CRITICISM

Becker, Marvin B. “A Historian's View of Another Pericles.” Michigan Quarterly Review 15, no. 2 (1976): 197-211.

Argues that for an understanding of Pericles, knowledge of the complex historical context of the play, especially with regard to the medieval idea of “spiritual education through misfortune,” is essential.

Dean, Paul. “Pericles' Pilgrimage.” Essays in Criticism 50, no. 2 (April 2000): 125-44.

Explores Pericles as a pilgrimage tale with Biblical and medieval antecedents.

Fawkner, H. W. “Miracle: The Muteness of Pericles.” In Shakespeare's Miracle Plays: Pericles, Cymbeline, and The Winter's Tale, pp. 28-34. Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1992.

Analyzes the role and significance of muteness in Pericles.

McJannet, Linda. “Genre and Geography: The Eastern Mediterranean in Pericles and The Comedy of Errors. In Playing the Globe: Genre and Geography in English Renaissance Drama, edited by John Gillies and Virginia Mason Vaughn, pp. 86-106. Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1998.

Traces the factual bases for Shakespeare's historical and geographical settings in The Comedy of Errors and Pericles.

McManaway, James G. Introduction to Pericles, Prince of Tyre, by William Shakespeare, edited by James G. McManaway, pp. 14-22. New York: Penguin Books, 1977.

Provides a solid introduction to Pericles, examining the play’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as its sources and contexts.

Relihan, Constance C. “Liminal Geography: Pericles and the Politics of Place.” Philological Quarterly 71, no. 3 (summer 1992): 281-99.

Explores the political significance of setting Pericles in Asia Minor, arguing that the play is a critique of James I as a ruler.

Rimer, J. Thomas. “The Longest Voyage of All: Shakespeare's Pericles in Japan.” In Pericles: Critical Essays, edited by David Skeele, pp. 339-48. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 2000.

Surveys the development of Shakespearean theater in Japan, focusing on a 1976 production of Pericles in order to explore the affinity between Shakespearean theater and traditional Japanese theater forms.

Skeele, David, ed. Pericles: Critical Essays. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 2000, 348 p.

An essential volume containing a diversity of essays on Pericles.

Spradley, Dana Lloyd. “Pericles and the Jacobean Family Romance of Union.” In Assays: Critical Approaches to Medieval and Renaissance Texts, edited by Peggy A. Knapp and Gary F. Walker, pp. 87-118. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1992.

Interprets Pericles as a reenactment of a conflict regarding unity and power between King James and the English parliament.

Taylor, Gary. “The Transmission of Pericles.” Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 80, no. 2 (1986): 193-217.

Proposes the text of Pericles was derived from a series of memorial reconstructions by actors who performed in the play at the Globe.

Traversi, Derek. “Pericles, Prince of Tyre.” In Shakespeare: The Last Phase, pp. 19-42. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1955.

Argues that in Pericles Shakespeare developed the dramatic forms and methods he would use successfully in the three following romances.

Welsh, Andrew. “Heritage in Pericles.” In Shakespeare's Late Plays: Essays in Honor of Charles Crow, edited by Richard C. Tobias and Paul G. Zolbrod, pp. 89-113. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1974.

Contends that Shakespeare used traditional elements such as riddling, tale-telling, and confronting the seven deadly sins in the construction of Pericles.