Pericles

Pericles is a late romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. Written around 1606, the play follows Pericles, Prince of Tyre, on his journey to be reunited with his family after a storm at sea separates everyone. The play did not appear in Shakespeare’s First Folio, suggesting the editors did not believe he wrote the whole play. It is now generally accepted that Shakespeare wrote most of it, but he received help from other playwrights. Widely credited for helping to create the romantic comedy genre, many of Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into TV and film.

Each act in Pericles is introduced by the ghost of John Gower, an English poet. An offstage narrator delivering prologues and additional information was a common theatrical device at the time. The play opens in Antioch, an ancient Greek city near modern-day Antakya.

In Antioch, King Antiochus is preparing to marry off his daughter to a worthy suitor. He sets the suitors a riddle—the one who solves it will marry his daughter. Those who fail will be executed. So far, no one has been able to solve the riddle.



Pericles, the play’s hero, is the ruler of Tyre. Looking for a bride, he is intrigued by the king’s challenge. He hears the riddle and is horrified when he solves it. King Antiochus admits in the riddle that he committed incest with his daughter. Pericles refuses to admit he has solved the riddle because he does not want to be seen accusing the king of such a thing. He is sentenced to die in forty days.

In Antioch, Pericles worries over his situation. He wonders if it is worth telling the king he has solved the riddle because he is going to die anyway. However, he decides he does not want to marry King Antiochus’s daughter; all that matters now is escaping back to Tyre. He seeks the counsel of his best friend, Helicanus. Helicanus advises Pericles not to flee to Tyre because the king will find him there.

Pericles knows that Helicanus is right and he prepares to leave. He puts Helicanus in charge of Tyre while he sails to Tarsus. He does not plan to stay in Tarsus, but he offers the governor, Cleon, and his wife, Dionyza, grain to feed their starving city. They graciously accept. Pericles hopes they’ll pretend they haven’t seen him if the king sends an assassin there looking for him.



Meanwhile, with each passing day, Helicanus, still in charge of Tyre, fears for his friend’s safety. He is right to worry because Pericles ends up in a lot of trouble. When Pericles leaves Tarsus, his ship is caught in a storm and he ends up in Pentapolis. He is rescued by fishermen who don’t know who he is. He does not tell them about King Antiochus.

The fishermen pull Pericles to shore. They tell him about a tournament taking place the next day. Simonides, King of Pentapolis, is offering the hand of his daughter, Thaisa, to the tournament winner. As the fishermen urge Pericles to sign up, it is revealed that he is the Prince of Tyre.

The next day, Pericles wins the tournament easily. Thaisa, besotted with him, thanks the fates for giving her such a handsome husband. Simonides is not sure about the match but he accepts Pericles as the winner of the tournament and, ultimately, his son-in-law. The newlyweds spend many happy months in Pentapolis before word reaches Pericles that King Antiochus is dead. Now, he may return home.
Pericles wants to take his bride back to Tyre. Simonedes agrees, wishing them farewell. However, during the voyage, Thaisa gives birth to a daughter, Marina. A storm ravages the ship the same night, and Pericles worries that they have angered the gods by leaving Pentapolis. Thaisa dies giving birth and Pericles blames himself.



Pericles and his crew throw Thaisa overboard as a sacrifice to the gods. The storm eventually ceases, and they think it is because the gods are happy with the offering. Marina is struggling without her mother, and Pericles decides to stop in Tarsus for a while. What he does not know is that Thaisa survived, washing ashore on Ephesus. Thinking she is the only one who survived the storm, she grieves for her lost husband and daughter.

After a time, Pericles leaves Tarsus to rule Tyre. Dionyza promises to care for Marina. However, she soon realizes that Marina is more beautiful than her own daughter, Philoten. She plots to kill Marina out of spite. Her plans, though, are thwarted when pirates kidnap Marina, selling her to a brothel miles away.

Pericles soon learns that his daughter is presumed dead. Heartbroken, he becomes a shadow of his former self. Marina costs the brothel a lot of money because she refuses to have sex with anyone, instead, preaching to the customers about virtue. She is sold off to work as a tutor. Marina spends many happy years teaching young women skills such as music and art.



One day, Marina is reunited with Pericles in Mytilene, where she has grown up. Pericles does not know who she is at first, but he tells her his tragic tale. She realizes they are father and daughter, and all is well. Pericles wishes she could have known her mother. However, a dream reveals to Pericles that Thaisa is alive, and together, he and Marina set sail for her.

Marina, Thaisa, and Pericles are united at last. When the people hear of Cleon and Dionyza’s treachery, they sentence them to death. They are executed in front of a mob. The others live happily together.