Pericles (Vol. 51) | Maria Teresa Micaela Prendergast (essay date 1996)
Maria Teresa Micaela Prendergast (essay date 1996)
SOURCE: "Engendering Pericles," in Literature and Psychology, Vol. XXXXII, No. 4, 1996, pp. 53-75.
[In the essay below, Prendergast traces the influence of the Oedipus story in Pericles, revealing elements of the play which Shakespeare is unable to resolve.]
Because it derives from a "bad" quarto and because it may not be solely by Shakespeare, the ambiguous, even illegitimate status of Pericles has long been the most discussed aspect of the play.1 Given this ongoing preoccupation with the play's illegitimacy, it is curious how few scholars have noted the extent to which Pericles itself is about legitimate and illegitimate textuality. From the beginning of the play, Shakespeare raises the question of whether he can, in fact, be considered the sole author of the play. Not only does he introduce us to Gower as the authoritative progenitor of...
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