Back to main page
Pericles - Act 4, 4 Chorus
Cite
Download Pericles
Last updated: Fri, Jul 31, 2015
- PDF Download as PDF
- DOC (for MS Word, Apple Pages, Open Office, etc.) without line numbers Download as DOC (for MS Word, Apple Pages, Open Office, etc.) without line numbers
- DOC (for MS Word, Apple Pages, Open Office, etc.) with line numbers Download as DOC (for MS Word, Apple Pages, Open Office, etc.) with line numbers
- HTML Download as HTML
- TXT Download as TXT
- XML Download as XML
- TEISimple XML (annotated with MorphAdorner for part-of-speech analysis) Download as TEISimple XML (annotated with MorphAdorner for part-of-speech analysis)
Navigate this work
Pericles - Act 4, 4 ChorusAct 4, 4 Chorus
⌜4 Chorus⌝
Synopsis:
Gower carries the story forward fourteen years, focusing on the young Marina. Her beauty and talents arouse murderous hatred in Dionyza, whose own daughter cannot compare with Marina.
Enter Gower.⌜GOWER⌝
1396 Imagine Pericles arrived at Tyre,
1397 Welcomed and settled to his own desire.
1398 His woeful queen we leave at Ephesus,
1399 Unto Diana there ’s a votaress.
1400 5 Now to Marina bend your mind,
1401 Whom our fast-growing scene must find
1402 At Tarsus, and by Cleon trained
1403 In ⌜music,⌝ letters; who hath gained
1404 Of education all the grace
1405 10 Which makes high both the art and place
1406 Of general wonder. But, alack,
1407 That monster envy, oft the wrack
1408 Of earnèd praise, Marina’s life
1409 ⌜Seeks⌝ to take off by treason’s knife.
1410 15 And in this kind our Cleon hath
1411 One daughter and a full grown wench,
1412 Even ⌜ripe⌝ for marriage ⌜rite.⌝ This maid
1413 Hight Philoten, and it is said
1414 For certain in our story she
1415 20 Would ever with Marina be.
1416 Be ’t when they weaved the sleided silk
1417 With fingers long, small, white as milk;
1418 Or when she would with sharp needle wound
1419 The cambric, which she made more sound
p.
117
1420
25 By hurting it; or when to the lute1421 She sung, and made the night ⌜bird⌝ mute,
1422 That still records with moan; or when
1423 She would with rich and constant pen
1424 Vail to her mistress Dian, still
1425 30 This Philoten contends in skill
1426 With absolute Marina. So
1427 ⌜With⌝ the dove of Paphos might the crow
1428 Vie feathers white. Marina gets
1429 All praises, which are paid as debts
1430 35 And not as given. This so darks
1431 In Philoten all graceful marks
1432 That Cleon’s wife, with envy rare,
1433 A present murderer does prepare
1434 For good Marina, that her daughter
1435 40 Might stand peerless by this slaughter.
1436 The sooner her vile thoughts to stead,
1437 Lychorida, our nurse, is dead,
1438 And cursèd Dionyza hath
1439 The pregnant instrument of wrath
1440 45 Prest for this blow. The unborn event
1441 I do commend to your content.
1442 Only I ⌜carry⌝ wingèd Time
1443 Post on the lame feet of my rhyme,
1444 Which never could I so convey
1445 50 Unless your thoughts went on my way.
1446 Dionyza does appear,
1447 With Leonine, a murderer.
He exits.