Pericles
William Shakespeare
Description
King Antiochus has issued a challenge to any suitor proposing marriage to his daughter: answer a seemingly-impossible riddle correctly, or die. Pericles, the Prince of Tyre, discovers the answer to the puzzle, but in doing so, he unearths the incestuous relationship between the king and his daughter. Pericles decides not to reveal the truth, and King Antiochus gives him forty days before his execution. When Antiochus hears that the prince has fled back to Tyre, he sends an assassin after him.
At the advice of his councilor, Helicanus, Pericles plans to travel until Antiochus no longer wants to kill him. On his journeys he encounters a brutal storm that leaves him shipwrecked in Pentapolis.
This play draws from many sources: Confessio Amantis by John Gower (who appears in the play as the chorus), The Odyssey, Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, and Plutarch’s Lives. The themes of separated families and mistaken death refer back to Shakespeare’s earlier plays, like The Comedy of Errors.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright’s 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition.
Read free
This ebook is thought to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. It may still be under copyright in other countries. If you’re not located in the United States, you must check your local laws to verify that this ebook is free of copyright restrictions in the country you’re located in before accessing, downloading, or using it.
Download for ereaders
-
Compatible epub — All devices and apps except Kindles and Kobos.
-
azw3 — Kindle devices and apps. Also download the Kindle cover thumbnail to see the cover in your Kindle’s library. You may be interested in our Kindle FAQ.
-
kepub — Kobo devices and apps. You may also be interested in our Kobo FAQ.
-
Advanced epub — An advanced format that uses the latest technology not yet fully supported by most ereaders.
Read online
A brief history of this ebook
More details
Sources
Page scans
Other sources
Improve this ebook
Anyone can contribute to make a Standard Ebook better for everyone!
To report typos, typography errors, or other corrections, see how to report errors.
If you’re comfortable with technology and want to contribute directly, check out this ebook’s GitHub repository and our contributors section.
You can also donate to Standard Ebooks to help fund continuing improvement of this and other ebooks.