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The Comedy of Errors

The Comedy of Errors is an early play by William Shakespeare. It is his shortest play, and one of his most farcical: while some of its humor derives from puns and wordplay, a large part comes from slapstick and mistaken identity.

The plot is based on Roman comedy: the Menaechmi, and to a smaller extent, the Amphitruo, of Plautus. It concerns two sets of twins, Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse, and their respective servants, Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse. When they all end up in the same place at the same time, the "errors" of mistaken identity give rise to a number of humorous situations.

William Warner's translation of the Menaechmi was entered in the Stationers' Register on June 10, 1594. A performance of The Comedy of Errors by "a company of base and common fellows" is recorded in the Gesta Grayorum as taking place in Gray's Inn hall on December 28, 1594. The play contains a topical reference to the wars of succession in France which would fit any date from 1589 to 1594.

The Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The Duke of Ephesus is about to execute Egeon, an aged merchant from Syracuse, because of a law that all Syracusans visiting Ephesus must pay a fine, or else be killed. Egeon says that he looks forward to his death, since his life has been nothing but sorrow. He explains that as a young man, he married and had twin sons. The same day his twins were born, he discovered a poor woman who had also just given birth to twin boys, and he purchased these children to be slaves to his sons. Soon afterward, the family had to make a sea voyage, during the course of which they came upon a violent storm. Egeon lashed himself to a mast with one son and one slave, while his wife lashed herself to the other mast with the other children. They rode out the storm and saw two ships approaching when a rock suddenly broke their raft in two. The wife and the children with her were rescued by one boat, and Egeon and his children were rescued by the other. The boats could not catch up with each other, and Egeon never again saw his wife and the children with her.

Eighteen years later, Egeon's son and his slave decided to search for their brothers. But when the son did not return, Egeon grew worried and set out in search of him; this is the reason he has come to Ephesus.

The Duke takes pity on Solinus, and gives him the rest of the day to try to obtain the money he needs to avoid execution.

That same day, Egeon's son Antipholus of Syracuse is in Ephesus as part of his search for his brother. He sends his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, on an errand, and is confounded when Dromio "returns" moments later, asking him to "come home to dinner." Antipholus has no way of knowing that he has encountered his twin brother's slave, Dromio of Ephesus, and grows enraged, especially when informed that he has a wife. Dromio returns to the wife, Adriana, and tells her that her "husband" refused to come home, and even pretended not to know her. Adriana has already been worried that her husband's eye is straying, and this news only confirms her suspicions.

Antipholus of Syracuse meets up with his own Dromio, who denies making a "joke" about Antipholus having a wife. Suddenly, Adriana rushes up to Antipholus and begs him not to leave her. The Syracusans can only attribute these strange events to witchcraft. Antipholus and Dromio go off with this strange woman, to eat dinner and keep the gate, respectively.

Antipholus of Ephesus returns home for dinner and is enraged to find that he is locked out of his own house. He is ready to break down the door, but then decides to have dinner with a Courtesan he knows, instead.

Inside the house, Antipholus of Syracuse discovers that he is very attracted to his "wife's" sister, Luciana. She is flattered by his attentions, but worried about the morality of them. After she exits, Dromio of Syracuse announces that he has discovered that he has a wife: Nell, a hideous kitchen-maid. The Syracusans decide to leave as soon as possible, and Dromio runs off to make travel plans. Antipholus is apprehended by Angelo, 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 sends his Dromio off to buy a rope so that he can beat his wife for locking him out, then is accosted by Angelo, who asks him to pay for the chain. He denies ever seeing it, and is promptly arrested. Dromio of Syracuse enters, and Antipholus sends 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 then enters, spies Antipholus wearing the chain, and says he promised to give it to her. The Syracusans deny this charge and flee, while the Courtesan resolves to go to Adriana and tell her that her husband is insane.

Dromio of Ephesus returns to the arrested Antipholus of Ephesus with the rope that he was sent to buy a few scenes previously. Antipholus is infuriated because he thinks Dromio spent all the bail money on a rope. Adriana, Luciana, the Courtesan, and a conjurer named Doctor Pinch enter. Pinch tries to exorcise the Ephesans, who protest that they are not mad; but since their story of the day's events does not match Adriana's, she thinks they are insane. The Ephesans are bound and taken to Adriana's house, as a "cure" for madness.

The Syracusans enter, carrying swords, and everybody runs off for fear that they are the Ephesans, out for vengeance after somehow escaping their bonds. The Syracusans then encounter Angelo again, followed by Adriana, who attempts to bind them. They take sanctuary in a nearby priory. The Abbess of the priory enters and refuses to release the Syracusans.

The Duke and Egeon enter, on their way to Egeon's execution. Adriana begs the Duke to force the Abbess to release her "husband." A messenger from Adriana's house runs in and announces that the Ephesans have broken loose from their bonds and tortured Doctor Pinch. Everyone is confused, especially when the Ephesans enter and ask the Duke for justice against Adriana, who shut their doors against them, arranged for Angelo to ask for money without producing the chain, and hired Doctor Pinch. The Duke realizes that no two versions of the story are the same, and resolves to ask the Abbess what happened.

Egeon then asks the Ephesans if they do not recognize their father, but obviously they have never met him. Suddenly, the Abbess enters with the Syracusan twins. She explains that not only are the two sets of twins reunited with Egeon, but that she is Egeon's wife! After the shipwreck, the fishermen stole the children from her, and she became a nun.

The Duke immediately pardons Egeon. All exit into the abbey to sort out the events of the day, and celebrate the reunification of the family.

Themes

Although the primary goal of The Comedy of Errors is entertainment, an astute reader or director can also find deeper themes within it.

Because of the confusing events that happen to them, both the Syracusan and Ephesan twins think they have gone insane at different points in the play. Madness is a major theme in Shakespeare's mature works Hamlet and King Lear, and The Comedy of Errors proves that Shakespeare was interested in it much earlier in his career.

The Comedy of Errors also proves that even the lightest farce gains emotional resonance when grounded in seriousness. Because the play opens with an old man about to be executed, there is a slight shadow cast over all the funny events that follow. Many farces are ultimately "pointless," but Egeon's pardoning and the reunited family gives The Comedy of Errors a happy, not just a humorous, ending.

Reference

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please update as needed.