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Pericles
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Act IIIChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Act III, Chorus Summary
Gower explains that the search for Pericles was long and arduous, until the lords of Tyre receive news that the prince is in Pentapolis. A letter is sent to Pericles, informing him of the death of Antiochus, and the need for him to leave for Tyre immediately to calm his restive people. Realizing their princess’s husband was to be king of Tyre, the lords of Pentapolis rejoice. Thaisa insists on joining Pericles on his journey back to his kingdom.
The first half of their journey is uneventful, but fortune turns on Pericles again. A violent storm descends, shaking the ship. Frightened, Thaisa goes into labor. The rest is best shown rather than told: As Pericles appears, the audience must imagine the theatre as a ship and the stage as the ship’s deck.
Act III, Scene 1 Summary
Pericles prays aloud to the god of the sea, urging him to calm the angry waters, control the wind, and stop the lightning and thunder. He also prays to Lucina, goddess of midwives and childbirth, to help Thaisa during her labor.
Lychorida enters the stage, holding a baby. Pericles asks her about Thaisa. A dejected Lychorida replies that the infant is all that is left of the mother.
