The Comedy of Errors

By William Shakespeare, William James Rolfe, William Hazlitt

Book Overview

The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre numerous times worldwide. In the centuries following its premiere, the play's title has entered the popular English lexicon as an idiom for "an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout".

Set in the Greek city of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins who 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 mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession.

The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare's earliest and shortest plays. This comedy utilizes slapstick humor, word play, and mistaken identities to create a series of farcical accidents. Over time, the play's title has become an idiom used to describe "an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout."In Ephesus, the law forbids entry to any merchants from Syracuse, and if they are discovered within the city, they must pay a thousand marks or be put to death. Aegeon, an old Syracusian merchant, is arrested and Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus, listens to his story of coming to the city. Long ago, Aegeon was on a sea voyage. Traveling with him was his wife, his twin sons, and their twin slaves. The family becomes separated during a tempest; Aegeon, one son, and one slave were rescued together, and the others were never to be seen again. Years later his son Antipholus and his slave Dromio left to search for their long lost siblings; after the boys didn't return, Aegeon set out to bring his son back home. Moved by this story, the duke allows Aegeon one day to get the money to pay his fine and to find his family.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GTCWHM6T
• ISBN13: 9791043137006
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Les Prairies Numeriques
• Length: 90 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Lived up to its title

Supposed to have been a paperback. Got a mass market paperback instead. Finally ordered a paperback from another source.

Shakespeare's First

I went into this fairly skeptical of how much I would actually enjoy it. I was told that it was Shakespeare's first play and that the only reason that my instructor was having us read it was because it is actually being performed here on campus and we are required to attend the one-night-only performance. Not a glowing recommendation to have before starting a book! The play is surprisingly easy to follow and understand. The humor is actually funny and I found myself chuckling out loud and enjoying the many puns and instances of word play that take place throughout caused by the many mistakes in identity that occur due to the presence of two sets of long separated twins. The play does require the reader/viewer to suspend reality in order for the premise to work, but all in all, it's quite entertaining and worth checking out if you're interested in this sort of thing.

Farce and Confusion

The model for Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" was the Roman playwrite Plautus' 220 B.C. play "Menaechmi" about a long lost twin who comes into the town of his sibling and farcical misadventure happens. Shakespeare's favorite book, as a young student, was an English translation of Ovid's Ovid's Metamorphoses "Metamorphoses" by Arthur Golding, so Shakespeare may have seen copying from Roman writers as a winning formula. It is a straight forward comedy, seemingly, with servant and messanger Dromio - whose name conjures up the idea of a race track to some of the Elizabethian audiance familiar with Latin - and that is what the two Dromios do, is run around like on a race track. It is likely one of Shakespeare's first plays and one that can most be taken at face value in that the play says what it means; there is seemingly little hidden meaning. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare Meaning by Shakespeare However, when Antipholus of Syracuse questions Luciana I got the feeling the author was weighing other things as well, especially after watchingIn Search of Shakespeare Luciana represented the new Elizabethian world while Adriana represented what was before and what Shakespeare may have felt secret loyalties towards, his Catholic faith, while at the same time relishing and thriving in the new Elizabethian world of education and Protestantism; with split feelings and duel identity himself. The play may have more meaning than it seems. The BBC production of this play was zesty fun with a cast of heavy weight Shakespearian players mixed with lively crew, but an often extemporanious seeming production. Roger Daultrey (of The Who) suprisingly pulls his own weight, the supporting cast are super.The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare Comedy of Errors

Really helped to understand the play

I bought this book as "homework" for myself before seeing the play performed at a Shakespeare festival. I read through the comtemporary English on the right hand pages, skimming the Shakespearean left pages so I would recognize the dialog when I heard it. I saw the performance later the next day and was delighted with how many of the details I was able to understand, especially compared to the previous year at the festival, when I hadn't read the play ahead of time and couldn't follow the dialog as well. In the future, I will buy No Fear guides whenever I have tickets to a Shakespeare play.

My favourite of all Shakespeare's comedies.

I love all Shakespeare's works in all his genres, but this play is my favourite one of the Comedies. I have read it numerous times, but I have also seen it played on the stage, and it was unbelievably funny there. This play is actually one of Shakespeare's earliest. The play is a story about doubles, and the confusion that arises from this. Shakespeare protagaonists are a pair of twins, and to complicate things further each twin has an identical twin for a servant. Shakespeare's humour is bawdy as it was expected to be during the Elizabethan age. Some people think this particular play displays farcical humour because the humour is so broad, but I truly enjoyed reading it and seeing it. I think the genius of this particular play is in the deftness of the plot and the fast-paced perfection and timing of its action. I laughed out loud many times during this wonderful play.

The Comedy of Errors

There is no doubt that this comedy of Shakespeare's is delightful, crazy fun. You could call it the father (or mother) of all sit-coms. The play is suitable for middle school production and viewing, with some modifications. For my students and myself I prefer the Folger's edition of Shakespeare's plays for three reasons. First, the footnotes are easy to read and across from the text. 2. The choice of illustrations and 3. The introductory information. When purchasing for my students, though I have tried other publishers, I now always choose Folgers.