"To sing a song that old was sung,
From ashes ancient Gower is come;
Assuming man's infirmities,
To glad your ear, and please your eyes."
Gower appears at the beginning of each act and then again in the epilogue. He acts primarily as narrator, but also occasionally as commentator – not quite the same as a Greek Chorus, but serving a similar purpose. He provides information on important events that occur off-stage, filling in gaps to provide information that is not presented dramatically. An omniscient narrator, his eye is capable of traversing through time and space as well as providing insight into the morality of certain characters committing certain acts. Gower is an actual historical person, a British poet whose chief work Confessio Amantis was the primary source for Shakespeare in writing the play.
"You gods that made me man, and sway in love,
That have inflam'd desire in my breast
To taste the fruit of yon celestial tree,
Or die in the adventure, be my helps,
As I am son and servant to your will."
One notable element about this play is that it embraces the concept of randomness. Things happen and then unhappen, and what seems fated to happen is not always so. As a play as well as a character, Pericles is compulsively fascinated with the part that fate plays in the lives of men. Here, Act One is barely underway before Pericles surrenders himself in totality to a fate charted by the gods.
"Young prince of Tyre, you have at large received
The danger of the task you undertake."
Early on in the play, Antiochus is unhappy when Pericles comes to win his daughter's hand – and even more dismayed when Pericles solves the near-impossible riddle that Antiochus demands of his daughter's suitors. Here, Antiochus refers to Pericles as a "young prince" despite the fact that he is technically a king. This is both an insult lodged by Antiochus and a broader suggestion that Pericles has a lot of room for maturation: even the title of the play calls him a "prince," implying that he must grow into his true title over the course of the narrative.
"Peace, peace, and give experience tongue.
They do abuse the king that flatter him."
Helicanus is one of the most admirable characters in the play: a trusted advisor of Pericles, he refuses to take up the crown of Tyre himself even when the people rally in his favor. Here, Helicanus expresses his disappointment in those who flatter Pericles and tell him only what he wants to hear. Instead, Helicanus suggests that worthy advisors speak from experience rather than flattery, and are not afraid to be honest with their audience.
"...for if a king bid a man be a
villain, he's bound by the indenture of his oath to
be one!"
In this quotation, Thaliard defends his assassination attempt on Pericles (as ordered by King Antiochus), arguing that he had no choice in the matter because his king commanded it. This logic subtly suggests that absolute power is a dangerous phenomenon, as corrupt kings make others around them corrupt as well.
"Take in your arms this piece
of your dead queen."
During the tempest on their way back to Tyre, two major things happen to Pericles: his daughter is born, and his wife dies. Here, Lychorida informs Pericles of his wife's death by handing him his daughter and referring to her as a "piece" of the late Thaisa. This quotation underscores the play's coupling of birth and death, as well as the major theme of enduring connections between family members.
"O you gods!
Why do you make us love your goodly gifts,
And snatch them straight away? We here below
Recall not what we give, and therein may
Use honour with you."
This quote reveals the extent to which Pericles has bought into the idea of fate being predetermined by the gods. This outburst directed at the gods is the closest he will come throughout the play to questioning this belief system. Pericles is battling a hurricane-like tempest at sea, but he is also a brand new father and has just become a widower. The emotion in this passage is palpable as Pericles expresses his desperation that leads to doubt.
[Enter PIRATES.]
There is but one stage direction in Shakespeare's work that is more infamous than the one announcing the arrival of pirates in Pericles (the direction in The Winter's Tale that a character exits, "pursued by a bear"). The direction “[Enter PIRATES]” is a well-known one, even if the play itself is relatively understudied. The arrival of pirates in the play is both entirely random (in keeping with the play's themes of fate and free will), and entirely coherent with the plot, as this sudden appearance of pirates is what spares Marina's life. The pirates go on to play a major role in the turning of the plot, but their entry is yet another example of the play's chaotic structure morphing into a tidy conclusion.
"O, come hither,
Thou that beget'st him that did thee beget."
When Pericles is reunited with Marina, he speaks these words. This quotation is a play on the word "beget" and a bit of a riddle, as Pericles makes two important implications: first, he affirms that he "begot" Marina (or gave life to her, along with his wife). However, he also suggests that Marina "begot" him as well, a remark that emphasizes his feelings of rebirth and restoration upon his reunion with her.
"O, come, be buried
A second time within these arms."
This quotation is a pun that appears at the end of the play, after Pericles has been reunited with his wife who was presumed dead. He tells her to be "buried" again in his arms (a hug), alluding to the fact that she was thrown overboard and "buried" at sea when everyone believed her to be dead.
