SOURCE: Saenger, Michael Baird. “Pericles and the Burlesque of Romance.” In Pericles: Critical Essays, edited by David Skeele, pp. 191-204. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000.

In the following essay, Saenger argues for the dramatic integrity of Pericles, insisting that the “flaws” are not really flaws, but rather Shakespeare's ingenious manipulation of the burlesque genre.

Pericles has always been a play which is equally enthralling and perplexing. Some perplexity certainly comes from its status as a poorly transmitted collaboration. However, in this reading I explore the thesis that the play makes dramaturgical sense, partly because of its original perplexity. In The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare had treated the Apollonius story with nuanced irony, and in all likelihood, he was presented with an incomplete play on the same subject in 1607. Once again, he gave the melodramatic story an ironic tone, experimenting freely on his source. Shakespeare shows as much free-ranging, collaborative...