Knights,
To say you’re welcome were superfluous.
To place upon the volume of your deeds,
As in a title-page, your worth in arms,
Were more than you expect, or more than’s fit,
Since every worth in show commends itself.
Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are princes and my guests.
Knights, to say you're welcome would be unnecessary. To describe your worth on the page of your deeds would be more than you expect or deserve, since every achievement shows itself clearly. Prepare yourselves for celebration, for merriment is right at a feast. You are princes and my guests.
Knights, I don't need to say welcome. Writing down how great you are would be too much—your deeds speak for themselves. So let's have some fun and celebrate. You're princes, you're my guests.
deeds speak for themselves let's celebrate you're my guests
But you, my knight and guest;
To whom this wreath of victory I give,
And crown you king of this day’s happiness.
But you, my knight and guest. I'm giving you this victory wreath, And making you the king of happiness for this day.
But you, my knight and my guest. I'm giving you this crown for winning, And declaring you the champion of the day.
you win crown you king of happiness
’Tis more by fortune, lady, than by merit.
It's more a matter of luck, lady, than of skill on my part.
That's mostly luck, not me. Honestly.
it was luck. not me.
Call it by what you will, the day is yours;
And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing an artist, art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed;
And you are her labour’d scholar. Come queen of the feast,—
For, daughter, so you are,—here take your place:
Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.
Call it what you will—the day is yours either way. I hope no one here begrudges you that. In creating an artist, art itself has done the work, and nature completed what art began.
Whatever you call it, you won. I hope everyone here is happy about that. Art and nature worked together to make you who you are.
the day is yours. art and nature made you this way.
We are honour’d much by good Simonides.
We are deeply honored by your goodness, Simonides.
You're too kind to us, Simonides.
you honor us.
Your presence glads our days; honour we love;
For who hates honour hates the gods above.
Your presence gladdens our days. We love honor, for who hates honor hates the gods themselves.
You being here makes us happy. Honor matters because it's godlike—hating honor is hating the gods.
your being here brings joy. who hates honor hates the gods.
Sir, yonder is your place.
Sir, your place is over there.
You sit there.
sit here.
Some other is more fit.
Some other place would be more fitting for me.
I'd be more comfortable elsewhere.
i should sit somewhere else.
Contend not, sir; for we are gentlemen
Have neither in our hearts nor outward eyes
Envied the great, nor shall the low despise.
Don't protest, sir. We are gentlemen who have never envied the powerful, nor shall we ever look down on the humble. Your place here is right and proper.
Don't worry about it. We're not the type to be jealous of the powerful or look down on anyone. You belong here.
sit. we are gentlemen. we don't envy power we don't despise humility.
You are right courteous knights.
You are truly courteous knights.
You're good people.
thank you.
Sit, sir, sit.
By Jove, I wonder, that is king of thoughts,
These cates resist me, he but thought upon.
Sit, sir, sit. By Jove, I wonder at this—the king of thought itself seems unable to explain why this knight captivates the entire room while you sit apart, untouched by the feast around you.
Sit down. Look, I'm confused. Everyone's feasting, but that knight over there—he's got everyone's attention, and he barely notices. It's like he's somewhere else.
sit. something's strange. that knight has everyone watching. but he's not here.
By Juno, that is queen of marriage,
All viands that I eat do seem unsavoury,
Wishing him my meat. Sure, he’s a gallant gentleman.
By Juno, queen of marriage, everything I eat turns flavorless. I keep wishing he were sitting here beside me.
Nothing tastes right. I keep wishing he was next to me.
i can't taste anything. i wish he was here.
He’s but a country gentleman;
Has done no more than other knights have done;
Has broken a staff or so; so let it pass.
He's just a country gentleman. He hasn't done anything more than any other knight. He's broken a lance or two—that's all. Never mind.
He's just some guy from the country. Nothing special compared to the other knights. He broke a lance—big deal.
he's just a country guy nothing special he broke a lance
To me he seems like diamond to glass.
Compared to everyone else, he's like a diamond next to glass.
Next to him, everyone else looks like glass next to a diamond.
hes diamond everyone else is glass
Yon king’s to me like to my father’s picture,
Which tells me in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit, like stars, about his throne,
And he the sun, for them to reverence;
None that beheld him, but, like lesser lights,
Did vail their crowns to his supremacy:
Where now his son’s like a glow-worm in the night,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light:
Whereby I see that time’s the king of men,
He’s both their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave.
That king seems to me like my father's portrait, which shows me the glory he once had. Princes sat like stars around his throne, and he was the sun—they all honored him. No one who saw him failed to bow their crown to his greatness. Now his son is like a glow-worm at night—it has fire in darkness but no light in daylight. So I see that time is the king of men. Time is both their parent and their grave. It gives them what it wants, not what they ask for.
That king looks like a painting of my father—showing me the glory he used to have. Princes sat around his throne like stars, and he was the sun that they all honored. Everyone who saw him bowed to him. But now his son is like a glow-worm in the night—he's got some light in the dark, but nothing in daylight. So time is the real king of men. Time made them, and time will end them. Time gives what it wants to give, not what they ask for.
king looks like my father's glory prices like stars him the sun now i'm a glow-worm time's the real king
What, are you merry, knights?
Are you all enjoying yourselves, knights?
Are you guys having a good time?
yall good
Who can be other in this royal presence?
Who could be anything but merry in this royal presence?
How could anyone be sad in a room like this?
of course. we're with the king.
Here, with a cup that’s stored unto the brim,—
As you do love, fill to your mistress’ lips,—
We drink this health to you.
Here, with a cup filled to the brim—as you love, let it reach your mistress' lips—we drink to your health.
Here's a cup brimming full. Drink it as if you're drinking on behalf of the one you love. We're toasting to your health.
a cup filled to the brim as you love we toast to your health
We thank your grace.
We thank you, your majesty.
Thank you, sir.
thanks
Yet pause awhile. Yon knight doth sit too melancholy,
As if the entertainment in our court
Had not a show might countervail his worth.
Note it not you, Thaisa?
Yet pause. That knight sits too melancholy, as if our entertainment and court haven't shown enough to match his worth. Don't you notice it, Thaisa?
Wait a minute. That knight's too gloomy—like our party isn't good enough to match what he's worth. You see it too, Thaisa?
that knight's sad our party not good enough you see it?
What is’t to me, my father?
What does it matter to me, my father?
Why are you asking me, father?
why me
Pericles's soliloquy about time being the king of men — his father the sun, himself a glow-worm — is one of the play's most concentrated philosophical passages. The shift from sun to glow-worm is also a shift from day to night: the glow-worm is only visible in darkness, its light meaningless in daylight. Pericles is saying that he is a diminished version of his father's greatness, visible only because everything else has been stripped away. What he doesn't say — what the audience can feel — is that this is precisely why Thaisa is drawn to him: the melancholy of a man who knows his own diminishment and carries it with grace is more compelling than any boastful display. He is the diamond she noticed; his sadness is part of what makes him shine.
O attend, my daughter:
Princes in this should live like gods above,
Who freely give to everyone that comes to honour them:
And princes not doing so are like to gnats,
Which make a sound, but kill’d are wonder’d at.
Therefore to make his entrance more sweet,
Here, say we drink this standing-bowl of wine to him.
Listen, my daughter. Princes should live like the gods above, who give freely to everyone who comes to honor them. Princes who don't do this are like gnats—they make noise but nobody cares when they're killed. So to make his entry more pleasant, let's drink this bowl of wine to him.
Listen, daughter. Princes should act like gods—they give to everyone who honors them. If they don't, they're like gnats that buzz and nobody cares. So let's make this knight feel welcome by toasting him with this wine.
princes give like gods if not, they're gnats let's toast him
Alas, my father, it befits not me
Unto a stranger knight to be so bold:
He may my proffer take for an offence,
Since men take women’s gifts for impudence.
Alas, my father, it's not proper for me to be so bold with a stranger knight. He might take my offer as an insult, since men often interpret women's gifts as being improper.
Father, I don't think I should do this. He's a stranger. He might think I'm being forward, and men always assume that when women give gifts, it means something improper.
father i can't he's a stranger men think women's gifts are improper
How? Do as I bid you, or you’ll move me else.
How? Do what I tell you, or I will be very angry with you.
You will. Or I'll be displeased.
do it. or i'll be angry.
[_Aside._] Now, by the gods, he could not please me better.
Now, by the gods, he couldn't have asked me to do anything I'd rather do.
Oh man, he's literally asking me to do exactly what I want to do.
omg yes this is what i wanted to do anyway
And furthermore tell him, we desire to know of him,
Of whence he is, his name and parentage.
And tell him as well that we would like to learn where he comes from, what he is called, and who his family is.
Oh, and while you're over there, ask him where he's from, what his name is, and who his people are.
also ask him where he's from what's his name who are his parents
The king my father, sir, has drunk to you.
My father, who is the king, has just raised his cup in your honor.
My father the king just toasted to you.
dad the king just toasted you
I thank him.
I thank him.
Tell him thank you.
tell him thanks.
Wishing it so much blood unto your life.
Wishing that much health and prosperity flow to your life.
And I wish you a long, happy life.
and wishing you joy.
I thank both him and you, and pledge him freely.
I thank you both, and I pledge him in return.
I thank you both, and I drink to him as well.
thank you. i drink to him too.
And further he desires to know of you,
Of whence you are, your name and parentage.
In addition he wants to know about you: Where you come from, your name and your family background.
Also, he wants to know more about you: Where you're from, who you are, and what family you're from.
he wants to know where youre from whats your name
A gentleman of Tyre; my name, Pericles;
My education been in arts and arms;
Who, looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And after shipwreck driven upon this shore.
I am a gentleman of Tyre. My name is Pericles. I was educated in both learning and combat. I set out looking for adventure in the world, but the rough seas robbed me of my ships and men, and after the shipwreck I was washed up on this shore.
I'm a gentleman from Tyre. My name's Pericles. I was trained in books and in fighting. I went out looking for adventure, but the storms took my ships and my crew, and after the wreck I washed up here.
pericles from tyre went looking for adventure lost my ships + crew at sea washed up here
He thanks your grace; names himself Pericles,
A gentleman of Tyre,
Who only by misfortune of the seas
Bereft of ships and men, cast on this shore.
He thanks Your Majesty; he says his name is Pericles, A gentleman from Tyre, Who, simply through bad luck at sea, Lost his ships and his crew and was washed up on this coast.
He says thank you, Dad. His name's Pericles, he's a gentleman from Tyre, and the sea just had it in for him: he lost his ships and his men and got dumped on our beach.
he says thx dad name's pericles, from tyre shipwrecked, lost everything washed up here
Now, by the gods, I pity his misfortune,
And will awake him from his melancholy.
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time, which looks for other revels.
Even in your armours, as you are address’d,
Will well become a soldier’s dance.
I will not have excuse, with saying this,
‘Loud music is too harsh for ladies’ heads’
Since they love men in arms as well as beds.
Now I'll cheer him up from his sadness. Come, gentlemen, we're wasting time on small talk. Let's have other entertainments. Even in your armor, just as you are, you'll make fine soldiers dancing. Don't tell me loud music is too harsh for ladies' ears—they love men in armor as much as they love them in bed.
Now I'll get him out of this mood. Come on, we're wasting time talking. Let's do something else for fun. You can dance right here in your armor—it'll look great. And don't say the loud music will hurt the ladies' ears. They love soldiers in armor just as much as anything else.
stop wasting time dance in armor loudMusic won't hurt lad love warriors
So, this was well ask’d, ’twas so well perform’d.
Come, sir; here is a lady which wants breathing too:
And I have heard you knights of Tyre
Are excellent in making ladies trip;
And that their measures are as excellent.
That was well requested and well performed. Come, sir; here is a lady who also wants to dance. I've heard that knights of Tyre are excellent at making ladies dance, and their dance steps are equally excellent.
That was well asked and well done. Come on, here's a lady who wants to dance too. I've heard you knights from Tyre are great at dancing with ladies, and your moves are just as good.
well asked and performed here's a lady who wants to dance i've heard tyre knights make ladies dance well
In those that practise them they are, my lord.
In those who practice virtue, yes, they do shine brightly, my lord.
Yeah, for people who actually practice them. I'm not that person.
for those who practice them, yes.
O, that’s as much as you would be denied
Of your fair courtesy.
That's as good as denying yourself the grace you're describing. You must accept our hospitality and stop turning away.
That's like saying no. You're turning down kindness. Accept it. Let us help you.
that's a denial. accept our help. stop refusing.
Unclasp, unclasp:
Thanks gentlemen, to all; all have done well.
Let go of your partners. Thank you gentlemen, all of you; you have all done well.
Alright, break apart. I thank you all, gentlemen; you've done wonderfully.
let go of your partners thanks all u gentlemen u did great
[_To Pericles._] But you the best. Pages and lights to conduct
These knights unto their several lodgings.
[_To Pericles._] Yours, sir, we have given order to be next our own.
But you, the best. Pages and lights to lead these knights to their separate rooms. Yours, sir, we've ordered to be next to our own.
But you're the best one here. Everyone, get these other knights to their rooms. And your place will be right next to mine.
you're the best your room is next to mine
I am at your grace’s pleasure.
I am at your grace's pleasure. Whatever you command, I will do.
Whatever you wish, I'll do it.
i'm yours to command.
Princes, it is too late to talk of love;
And that’s the mark I know you level at:
Therefore each one betake him to his rest;
Tomorrow all for speeding do their best.
Princes, it's too late to talk of love, and that's what I know you're all after. So everyone go rest now. Tomorrow you'll all compete to your best.
Gentlemen, it's too late to be thinking about romance, and I know that's what's on your minds. So everyone get some rest. Tomorrow you'll all compete to your best.
it's too late for love talk that's what you want go rest tomorrow do your best
The Reckoning
This is a scene of mutual attraction conducted across a banquet table through messengers and glances, while Pericles sits apart lost in thoughts of his dead father and diminished fortune. The comedy is that everyone is fascinated by the man who is least interested in being seen. Simonides and Thaisa both fall for him — for slightly different reasons — while the lords who sneered at his armor earlier are proved definitively wrong. The evening ends with dancing and a bedroom allocation that makes Simonides's intentions unmistakable.
If this happened today…
The new hire who won the company's innovation challenge shows up at the victory dinner in the clothes he wore to the challenge — wrinkled shirt, distracted expression, eating alone at the end of the table while thinking about his late father. The CEO keeps looking over. The CEO's daughter keeps looking over. The CEO sends someone to bring him a drink and find out who he is. He barely responds. By the end of the evening, the CEO has given him the corner office next to his own.