PERICLES.

VOL. II.

B

The daughter of Antiochus.
Dionyza, wife to Cleon.

Thaifa, daughter to Simonides.

Marina, daughter to Pericles and Thaifa.
Lychorida, nurfe to Marina.

Diana.

Lords, knights, failors, pirates, fishermen, and messengers.

SCENE difperfedly in various countries.

*-Pentapolis.] This is an imaginary city, and its name might have been borrowed from fome romance. We meet indeed in history with Pentapolitana regio, a country in Africa, confifting of five cities; and from thence perhaps fome novelist furnished the founding title of Pentapolis, which occurs likewise in the 37th chapter of Kyng Appolyn of Tyre, 1510, as well as in Gower.

That the reader may know through how many regions the scene of this drama is difperfed, it is neceffary to obferve that Antioch was the metropolis of Syria; Tyre a city of Phoenicia in Afia; Tarfus the metropolis of Cilicia, a country of Afia Minor; Mitylene the capital of Lefbos, an island in the Ægean Sea; and Ephefus, the capital of Ionia, a country of the Leffer Afia.

STEEVENS.

PRINCE OF TYRE'.

A C T I.

Enter Gower.

Before the Palace of Antioch.

To fing a fong that old was fung*,
From afhes ancient Gower is come;

Af

The story on which this play is formed, is of great antiquity. It is found in a book, once very popular, entitled Gefta Romanorum, which is fuppofed by the learned editor of the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer, 1775, to have been written five hundred years ago. The earlieft impreffion of that work (which I have feen) was printed in 1488; in that edition the hiftory of Apollonius King of Tyre makes the 153d chapter. It is likewife related by Gower in his Confeffo Amantis, lib. viii. p. 175-185, edit. 1554. The rev. Dr. Farmer has in his poffeffion a fragment of a Mf. poem on the fame fubject, which appears, from the hand writing and the metre, to be more ancient than Gower. The reader will find an extract from it at the end of the play. There is also an ancient romance on this fubject, called King Appolyn of Thyre, tranflated from the French by Robert Copland, and printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1510. The author of Pericles hav ing introduced Gower in his piece, it is reasonable to fuppofe that he chiefly followed the work of that poet. It is obfervable, that the hero of this tale is, in Gower's poem, as in the prefent play, called prince of Tyre; in the Gefta Romanorum, and Copland's profe romance, he is entitled king. Most of the incidents of the play are found in the Conf. Amant. and a few of Gower's expreffions are occafionally borrowed. However, I think it is not unlikely, that there may have been (though I have not B 2

met

Affuming man's infirmities,

To glad your ear, and please your eyes.

It

met with it) an early profe tranflation of this popular story, from the Geft. Roman, in which the name of Apollonius was changed to Pericles; to which, likewife, the author of this drama may have been indebted.

Pericles was entered on the Stationers' books, May 2, 1608, by Edward Blount, one of the printers of the first folio edition of Shakfpeare's plays; but it did not appear in print till the following year, and then it was published not by Blount, but by Henry Goffon; who had probably anticipated the other, by getting a hafty transcript from a playhoufe copy. There is, I believe, no play of our author's, perhaps I might fay, in the English language, fo incorrect as this. The most corrupt of Shakspeare's other dramas, compared with Pericles, is purity itself. The metre is feldom attended to; verfe is frequently printed as profe, and the groffeft errors abound in almost every page. I mention these circumstances, only as an apology to the reader for having taken fomewhat more licence with this drama than would have been juftifiable, if the copies of it now extant had been lefs disfigured by the negligence and ignorance of the printer or tranfcriber. The numerous corruptions that are found in the original edition in 1609, which have been carefully preferved and augmented in all the fubfequent impreffions, probably arofe from its having been frequently exhibited on the stage. In the four quarto editions it is called the much admired play of PERICLES PRINCE of TYRE; and it is mentioned by many ancient writers as a very popular performance; particularly, by the author of a metrical pamphlet, entitled Pymlico or Run away Redcap; in which the following lines are found:

"Amaz'd I ftood, to fee a crowd

Of civil throats ftretch'd out fo loud:
As at a new play, all the rooms

Did fwarm with gentles mix'd with grooms;
So that I truly thought all thefe

Came to fee Shore or Pericles."

From this pamphlet, which was published in 1596, it appears that Pericles had been acted before that year.

The prologue to an old comedy called The Hog has loft his Pearl, 1611, likewife exhibits a proof of its uncommon fuccefs. The pcet fpeaking of his piece, fays

"if it prove to happy as to pleafe,

We'll fay 'tis fortunate like Pericles."

By fortunate, I understand highly fuccefsful. The writer can. hardly be fuppofed to have meant that Pericles was popular rather from accident than merit; for that would have been but a poor culogium on his own performance.

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