Summary
In the Prologue, John Gower enters the stage and announces that he has taken on a mortal appearance in order to tell the story of Pericles.
He explains that in Antioch, King Antiochus is testing suitors for his daughter by making them answer a complicated riddle. Many have tried to answer the riddle but have been unsuccessful, resulting in their deaths.
Gower exits and Act One begins. Pericles is in Antioch, pursuing the king's daughter. He discovers that the answer to the riddle is the revelation that Antiochus and his daughter are involved in an incestuous relationship. Rather than answer the riddle, Pericles tells Antiochus he knows the truth. Antiochus resolves to kill Pericles within 40 days, but Pericles flees. Antiochus sends an assassin, Thaliart, after Pericles to kill him.
Back in Tyre, Pericles laments what happened in Antioch and expresses his worry that Antiochus will invade Tyre. His counselor, Helicanus, advises him to temporarily leave Tyre, and Pericles agrees.
Meanwhile, Thaliart arrives in Tyre and discovers that Pericles has fled. He resolves to tell Antiochus that Pericles died at sea.
In Tarsus, Cleon and his wife Dionyza worry for their people, who are experiencing a severe famine. Pericles arrives and assures them that he has food and provisions to help, and Cleon and Dionyza express their gratitude.
Gower appears once more on stage and communicates through a dumb show (or pantomime) that Pericles attempts to return to Tyre but is caught in a storm. Rescued by fishermen, Pericles finds himself in the city of Pentapolis, where he decides to join the jousting tournament to win the favor of King Simonides's daughter, Thaisa.
Analysis
Pericles begins with a Prologue, which was not an uncommon attribute of early modern English theater. However, this Prologue is spoken by John Gower, the fourteenth-century poet whose work was Shakespeare's primary source material for the play. Gower's presence at the beginning of the play as a type of a narrative introduces the theme of revival into the performance. Shakespeare is essentially "resurrecting" a much older story for the early modern era, retelling it in a medium that had only recently become popular – the theater.
In this way, Pericles is a largely experimental play and a unique one among others in Shakespeare's repertoire. The play attempts to compress a complicated, multi-locational story into a single performance, and while many early modern plays contain convoluted plots, Pericles is known for its innovations in traversing time and space. This is done primarily through the figure of Gower, who serves as a choric character in the style of Ancient Greek drama, commenting on the action of the play. Gower is also, however, the main vessel through which audiences learn major information, especially regarding the passage of time. Shakespeare's inclusion of Gower as his chorus both pays homage to his source material and helps contribute to the more experimental nature of Pericles as a dramatic performance.
Evident also in this first act of the play is the motif of fate and free will. Audiences might notice that Pericles, in the opening of the play, is met with a number of ill-fated obstacles and challenges. He is also, it seems, at the mercy of the gods, other characters, and nature itself as he travels from Antioch to Tyre to Tarsus to Pentapolis. While Pericles is a noble prince with many strong capabilities, the beginning of the play nonetheless portrays him as a somewhat passive character.
This passivity at the hands of others is significant because it aligns with the notion that Pericles is a "prince" or a young, inexperienced royal. In reality, Pericles is already King of Tyre when the play opens. His title as "Prince of Tyre," along with his passive existence, suggests that there is still much more for him to learn over the course of the play.
Indeed, the play relies on the ancient trope of traveling as a means of growth and maturation, and the number of journeys Pericles takes even in this first act foreshadow his path toward a deserving kingship.
