Comedy Of Errors
(William Shakespeare)
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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