Shakespeare The Comedy of Errors

Shakespeare was…  An English poet  A playwright  An English actor  He’s considerate the greatest writer in the English language

The comedy of Errors It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humor and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and wordplay. It believed to have been written between 1592 and 1594

Characters Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse Emilia, the lost wife of Egeon, now Lady Abbess at Ephesus Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse, twin brothers, sons of Egeon and Emilia Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse, twin brothers, bondmen, each serving his respective Antipholus Adriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus Luciana, her sister Luce, kitchen-maid to Adriana, also referred to as Nell ("a mountain of mad flesh that claims marriage of me" -- Dromio of Syracuse)

Introduction The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth. 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 mistake identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession.

Egeon, in his youth, married a woman and had twin sons. On the same day, a poor woman 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. His wife was rescued by one boat, Egeon by another, so he never again saw his wife, or the children with her. Recently, the son Antipholus of Syracuse, now grown, and his son’s slave Dromio of Syracuse, left Syracuse on a quest to find their brothers in Ephesus (another island, were Antipholus of Ephesus grows up). When Antipholus of Syracuse did not return, Egeon (his father) set out in search of him. Moreover, Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus wanted to imprison Egeon (for not paying taxes), but he asked to the Duke for a week in freedom to find their children.

Recently, the son Antipholus of Syracuse, now grown, and his son’s slave Dromio of Syracuse, left Syracuse on a quest to find their brothers in Ephesus (another island, were Antipholus of Ephesus grows up). When Antipholus of Syracuse did not return, Egeon (his father) set out in search of him. Moreover, Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus wanted to imprison Egeon (for not paying taxes), but he asked to the Duke for a week in freedom to find their children.

When the both Syracuse arrived at Ephesus, these characters make many things happen; Antipholus of Syracuse argue with his slave, Dromio, because he thinks that he steal his money… and then, weeks later, as they had not achieved find his brother,The Syracusans decide to leave the island as soon as possible, and Dromio runs off to make travel plans. But then, Antipholus is forced by Angelo, a goldsmith, to buy a gold chain, which he don´t want to pay. So he is arrested and jailed, until his wife, Adriana, paid his bail. After this, Adriana thinks her husband has been unfaithful, so she tries to practice with him exorcism, but he escapes and then, he denounces her.

When Egeon founds all his sons in the island, he told the entire story and then everyone begins to understand the confused events of the past. In the end, the family celebrated together the reunification.

Analysis For centurys, It believed that Shakespeare was avoiding his tragedies for comedies. Now, it believed that the play it is based in real acts

Adaptations

Plays In 1734, an adaptation called See If You Like It was staged at Covent Garden In 1980 it was a single representation, it was shown on MTV

Opera In 1786, in a theater it was performed an opera called Gli Equivoci by Stephen Storace. This story is similar to The Comedy of Errors but it was changed some names.

Musicals The play has been adapted as a musicals three times. It was composed by famous actors, a hip-hop and it has won three awards

Film In 1968, It was recorded a film in Bollywood "No Dooni Char“ or ("2 x 2 = 4"). It was based in this play. Angoor, it is a most important film in India and it was based in this play. Ulta Palta that is a Canadian film, It was based in The Comedy of Errors.

Television The popular TV show "The X-Files" features an episode called "Fight Club", the story of which heavily parallels many elements from A Comedy of errors.

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