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The Comedy of Errors – William Shakespeare
This play involved the separation, then reunion, of Egeon, and Emelia, (husband and wife), their twin sons, Antipholus of Ephesus (A.E.) and Antipholus of Syracuse (A.S.) and their twin servants, Dromio of Ephesus (D.E.) and Dromio of Syracuse (D.S.). The plot revolves around the convergence in Ephesus of the family members and the two Dromios (servants) and the many comic consequences regarding mistaken identities and confusion.
Action takes place in Ephesus, it begins when Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse, is being arrested and condemned to death by the Duke of Ephesus, Solinus for entering enemy territory. Though the Duke cannot pardon Egeon, the Duke has pity on Egeon and asks him to explain his presence in the Forbidden City. As Egeon is led to his execution, he begins to tell his story. Egeon tells the Duke that he’s come to Ephesus in search of his wife and one of his twin sons, who were separated from him when his ship wrecked years ago during a storm. The other twin, Antipholus of Syracuse, who grew up with Egeon is also traveling the world in search of the missing half of their family. (The twins, the audience learns, are identical, and each has an identical twin slave or servant named Dromio.) The Duke is so moved by Egeon’s story that he grants Egeon a day to raise the ransom that is necessary to save his life.
Meanwhile, unknown to Egeon, his son A.S. and slave D.S. is also visiting Ephesus – where Antipholus’ missing twin, A.E., is a prosperous citizen of the city. The citizens of Ephesus easily confuse the sons and the servants, both identical twins, Angelo the goldsmith, a female Courtesan, various merchants, and Nell, Adriana’s cook and fiancйe to Dromio of Ephesus. Adriana, Antipholus of Ephesus wife, mistakes Antipholus of Syracuse for her husband and drags him home for dinner, leaving Dromio of Syracuse to stand guard at the door and admit no one. Shortly thereafter, Antipholus of Ephesus (with his slave Dromio of Ephesus) returns home and is refuse entry to his own house. Meanwhile, Antipholus of Syracuse has fallen in love with Luciana, Adriana’s sister, who is appalled at the behavior of the man she thinks is her brother-in-law.
The confusion increases when a gold chain ordered by Antipholus of Ephesus is given to Antipholus of Syracuse. When Angelo the goldsmith demands payment for the chain, Antipholus of Ephesus refuses to pay, unsurprisingly, since “he” never received it and he is arrested for debt. The citizens of Ephesus think Antipholus and Dromio have gone mad. Antipholus of Ephesus’s wife, observing her husband’s strange behavior, decides he has gone mad and orders him bound and held in a cellar room. Doctor Pinch, a psychiatrist, even tries to get the devil out of Antipholus of Ephesus’ body. Meanwhile, Antipholus of Syracuse and his slave, Dromio of Syracuse, decide to flee the city, which they believe to be enchanted – only to be menaced by Adriana and the debt officer. A.S. and D.S. seek [next page]