ABSTRACT
Thaisa is the daughter of King Simonides of Pentapolis. She is wooed by six knights. The King arranges a tournament to decide who shall marry her, which is won by Pericles, Prince of Tyre. However, because of his shabby appearance (after being shipwrecked in Pentapolis), he is derided by the others and Simonides says of his daughter, ‘for this twelvemonth she’ll not undertake / A married life.’ The knights, apart from Pericles, leave. Simonides then reveals that he has a letter from his daughter in which she writes that, ‘she’ll wed the stranger knight / Or never more to view nor day nor night.’ This pleases Simonides, but he decides to ‘dissemble’ (disguise his real feelings) in front of Pericles and Thaisa in order to test the young man. The King shows Pericles the letter and accuses him of bewitching his daughter, then she appears and Pericles asks her to ‘Resolve your angry father if my tongue / Did e’er solicit, or my hand subscribe / To any syllable made love to you.’ This is her response.
