Pericles · Chapter
Scene I explained
On board Pericles' ship off Mytilene, the grief-stricken Pericles is visited by Lysimachus, the governor of Mytilene, who brings Marina to try to rouse him from his melancholy.
What happens
On board Pericles' ship off Mytilene, the grief-stricken Pericles is visited by Lysimachus, the governor of Mytilene, who brings Marina to try to rouse him from his melancholy. Through their conversation, Pericles discovers that Marina is his long-lost daughter, and he is overjoyed. The goddess Diana appears to Pericles in a vision, instructing him to go to Ephesus to reveal his story and be reunited with his wife.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Reunion
The central event of the chapter is the emotional reunion of Pericles with his daughter Marina, restoring familial bonds.
Resilience and Endurance
Marina's endurance through her trials and Pericles' long grief highlight the theme of enduring suffering.
Fortune and Divine Justice
The vision of Diana and the eventual reunion suggest divine justice and the turning of fortune from sorrow to joy.
Characters to notice
- Pericles
Grief-stricken and silent for three months, he is gradually drawn out by Marina and ultimately recognizes her as his daughter.
- Marina
Brought to Pericles to heal him with her music and words; she reveals her identity as his daughter.
- Lysimachus
Governor of Mytilene who arranges for Marina to meet Pericles and later seeks Pericles' blessing to marry her.
- Helicanus
Loyal counsellor to Pericles, who explains the king's sorrow to Lysimachus and witnesses the reunion.
- Diana
Appears in a vision to Pericles, commanding him to go to Ephesus and reveal his story.
- Cleon
Mentioned as the cruel king who, with his wife, sought to murder Marina.
- Dionyza
Mentioned as the wicked wife of Cleon who plotted Marina's murder.
- Lychorida
Mentioned as Marina's nurse who often wept while recounting Marina's birth.
Key passages
“I am a maid, My lord, that ne’er before invited eyes, But have been gazed on like a comet: she speaks, My lord, that, may be, hath endured a grief Might equal yours, if both were justly weigh’d.”
I am a virgin who has never sought attention, yet I have been stared at like a comet. I speak as someone who may have suffered grief as great as yours, if both were fairly compared.
Marina introduces herself to Pericles, hinting at her own suffering to gain his trust.
“O, I am mock’d, And thou by some incensed god sent hither To make the world to laugh at me.”
Oh, I am being mocked, and you must have been sent by an angry god to make the world laugh at me.
Pericles reacts with disbelief when Marina reveals her name, thinking it a cruel trick.
“O Helicanus, strike me, honour’d sir; Give me a gash, put me to present pain; Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon me O’erbear the shores of my mortality, And drown me with their sweetness.”
O Helicanus, strike me, honored sir; wound me, cause me immediate pain, lest this overwhelming flood of joy overcome my mortal limits and drown me in its sweetness.
Pericles, overwhelmed by joy upon recognizing Marina, asks for physical pain to ground him.
“My temple stands in Ephesus: hie thee thither, And do upon mine altar sacrifice. There, when my maiden priests are met together, Before the people all, Reveal how thou at sea didst lose thy wife.”
My temple is in Ephesus: go there and make a sacrifice on my altar. When my virgin priests are assembled, reveal to the people how you lost your wife at sea.
The goddess Diana commands Pericles to go to Ephesus and publicly recount his story.
