Shakespeare’s Pericles & the Problem of Evil
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Abstract
William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre has been widely misunderstood by critics. The ending of the play is frequently thought to be a happy one. However, the extent to which appearance is contrasted with reality in the play and the extent to which the theological problem of evil is present within the play have not been fully appreciated. The final two acts of the play thus present fruitful opportunities for Marxist criticism, and the play as a whole is susceptible to fundamental re-evaluation using new historicist methodology. An understanding of the attempts by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas to deal with the problem of evil within the framework of Christian theology is helpful in fully appreciating the play. Interpretation using these methods shows that the end is much darker than most critics have realized, and a radical rethinking of the traditional image of God is implied.