Introduction

Even though most Shakespearean scholars argue that Pericles is not entirely the work of Shakespeare, similar to The Winter's Tale, it continues to attract playgoers.

Plot Highlights

Shipwreck, famine, and other disasters punctuate this wondrous tale, in which a knight in rusty armor fights for his true love and a princess kidnaped by pirates retains her honor by setting a virtuous example for her captors (Daurio, cover).

Themes and Messages

The play is a true romance, or as Joseph Papp states, it is a fairy tale about a separated family's coming back together again. (Quoted in Bevington).

Papp also reminds perceptive readers or audience members to look for little bits of wisdom along the way; such is true of the entirety of the Shakespeare canon.