Original: O Helicanus, strike me, honour’d sir;
Modern: Oh Helicanus, hit me, my honored friend;

Original: Give me a gash, put me to present pain;
Modern: Cut me, cause me pain right now;

Original: Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon me
Modern: Because this enormous wave of happiness crashing over me

Original: O’erbear the shores of my mortality,
Modern: Might overwhelm the limits of what my mortal body can handle,

Original: And drown me with their sweetness. O, come hither,
Modern: And I might die from too much joy. Oh, come here,

Original: Thou that beget’st him that did thee beget;
Modern: You who gave birth to the man who fathered you;

Original: Thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tarsus,
Modern: You who were born at sea, buried in Tarsus,

Original: And found at sea again! O Helicanus,
Modern: And discovered at sea once more! Oh Helicanus,

Original: Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods as loud
Modern: Get down on your knees and thank the holy gods as loudly

Original: As thunder threatens us: this is Marina.
Modern: As thunder roars at us: this is Marina.

Original: What was thy mother’s name? tell me but that,
Modern: What was your mother’s name? Just tell me that,

Original: For truth can never be confirm’d enough,
Modern: Because the truth can never be proven enough times,

Original: Though doubts did ever sleep.
Modern: Even when there are no doubts at all.

In Act V, Scene 1 of “Pericles, Prince of Tyre,” Pericles’ ship arrives at Mytilene, where the grief-stricken prince has remained in silence for three months, refusing to speak or acknowledge anyone. Lysimachus, the Governor of Mytilene, boards the vessel and learns from Helicanus about Pericles’ prolonged mourning and withdrawn state. Lysimachus suggests that Marina, renowned in the city for her singing and wisdom, might be able to draw Pericles out of his melancholy. Marina is brought aboard, and despite Pericles’ initial resistance and even his striking her in frustration, she persists in engaging him through song and conversation.

As Marina speaks with Pericles, revealing details of her past sufferings and noble birth, Pericles begins to recognize remarkable parallels to his own life and lost daughter. Through their exchange, he gradually realizes that Marina is indeed his daughter, believed dead for fourteen years. The joyful recognition leads to an emotional reunion, and Pericles calls for fresh garments and asks for music to celebrate this miraculous discovery. Exhausted by the overwhelming emotions, Pericles falls asleep and experiences a vision of the goddess Diana, who commands him to go to her temple at Ephesus and publicly declare the circumstances of how he lost and found his daughter. Upon waking, Pericles tells Lysimachus of the divine vision and announces his intention to obey the goddess’s command, while also revealing Marina’s true identity to the Governor.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre follows the wandering journey of Prince Pericles across the Mediterranean. The play opens with Pericles fleeing Antioch after discovering that King Antiochus is engaged in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Fearing for his life, Pericles leaves his kingdom of Tyre in the care of his trusted advisor Helicanus and sets sail. He arrives in Tarsus during a famine, where he provides grain to the starving people, earning the gratitude of Governor Cleon and his wife Dionyza.

Continuing his travels, Pericles is shipwrecked near Pentapolis, where he washes ashore and participates in a tournament to win the hand of Thaisa, daughter of King Simonides. Pericles wins both the tournament and Thaisa’s love, and they marry. However, news arrives that Antiochus and his daughter have died, making it safe for Pericles to return to Tyre. During the sea voyage home, Thaisa gives birth to a daughter during a violent storm but appears to die in childbirth. The sailors insist her body must be cast overboard, so Pericles places her in a sealed coffin and commits it to the sea.

Thaisa’s coffin washes ashore in Ephesus, where the physician Cerimon revives her. Believing her husband and child are dead, she becomes a priestess in Diana’s temple. Meanwhile, Pericles leaves his infant daughter Marina with Cleon and Dionyza in Tarsus, asking them to raise her. Fourteen years pass, and Marina grows into a beautiful and virtuous young woman, causing Dionyza’s own daughter to pale in comparison. Jealous, Dionyza orders Marina’s murder, but pirates capture her before the deed is done and sell her to a brothel in Mytilene.

In the brothel, Marina’s purity and eloquence convert clients to virtue rather than vice, eventually leading to her release and employment as a teacher. When Pericles returns to Tarsus, Cleon and Dionyza show him a false tomb, claiming Marina died of natural causes. Grief-stricken, Pericles becomes a hermit aboard his ship. His vessel eventually arrives in Mytilene, where the governor Lysimachus brings Marina aboard to cure the melancholy stranger through music. Father and daughter recognize each other, leading to joyful reunion. The goddess Diana then appears to Pericles in a vision, directing him to her temple in Ephesus, where he is reunited with Thaisa. The play concludes with Marina’s betrothal to Lysimachus.