  |
|
|
|
The Comedy of Errors is another one of those plays by Shakespeare on which the jury is still out. It has been described as everything from a miniature masterpiece to better, but not much better, than Titus Andronicus-and this is faint praise indeed from Margaret Webster, who claimed that "Titus is seldom considered seriously ... for obvious reasons." I tend more toward the former opinion, and not just because Comedy is the shortest of Shakespeare's plays.
Don't be deceived, however, because this play is more than just mindless fluff. It contains the usual compliment of references to classical mythology, and the main plot is an expanded version of a play called Manaechmi, by the ancient Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus. In this work a man named Manaechmus arranges a lunch date with a prostitute. A second man of the same name (who is, of course, the previously unknown twin of the first) arrives and gets the lunch instead. A friend of the first Manaechmus tells his wife about the meeting, chaos ensues, and all is explained in the end. I think Shakespeare may also have enjoyed the biography of Plautus, who started out as an actor, became a Roman soldier, made his fortune as a merchant, and eventually lost all his wares in a shipwreck. You might remember this story if the misfortune of Antonio in The Merchant of Venice sounds vaguely familiar-although I don't remember reading anything about a pound of flesh while I was researching Plautus. Setting: Ephesus Main Characters
Solinus-Duke of Ephesus A (Very) Brief Plot Summary Act I Scene I: Aegeon is to be sentenced to death. He tells his story. The Duke gives him one day to raise bail money. Scene II: AS and DS arrive in Ephesus and separate. AS encounters DE, beats him for playing a joke. Act II Scene I: Adriana is angry that AE is not home for dinner. DE comes home and is sent back out. She blames AE's cheating for her bad attitude. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article The Comedy of Errors in Shakespeare's Plays is owned by Chris Allen. Permission to republish The Comedy of Errors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
