The Comedy of Errors is one of the William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors (along with The Tempest) is one of only two of Shakespeare's plays to observe the Unity of Time (classical unities). It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre.
The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical
twins that were accidentally separated at birth (Shakespeare was father
to one pair of twins). Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus,
which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of
Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans
encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild
mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession.
Because the law forbids merchants from Syracuse to enter Ephesus,
elderly Syracusian trader Egeon faces execution when he is discovered in
the city. He can only escape by paying a fine of a thousand marks. He
tells his sad story to Solinus, Duke of Ephesus. In his youth, Egeon
married and had twin sons. On the same day, a poor woman without a job
also gave birth to twin boys, and he purchased these as slaves to his
sons. Soon afterwards, the family made a sea voyage, and was hit by a
tempest. Egeon lashed himself to the main-mast with one son and one
slave, while his wife was rescued by one boat, Egeon by another. Egeon
never again saw his wife, or the children with her. Recently, his son
Antipholus of Syracuse, now grown, and his son’s slave Dromio of
Syracuse, left Syracuse on a quest to find their brothers. When
Antipholus of Syracuse did not return, Egeon set out in search of him.
The Duke is moved by this story, and grants Egeon one day to pay his fine.
That same day, Antipholus of Syracuse arrives in Ephesus, searching
for his brother. He sends Dromio of Syracuse to deposit some money at The Centaur,
an inn. He is confounded when the identical Dromio of Ephesus appears
almost immediately, denying any knowledge of the money and asking him
home to dinner, where his wife is waiting. Antipholus, thinking his
servant is making insubordinate jokes, beats Dromio of Ephesus.
Dromio of Ephesus returns to his mistress, Adriana, saying that her
"husband" refused to come back to his house, and even pretended not to
know her. Adriana, concerned that her husband's eye is straying, takes
this news as confirmation of her suspicions.
Antipholus of Syracuse, who complains "I could not speak with Dromio
since at first I sent him from the mart," meets up with Dromio of
Syracuse who now denies making a "joke" about Antipholus having a wife.
Antipholus begins beating him. Suddenly, Adriana rushes up to Antipholus
of Syracuse and begs him not to leave her. The Syracusans cannot but
attribute these strange events to witchcraft, remarking that Ephesus is
known as a warren for witches. Antipholus and Dromio go off with this
strange woman, the one to eat dinner and the other to keep the gate.
Antipholus of Ephesus returns home for dinner and is enraged to find
that he is rudely refused entry to his own house by Dromio of Syracuse,
who is keeping the gate. He is ready to break down the door, but his
friends persuade him not to make a scene. He decides, instead, to dine
with a courtesan.
Inside the house, Antipholus of Syracuse discovers that he is very
attracted to his "wife's" sister, Luciana of Smyrna, telling her "train
me not, sweet mermaid, with thy note / To drown me in thy sister's flood
of tears." She is flattered by his attentions, but worried about their
moral implications. After she exits, Dromio of Syracuse announces that
he has discovered that he has a wife: Nell, a hideous kitchen-maid. He
describes her as "spherical, like a globe; I could find out countries in
her". Antipholus jokingly asks him to identify the countries, leading
to a witty exchange in which parts of her body are identified with
nations. Ireland is her buttocks: "I found it out by the bogs". He
claims he has discovered America and the Indies "upon her nose all o'er
embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires, declining their rich
aspect to the hot breath of Spain; who sent whole armadoes of caracks to
be ballast at her nose." (This is one of Shakespeare's few references
to America.) The Syracusans decide to leave as soon as possible, and
Dromio runs off to make travel plans. Antipholus of Syracuse is
apprehended by Angelo of Ephesus, a goldsmith, who claims that he
ordered a chain from him. Antipholus is forced to accept the chain, and
Angelo says that he will return for payment.
Antipholus of Ephesus dispatches Dromio of Ephesus to purchase a rope
so that he can beat his wife Adriana for locking him out, then is
accosted by Angelo, who tells him "I thought to have ta'en you at the
Porpentine" and asks to be reimbursed for the chain. He denies ever
seeing it, and is promptly arrested. As he is being led away, Dromio of
Syracuse arrives, whereupon Antipholus dispatches him back to Adriana's
house to get money for his bail.
After completing this errand, Dromio of Syracuse mistakenly delivers
the money to Antipholus of Syracuse. The Courtesan spies Antipholus
wearing the gold chain, and says he promised it to her. The Syracusans
deny this, and flee. The Courtesan resolves to tell Adriana that her
husband is insane. Dromio of Ephesus returns to the arrested Antipholus
of Ephesus, with the rope. Antipholus is infuriated. Adriana, Luciana
and the Courtesan enter with a conjurer named Pinch, who tries to
exorcise the Ephesians, who are bound and taken to Adriana's house. The
Syracusans enter, carrying swords, and everybody runs off for fear:
believing that they are the Ephesians, out for vengeance after somehow
escaping their bonds. Adriana reappears with henchmen, who attempt to
bind the Syracusans. They take sanctuary in a nearby priory, where the
Abbess resolutely protects them.
Suddenly, the Abbess enters with the Syracusan twins, and everyone
begins to understand the confused events of the day. Not only are the
two sets of twins reunited, but the Abbess reveals that she is Egeon's
wife, Emilia of Babylon. The Duke pardons Egeon. All exit into the abbey
to celebrate the reunification of the family.
Link to the review by The Morning Call here
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