Number 5 in my “bard to the bone” project.
Year written: 1608
Context of the writing (Shakespeare’s career, political events it was responding to): The theatres were closed (Plague) and there was a “colourful” guy who had written a novel on Pericles. Bill wrote Acts 3 to 5
Plot in a paragraph: Pericles, a pince, wants to marry the daughter of the King of Antioch. To do so, he must answer a riddle (fail and die). But he realises the answer is “the King is shagging his daughter” and that he will be killed. He flees and keeps fleeing. Ends a famine with grain from his ship. Wins a tournament wearing rusty armour and thus marries Tahaisa, daughter of King Simonedes. On the way back to Tyre there’s another storm (plenty of these) and Thaisa seems to die in childbirth, and the body thrown overboard in an ornate coin. We then learn she wasn’t dead – and she becomes a nun in the Temple of Diana. Meanwhile, the daughter is left with the people who were saved from famine. But the queen there is jealous that Pericles daughter, Marina, is so smart and beautiful, outshining their own daughter. So they try to kill here, but PIRATES turn up out of the blue, stop the killing and kidnap Marina (anagram for Marian, obvs) and sell her to pimps. But Marina manages, through her Innate Goodness to dissuade all the johns from johning, leading the pimps to agree that she can teach people instead, saving their business. Pericles goes to collect Marina (having waited, what fourteen years???) and is told she is dead. He has a mental breakdown and one ofhis loyal retainers hears about a very clever young teacher… Pericles and Marina meet, quickly figure out who each other is. Then, they go to the Temple of Diana and voila, there is Thaisa, and they all live happily ever after
It was hugely successful at the time.
Things that worked well: Nothing
Things that didn’t work well: Everything
Favourite character: Helicanusor Boult (one of the pimps)
Words I learnt:
| Word | Definition |
| Fere | Fere – companion, spouse |
| Gloze | Gloze – make excuses for, use ingratiating language |
| Iwis | Iwis – assuredly, certainly, ruly |
| Wanion | Wanion – curse, vengeance |
| Vail | Vail – to lower (often as a sign of respect or submission) |
| Lenity | Lenity – the quality of being kind or gentle. |
| Bavin | Bavin – bundle of brushwood or kindling used for fuel or in fences or drains. |
| Dern | Dern – hidden, secret. b. : crafty, underhanded. 2. now chiefly dialectal : drear, dark, somber, dire. |
| Coign | Coign – a projecting corner or angle of a wall. |
| Sleided | Sleided – separated, frayed |
| Chequins | Chequins – old coins, of Mediterranean origin |
| Malkin | Malkin – 1. an untidy woman; slattern. 2. a scarecrow, ragged puppet, or grotesque effigy. |
| Cavalleria | Cavalleria – chivalry |
Lines worth knowing:
| Act scene lines | Character | Lines | Comment |
| 1, 164 | Pericles | How courtesy would seem to cover sinWhen what is done is like an hypocrite | |
| 2, line 43 | Heiicanus | They do abuse the ing that flatter himFor flatt’ry is the bellows blows up sin | |
| 6, line 59 | SImonides | Opinion’s but a fool, that makes us scanThe outward habit for the inward man | |
| 15, 132 | Leonine | My commission is not to reason on the dead but do’t | |
| 17, 38 | No visor does become black villainy So well as soft and tender flattery. | ||
| 21, 107 | Marina | If I should tell my history, tit would seem like lies Disdained in the reporting |
Marc’s entirely subjective verdict and score out of 5 bards (ymmv): 0
Will I be tracking down movies of this? , hell no.
How far would I travel to see a good production of this? I would not.get out of bed.
Limericks
The play is co-written with a pimp
As deft as a suit labelled gimp
I don’t mean to be mean
But plots Pericleans
Leave me hardly enthralled but limp
Pericles keeps shtum on a riddle
Because daddy with daughter doth fiddle
He runs for his life
“Loses” daughter and wife
In a plot surely bought in a Lidl.
UPDATE
What other people think:
Haven’t looked, don’t care
Books/chapters/articles I might try to track down:
A quick google scholar search
Roychoudhury, Suparna. “Mental Tempests, Seas of Trouble: The Perturbations of Shakespeare’s Pericles.” ELH, vol. 82 no. 4, 2015, p. 1013-1039. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/elh.2015.0037.
Podcasts and their contents
| Date | Podcast | Episode title | Length | Score out of ten (ymmv) | Comments |
| No Holds Bard | NHB 198: So you’re going to see Pericles | 9 | |||
| Approaching Shakespeare | Pericles | 40 | 10 | Scholarly, but accessible | |
| Shakespeare Unbard | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/shakespeare-unbard-episode-32-pericles-is-a-mess/id1137410933?i=1000394915021 | 20 | 10 |
marchudson.net 
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