Pericles has always been a puzzle for scholars; the medieval poet John Gower plays the part of narrator- chorus, telling us the tale of a man who falls in love, loses his pregnant wife in childbirth, encounters disasterous setbacks, and eventually comes full circle to his family again; a form of narrated drama so different from the normal Shakespeare play that it was discounted from the original 1623 folio. This Folger edition not only includes the play and table of characters, but a guide to reading Shakespeare's language, a biography upon The Bard, essays upon the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare's works' publication, plate illustrations, scene by scene plot summaries and most useful, explanatory notes on the facing page. Complementary lesson plans are included on the publisher's website. 244 pages, softcover.
