Pericles, Prince of Tyre Fate and Free Will Quotes

Gee. Thaisa sure is lucky her coffin just so happened to wash up on shore near a brilliant doctor who would be able to revive her, don't you think? It's also quite a coincidence that the first words out of Thaisa's mouth invoke the name of the goddess who will later lead Pericles to Thaisa. In other words, it seems like Diana is totally looking out for Thaisa, even though her husband thought she was dead and tossed her body into the ocean. 

When murderous Leonine says the "gods are quick of ear," he means that the gods really aren't going to be interested in Marina's prayers, so she should just hurry up and spit them out. As we've said, this often seems true in the play. But, here's the thing: it seems like the gods are listening to Marina's prayers, because her life is saved about two seconds later, when a bunch of random pirates show up and kidnap her. So, we sort of get the sense that someone really is looking out for Marina.

After hearing that his daughter is dead, Pericles hops back on his ship and encounters yet another tempest. What does Pericles do? He "rides it out," of course. Is this a metaphor for our hero's unwavering patience and determination? Or does it seem like Pericles has just given up all hope at this point in the play?