Summary & Analysis

Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Act 4 Scene 4 — Summary & Analysis

Setting: Scene IV. Who's in it: Gower Reading time: ~3 min

What happens

Gower appears before Marina's monument in Tarsus, narrating how Pericles, hearing of his daughter's death, arrives at the city consumed by grief. He performs elaborate mourning rituals—donning sackcloth, vowing never to wash or cut his hair—then departs again by sea. Gower reveals that the epitaph marking Marina's supposed grave was written by the wicked Dionyza to deceive Pericles, transforming a false show of piety into a lie that compounds the prince's already devastating sorrow.

Why it matters

This scene operates as a pivot point between the active cruelty of Act 4 and the redemption to come. Gower's presence here—standing literally before the monument—makes visible the distance between truth and theatrical appearance. The epitaph praising Marina as 'fairest, sweet'st, and best' is a masterwork of false piety, penned by the woman who orchestrated her murder. The scene forces us to confront how easily virtue can be mimicked through language and ritual, how a lie dressed in golden letters becomes monumental. Pericles' response—sackcloth, unwashed face, torn hair—is genuine grief made visible, yet it rests entirely on a fiction. The irony cuts deep: his most authentic emotional display is occasioned by a false death.

Gower's role here is crucial. As Chorus, he knows what Pericles does not—that Marina lives. Yet he does not intervene. Instead, he narrates the spectacle of Pericles' suffering with a kind of matter-of-fact gravity, inviting us to feel the weight of time passing and suffering accumulating. The storm that tears Pericles' ship reflects the tempest inside him. By the end of the scene, Pericles has lost agency entirely; he is driven only by Fortune and his own despair. What makes the moment bearable is Gower's assurance that 'our scene must play' Marina's survival—that the play itself, though it shows us grief, also holds knowledge of joy to come. The scene trusts the audience to hold both truths at once: real sorrow and hidden hope.

Key quotes from this scene

Therefore the earth, fearing to be o'erflow'd, Hath Thetis' birth-child on the heavens bestow'd

That's why the earth, fearing it might overflow, Gave Thetis' child to the heavens

Gower · Act 4, Scene 4

Gower reads the false epitaph that Dionyza has carved for Marina, a monument built on lies and envy. The line matters because it uses mythological language to describe how evil can twist even the greatest things — Marina is rewritten as a victim of nature rather than human cruelty. It shows how the play understands deception: not as simple falsehood, but as the corruption of truth itself.

Thus time we waste, and longest leagues make short; Sail seas in cockles, have an wish but for’t; Making, to take your imagination, From bourn to bourn, region to region. By you being pardon’d, we commit no crime To use one language in each several clime Where our scenes seem to live. I do beseech you To learn of me, who stand i’ the gaps to teach you, The stages of our story. Pericles Is now again thwarting the wayward seas, Attended on by many a lord and knight. To see his daughter, all his life’s delight. Old Escanes, whom Helicanus late Advanced in time to great and high estate, Is left to govern. Bear you it in mind, Old Helicanus goes along behind. Well-sailing ships and bounteous winds have brought This king to Tarsus,--think his pilot thought; So with his steerage shall your thoughts grow on,-- To fetch his daughter home, who first is gone. Like motes and shadows see them move awhile; Your ears unto your eyes I’ll reconcile. DUMB SHOW.

Thus we waste time, and make long journeys seem short; Sail across seas in tiny boats, wishing only for it; Taking you, to stir your imagination, From place to place, region to region. By your forgiveness, we commit no crime Using one language in different places Where our scenes seem to happen. I ask you To learn from me, standing in the gaps to teach you, The steps of our story. Pericles Is now again fighting the rough seas, Attended by many lords and knights. He’s going to see his daughter, his life’s joy. Old Escanes, whom Helicanus recently Raised to a high position, Is left to rule. Remember this, Old Helicanus follows behind. Well-sailing ships and favorable winds have brought This king to Tarsus, think his captain thought; So with his steering, your thoughts will follow,-- To bring his daughter home, who was first lost. Like dust and shadows, see them move for a while; I’ll bring your ears to match your eyes. DUMB SHOW.

Gower · Act 4, Scene 4

Gower, between acts, leaps the audience forward through months and miles, collapsing time itself to follow Pericles' journey. The lines are important because they acknowledge that the stage cannot show everything, and invite imagination to do the work that scenery cannot. Gower positions himself as the bridge between what we see and what we must imagine.

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