Comedy of Errors William Shakespeare
This would
be one of Shakespeare’s lightest comedies if it was not for
the threat of execution hanging over the merchant, Aegeon
of Syracuse. Aegan has come to Ephesus, the setting of the
play, in a journey to seek out his son Antipholus, who in
turn is searching for his identical twin
brother and his
mother, Aegeon’s
wife. Both were
lost in a
shipwreck many
years previously.
Because Ephesus and Syracuse are
on bad terms, politically, Aegeon must raise a large sum of
money within 24 hours, if he is to prevent his execution.
He has little hope of doing so, as he is unaware of anyone
living in Ephesus who will assist him.
Unbeknown to
him, Antipholus and his servant Dromio have also arrived in
Ephesus. Unbeknown to Antipholus, his brother has lived
there ever since the shipwreck and is now married to a
local lady called Adriana. This brother is also called
Antipholus.
To add to the confusion, Dromio also has
an identical twin brother who was similarly lost in the
shipwreck. This brother is the servant of Antipholus of
Ephesus, and is named Dromio as well.
Inevitably,
there are any number of mishaps. Money, rope, a ring and a
gold train are involved, as is the Hostess of the
Porpentine. Adriana, distressed and angry, confides in her
sister, Luciana, a lady with a contrary set of worldly
views: the place of a woman in marriage is that of
servility yet it is acceptable for Antipholus to be
unfaithful if he is discreet.
Eventually Adriana is
convinced that her husband is deranged and sends for a
doctor. Meanwhile Antipholus from Syracuse takes refuge in
a Priory, away from the apparent madness he has encountered
in Ephesus. Here all is at last resolved, as the Abbess is
Aegeon’s lost wife. The family is reunited, and Aegeon is
saved.
Undoubtedly, the direction has to work hard
to keep the "joke" of the meetings between wrong people
from growing thin. Performances normally include other
comedy features or background setting to keep the audience
entertained. Dromio of Syracuse has some of the best comic
lines – as when
he is rudely describing his brother's
wife, or recounting being beaten by Adriana. It is also
possible to differentiate the parts of the two Antipholus
brothers: Antipholus of Syracuse can be played as the more
humorous part and Antipholus of Ephesus as stiffer, uptight
and less likeable.
Generally accepted to be a
relatively early play, Shakespeare uses a theme of lost and
reunited family members that he is to return to later in
plays such as A Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, and The
Tempest.
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