Pericles

Play

Pericles

Summary

The Prince of Tyre whose life is a succession of storms, trials, separations, and miraculous reunions drawn from ancient romance. He escapes an incestuous king's riddle, survives shipwrecks, wins a tournament and a queen, loses his wife Thaisa in childbirth at sea, is separated from his daughter Marina for years, and is finally restored to both in scenes of overwhelming recognition. Patient endurance in the face of Fortune is his defining quality, and his reunion with Marina is one of Shakespeare's most transcendent dramatic moments.

Notable Quotations

"Yet cease your ire, you angry stars of heaven! / Wind, rain, and thunder, remember earthly man / Is but a substance that must yield to you." *(II.i)*

"O Helicanus, strike me, honoured sir; / Give me a gash, put me to present pain." *(V.i)*

Cross-references

• Pericles — the play
• Romances (Late Plays)
• character_marina — his daughter whose recognition revives him
• character_gower_pericles — the Chorus who narrates his story
• character_simonides — the king who welcomes him in Pentapolis