina. In the midst of the storm, Thaisa appears to die. The superstitious sailors insist that her body must be cast overboard to appease the tempest. Heartbroken, Pericles reluctantly agrees, placing Thaisa's body in a chest with jewels and a letter, which is then thrown into the sea. The storm subsides. Pericles, fearing for his newborn daughter's safety at sea, decides to leave Marina in Tarsus with Cleon and Dionyza, believing them to be trustworthy friends. He then continues his journey to Tyre, leaving Marina in their care for 14 years.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Lychorida	Nurse	To care for the infant Marina.
Cerimon	Lord of Ephesus, skilled physician, benevolent	To use his medical knowledge to help others, to understand the mysteries of life and death.

The chest containing Thaisa's body washes ashore in Ephesus, where it is discovered by Cerimon, a benevolent and skilled physician. Cerimon opens the chest, reads the letter, and through his medical expertise, revives Thaisa, who was not dead but merely in a deep coma. Believing Pericles to be lost at sea and her daughter dead, Thaisa dedicates herself to the goddess Diana and becomes a priestess in Ephesus.

Section 6

Gower summarizes the passage of fourteen years. Marina grows into a beautiful and accomplished young woman in Tarsus, excelling in music, needlework, and learning, far surpassing Cleon and Dionyza's own daughter, Philoten. Dionyza, consumed by envy and jealousy for Marina, plots to have her murdered so that her own daughter will not be overshadowed. She instructs her servant, Leonine, to kill Marina.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Marina	Daughter of Pericles and Thaisa, virtuous, talented, resilient, innocent	To live a good life, to honor her foster parents, to maintain her purity.
Philoten	Daughter of Cleon and Dionyza	Not well developed, serves as a contrast to Marina's brilliance.
Leonine	Servant of Dionyza, cowardly, opportunistic	To obey his mistress's orders, driven by fear and desire for reward.

Section 7

Leonine attempts to murder Marina on the seashore, but before he can, pirates arrive, chase him off, and kidnap Marina. They then sail away, intending to sell her into slavery. Leonine, fearing Dionyza, reports that he killed Marina. Dionyza, relieved, fabricates a story of Marina's death and builds a monument to her, to deceive Pericles.

Section 8

The pirates sell Marina to a brothel in Mytilene, run by a Bawd, a Pander, and their servant Boult. Despite being in a morally corrupt environment, Marina steadfastly maintains her virginity and virtue. She uses her intelligence, eloquence, and musical talents to persuade men to abandon their lustful intentions and embrace chastity. She converts many of the brothel's clients, frustrating the Bawd and Pander. Eventually, she convinces them to let her work as a tutor and entertainer, where she earns an honest living through her virtuous influence.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Bawd	Owner of the brothel, cynical, mercenary	To profit from prostitution.
Pander	Co-owner of the brothel, coarse, materialistic	To profit from prostitution.
Boult	Servant in the brothel, crude, easily swayed	To serve his masters, to satisfy his own base desires.
Lysimachus	Governor of Mytilene, initially appears debauched, but is secretly virtuous and just	To observe human nature, to maintain order, to find a worthy partner.

Section 9

Pericles returns to Tarsus to visit Marina. Cleon and Dionyza tell him that Marina died of a fever, showing him the monument they built. Pericles is overcome with grief, believing he has lost both his wife and daughter. He falls into a deep depression, neglecting his appearance and refusing to speak, wearing sackcloth and vowing never to wash his hair or speak until he finds a true love who sings to him. He sails aimlessly, a broken man.

Section 10

Pericles's ship eventually arrives in Mytilene. Lysimachus, the virtuous Governor of Mytilene, hears of the silent, grieving prince and comes aboard, accompanied by Marina, who has gained a reputation for her healing influence. Lysimachus hopes Marina can console Pericles. Marina approaches Pericles and attempts to speak with him and sing to him, trying to draw him out of his sorrow. Pericles initially rejects her, but her voice and story gradually awaken something within him. He is struck by her resemblance to Thaisa and by the story of her life, which mirrors his own. As they speak, Pericles realizes that Marina is his long-lost daughter. Their emotional reunion is overwhelming. The goddess Diana appears in a vision to Pericles, instructing him to go to her temple in Ephesus and offer sacrifices.

Section 11

Pericles, Marina, and Lysimachus travel to the temple of Diana in Ephesus. There, Pericles finds Thaisa, now a priestess. Thaisa recognizes Pericles, and Pericles recognizes Thaisa. Their reunion is joyous and miraculous. Cerimon is also present, confirming his role in Thaisa's revival. Pericles, Thaisa, and Marina are finally reunited as a family. Pericles arranges for Lysimachus to marry Marina and declares that he will rule Tyre, while Lysimachus will govern Mytilene, and he condemns Cleon and Dionyza to be executed for their treachery. The play concludes with Gower recounting the fates of the characters and emphasizing the triumph of virtue and divine providence.

Literary Genre

Romantic Comedy, a subgenre of tragicomedy. It blends elements of tragedy (loss, suffering, near-death experiences) with romance (love, quest, separation, reunion) and ultimately ends happily with restoration and reconciliation.

Author Facts

• William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
• Birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
• Works: He wrote approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems.
• Impact: His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
• Co-authorship: Pericles is often considered a play of disputed authorship, with significant portions likely co-written by George Wilkins.

Moral of the Book

The primary moral of Pericles is the resilience of virtue and the redemptive power of divine providence in overcoming suffering. Despite immense hardship, betrayal, and loss, those who maintain their integrity and faith are ultimately rewarded with restoration and joy. It emphasizes that good deeds are eventually recognized, and evil deeds are punished. The play also touches on themes of patience, endurance, and the transformative power of love and family.

Curiosities of the Book

• Disputed Authorship: Pericles is one of Shakespeare's most problematic plays in terms of attribution. Many scholars believe that the first two acts (or more) were written by a different playwright, likely George Wilkins, and Shakespeare took over from Act 3 onwards. This accounts for the noticeable difference in writing style and quality throughout the play.
• Source Material: The play draws heavily from John Gower's Confessio Amantis (Book VIII, "The Tale of Apollonius of Tyre"), which is why Gower appears as the Chorus. Other sources include Lawrence Twine's translation of The Pattern of Painful Adventures (1576) and possibly Philip Sidney's Arcadia.
• Popularity: Despite its uneven quality due to the co-authorship, Pericles was immensely popular in its time, possibly even more so than some of Shakespeare's other masterpieces. It was one of the first Shakespearean plays to be printed in quarto (1609).
• Classification: It is often categorized as one of Shakespeare's "romances" or "late plays," which typically feature elements of magic, long journeys, lost children, and ultimate reconciliation and redemption, alongside Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest.
• Marina's Virtue: Marina's unwavering chastity and ability to convert men in a brothel is a central and somewhat fantastical element, highlighting the play's romantic and allegorical nature. It portrays virtue as a powerful, almost miraculous, force.