payment page
Summary
Gower reenters and recounts the action we have already seen, noting the contrast between the bad king (Antiochus) and the good prince (Pericles). Gower introduces a dumb show, a brief pantomime used to advance the plot. As Gower relates, Helicanus has sent word to Pericles recommending his return. But while sailing home, Pericles is caught in a storm, and his ship is wrecked at sea.
The action picks up where Gower leaves off. Pericles clambers onshore and, soaking wet, speaks of his misfortune. Then three fishermen enter the scene. They talk about fish in the sea, and how the bigger ones eat the smaller ones, just like men do on land. Pericles listens and marvels at their moralizing. He comes forward and asks them for help, saying he is not one used to begging. They ask him if he can fish, and he says no, but when he complains about possibly freezing to death, they give him dry garments.
Two of the fishermen leave to draw up a net. The third fisherman stays and tells Pericles that he’s near the city of Pentapolis, presided over by “our king the good Simonides” (2.1.104). The master tells him that the following day is the birthday of Simonides’s daughter, and many knights will joust in a tournament to win her love. Pericles says he wishes he could be there too. Just then, the fishermen pull a set of rusted armor out of the sea, and Pericles, delighted, recognizes it as the armor his father gave him before he died. Pericles begs it from the fishermen, so he can go and joust for the king’s daughter. They give it to him, asking only that he remember they did him a good turn. The fishermen then offer to take him to the court.
Later, in Pentapolis, King Simonides and his daughter, Thaisa, sit in a booth at a tournament ground with several lords. In turn, each participating knight passes by to show off his coat of arms and the motto inscribed on it. One by one, Thaisa announces each knight, describes his coat of arms, and reads his motto, and the king responds with commentary. Pericles is the sixth to present himself, and he does so in rusty armor, without the gaudy trappings of the others. His shield says, “I live in this hope.” The king offers a generous interpretation of the motto, while his lords mock the man’s ramshackle outfit. Simonides scolds the lords for judging the man by his outward appearance, and then he invites everyone out to the gallery to watch the tournament unfold.
Analysis
Act 1 was entirely populated by kings, princes, and their royal attendants. Though these leaders frequently spoke of their concerns for the common people over whom they rule, we have not yet met any such commoners. As act 2 opens, Shakespeare gives us our first glimpse of common folk by introducing three fishermen. These men are distinguished from the royals not just by their occupation, but also by their use of prose rather than verse when speaking. And as is typical throughout Shakespeare, the common people frequently throw off remarks of casual brilliance while going about their daily tasks, showing that even those lower down the social ladder have a clear sense of the world. The down-and-out Pericles marvels at the way they can draw morals from everyday observations. For example, they casually note that big fish always eat the little fish, and that it’s no different on land than it is in the sea. From one perspective, Pericles’s awe at commoners’ common sense may be condescending, but it also shows that he is capable of respecting people from all walks of life. His kindness and gratitude to the fishermen wins him their favor, and thus he is saved.
The degree of resilience Pericles shows in this scene indicates that he is an archetypical hero in the grand tradition of medieval romance. Minutes after clambering to shore from his wrecked boat, he plans to enter a tournament and try for the hand of another beautiful princess. Of course, fortune also plays a role here. Without some luck he never would have survived the wreck. Neither would his armor be retrieved, nor would he have retained the jeweled bracelet that he says will enable him to purchase a horse. Even so, soon after his near-death experience, Pericles sets off, hoping to win the princess’s hand. This is the second contest for the hand of a king’s daughter in this play. However, the prospects in Pentapolis seem rather different from those Pericles faced in Antioch. For one thing, though he may get injured in a jousting tournament, death isn’t the punishment he’ll suffer if he loses. For another thing, Pentapolis clearly isn’t ruled by a tyrant. As the fishermen indicate, Simonides is a resolutely “good” king.
We get our first glimpse of Simonides’s goodness in the scene where he and his daughter, Thaisa, preside over the presentation of the knights. He gives equal attention to each of the knights, and he wishes them all well. But his equitable nature doesn’t become entirely clear until Pericles presents himself in the armor that has been thoroughly rusted by seawater. While his lords laugh at Pericles’s appearance, Simonides urges them not to judge the man on the quality of his outfit. After all, his armor is a matter of outer show, not inner virtue. Thaisa, meanwhile, appears to be a well-mannered young woman who shows respect toward both her father and her suitors. But it remains to be seen precisely how her relationship with her father differs from that of the princess of Antioch and Antiochus.
