I liked Pericles, Prince of Tyre. I liked it much more that I thought I would, given all the negative press it has garnered from critics over the years (oddly though, it was very popular in its day and was in fact the very first Shakespeare play to run after the Restoration, when the theaters reopened). This play follows the noble adventures of Pericles, who looks for and finds a wife, has a beautiful daughter by her, loses both at sea, and then is finally reunited with them, tearfully, in the end, all in that so-familiar-now artful and adept Shakespearean way.
I like it in some ways simply because it comes across as such a play, if that make any sense. Unlike many of Shakespeare’s other works, this one feels like clear drama, through and through, full of purely dramatic elements, like for example the so-called “dumb show”. Anything but dumb, these are dramatic interludes spoken by some orator (in this case, the historical poet John Gower) directly to the audience, sort of a running commentary on what’s up. Often in rhyming couplets, Gower recaps plot points, predicts future events, and generally clues you in to all the action, often with candid alacrity and sly humor. They are fun, these dumb things, and make for an artful framing of and pacing to the play, regulating the flow perfectly so that things unfold exactly, in a way the feels exactly right. Instead of say, something like Macbeth (a study of evil), Hamlet (a study of sanity/reason), or Romeo and Juliet (a study of romantic love), Pericles is just a play. Does that make sense? I guess I’m trying to say (trying being the operative word) that this one comes across as more captive to its form and thus more to point or to purpose, which I noticed, and appreciated (with nothing against those other plays of course). It’s different, this one, in a good way. So there.
Another thing this one has going for it is the story. It’s a great tale of adventure, with a big heartwarming ending, and some funny scenes thrown in involving pimps, prostitutes, and a brothel. And great characters too, especially Marina. Pure Shakespeare, this character. Funny, complex, and powerful, she’s great, trust me. Read this one for her lines alone.
So that’s that. One more to go: Coriolanus. I actually have a bit of a background on this play. It was one of the few I studied in some depth in college (I even unearthed an old paper I wrote on it way back then. I thought for sure I would sound like a blithering idiot in this paper, but when I reread it I found that I was actually making a little bit of sense, here and there. I even got an A on it. It’s written right on the back, by my teacher. Really.). Anyway, maybe I’ll share some of it in my next post. Or not. One more to go, kids.
