Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Roles

• Pericles - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Male

About this piece

Pericles talks about the incest and decides to leave Antioch

Summary

In the city of Antiochus, in Syria, King Antiochus rules the city. We learn in the prologue that he is committing incest with his beautiful daughter and is keeping all her suitors away by forcing them to answer a riddle or die. One of the suitors is Pericles who in the first scene of the play is in King's Antiochus court, determined to try and answer his riddle. When he reads the riddle he realizes that it is about the incest going on with his daughter. He then refuses to answer it saying that he knows the truth but rather not tell it. The king, who realizes Pericles knows about the incest, tells him he will be executed in 40 days. Pericles delivers this monologue when everybody departs and is left alone. He tells the audience about the incest and is disgusted by it. He knows he will die for sure if he remains in Antioch and therefore decides to leave the city.

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