Pericles, Prince of Tyre Characters

Marina is a lot like her dad, Pericles, in that absolutely horrible stuff is always happening to her, and there's not much she can do about it. Think about it, Shmoopers. This poor kid's life gets...

Thaisa is King Simonides's daughter, so she's a princess. After dreamy Pericles impresses her at a joust, she decides he's the man she wants to marry and have her happily-ever-after with. That's a...

Antiochus's daughter is the play's "sinful" princess. She's smokin' hot, she's got a rich dad, and dudes come from all over the world for a chance to marry her. Here's how Gower describes her: "...

Hands down, the King of Antioch gets the "Worst Father of the Year" award. That's because he's lured his own daughter into an incestuous relationship, which makes him want to keep her from getting...

So, Dionyza is pretty much the ultimate wicked mother figure from popular fairy tales. (We think she's a special blend of the evil queen from Snow White and Cinderella's wicked stepmother.) In the...

Cleon is the Governor of Tharsus and the husband of that nasty Dionyza. Like a lot of public officials in this play, the dude is a lousy leader, and he doesn't know how to take care of his people....

These two low-lives are real pieces of work. Just as her names implies, Bawd is the madam of a brothel. (Yep. That puts her in Mistress Overdone and Mistress Quickly territory, all right.) Bawd run...

This dude is Pericles's trusted advisor and friend. When Pericles has to flee his kingdom because Antiochus is trying to murder him, Helicanus advises him to travel abroad until things calm down. W...

Lychorida is Thaisa's midwife and Marina's nurse. After helping Thaisa deliver Marina during the middle of a storm at sea, she mistakenly thinks that Thaisa is dead (oops) and delivers the bad news...

Lysimachus starts out as a scuzzy politician (he's the Governor of Meteline) who wears disguises so that he can hit up the brothels in his city without being recognized. After one conversation with...

Another one of the bad guys, Leonine is the dude Dionyza hires to kill Marina. Here's how he goes about it: he takes Marina for a walk on the beach and tells her to say her prayers before he kills...

Thaliard's a lot like Leonine. He's the lord who is bribed by King Antiochus to kill Pericles. Thaliard chases Pericles to Tyre, but when he finds out Pericles is long gone, he decides to lie to An...

There's no delicate way to say this, folks: Boult is totally a pimp. He works with Bawd and Pander at the brothel and is in charge of advertising Marina's virginity on the market so the brothel can...

A trio of fishermen finds Pericles when he washes up on the shore of Pentapolis. Even though they're lower-class characters, they're pretty wise and very kind—unlike the lower-class characters we...

These are the thugs who come out of nowhere, kidnap Marina, and sell her into prostitution. Shakespeare's not at all interested in developing them as characters. The pirates seem to exist as a remi...

In Ephesus, everybody worships this goddess of chastity. When Thaisa washes up on the city's shores, she moves into Diana's temple and lives her life as a nun until she's finally reunited with her...