Pericles is a play of uncertain date,the first two acts of which are perhaps the work of another author. The uneven quality of its writing has caused various scholars in the past to discount the play as youthful effort of Shakespeare's, but it is now generally conceded that Pericles is the first of the romances that Shakespeare wrote towards the end of his fife. This group of late plays includes Cymbeline (1609-10), A Winter's Tale (1611) and The Tempest (1611), all of which share a superficial likeness to fairy tales, and mark Shakespeare's turning away from realism and the exploration of human tragedy, towards mysticism and calmer, symbolic realms. Pericles has its own faults and virtues, but it isas an integral part of this remaarkably exerimental group of plays that it can be best appreciated.

As the first of the group of romances that he wrote towards the end of his life, Pericles marks Shakespeare"s turning away from realism and the exploration of human tragedy towards mysticism and calmer, symbolic realms. Miracle, myth and symbol pervade the action where Pericles experi- ences evil and innocence, guilt and atonement, birth, death and regeneration, on the epic journey that he undertakes in his search for true happiness. Moral growth and the ulti- mate triumph of uncorrupted youth emerge from this play which has much to offer the modern audience.

The text of this edition is taken from the Cambridge University Press New Shakespeare, edited by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and John Dover Wilson.