brenticus reviewed Pericles by William Shakespeare
None
2 stars
Honestly, the first half of Pericles is hot garbage. But the first half of Pericles probably wasn't written by Shakespeare himself, so that kind of makes sense. Things start out following Pericles around on some inconsequential journeys, at the end of which everyone he loves dies and he goes crazy with grief.
Things get good when it turns out everyone's still alive and struggling to survive in their own ways. The purity of Marina comes through so strongly that you can't help but worry about her being in a brothel, yet she continually convinces her clients to reform their ways, which is just great to see. The scene where Marina and Pericles finally reunite is the most emotional reunion I've ever seen, with Marina trying to show Pericles that she's really his daughter and she's really alive. It's so lovely to see a Shakespeare play with a happy ending.
But …
Things get good when it turns out everyone's still alive and struggling to survive in their own ways. The purity of Marina comes through so strongly that you can't help but worry about her being in a brothel, yet she continually convinces her clients to reform their ways, which is just great to see. The scene where Marina and Pericles finally reunite is the most emotional reunion I've ever seen, with Marina trying to show Pericles that she's really his daughter and she's really alive. It's so lovely to see a Shakespeare play with a happy ending.
But other than that the play is seriously garbage. The writing is bad, the plot is bad, it's just bad.