Pericles, Prince of Tyre Analysis

Literary Devices in Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Setting

It's too bad they didn't have frequent-flyer (or maybe frequent-sailor) memberships back in ancient times, because Pericles would have racked up some serious mileage. In this play, Pericles sai...

Genre

This is a pretty big deal, ladies and gents. Pericles is Shakespeare's first crack at the genre of "romance." No, not the hot and heavy, handcuffs and roses, 50 Shades of Grey-style of romance th...

Tone

We know what you're probably thinking. How can a play that features an incestuous father, a murderous king, a treacherous foster mother, devastating famine, and terrible storms that rip familie...

Writing Style

We've said it before and we'll say it again, folks. Shakespeare's plays tend to be written mostly in iambic pentameter. You know the drill: that's five feet of two syllables with the accent on...

What's Up With the Title?

So, there's this dude named Pericles, and we follow his adventures throughout the play. Also, he's the ruler of Tyre, which is a pretty big deal. Technically, Pericles is a king, but characters in...

What's Up With the Ending?

What's up with the ending? Check out what Pericles has to say: We'll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselves Will in that kingdom spend our following days: Our son and daughter shall in Tyrus re...

Tough-o-Meter

If you're willing to suspend your disbelief, this play is a piece of cake to read (compared to some other Shakespeare), and it's a ton of fun to watch on stage. If you're not willing to suspend y...

Plot Analysis

The exposition is the part where Shakespeare gives us the 411 on the story. Pericles is a young monarch who doesn't want to rule Tyre alone—he wants a wife and a family (and maybe a little ad...

Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis

"The Call" is Pericles's desire to snag a princess and get hitched so he can start a family back in his kingdom of Tyre. When we meet him, Pericles has already arrived in Antioch to take a cr...

Three-Act Plot Analysis

Pericles runs for his life from another king who wants to mount his head on a wall. Pericles gets hitched and has a baby... and then promptly loses his entire family. After a long, wand...

Trivia

T.S. Eliot's poem "Marina" is inspired by Pericles (source).Shakespeare's daughter Susanna gave birth to a baby girl around February 1608, right around the time Pericles was written. Some scholars...

Steaminess Rating

The play opens with Gower telling us about an incestuous affair between King Antiochus and his daughter. Fortunately, he doesn't give us explicit details. Later in the play, Marina is kidnapped...

Allusions

Major Literary Sources The Tale of Apollonious of Tyre (c. 5th century)John Gower's Confessio Amantis (1393)Lawrence Twine's The Pattern of Painful Adventures (c.1594) 1607 Corn Riots of th...