Two sets of identical twins provide the basis for ongoing incidents of mistaken identity, within a lively plot of quarrels, arrests, and a grand courtroom denouement. One of Shakespeare's earliest dramatic efforts, the play abounds in his trademark conceits, puns, and other forms of fanciful wordplay, foreshadowing his later and greater comedies.
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William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, basic text,
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This review is from: The Comedy of Errors (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
This is a good, basic text -- there are only a few questionable spelling issues, and don't look to the footnotes to provide any useful information, whatsoever.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Madcap silliness.,
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This review is from: The Comedy of Errors (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
The plot of this play is exactly the kind of thing for which the term "madcap" was coined. More so than many of Shakespeare's plays, the humor has survived the many changes our culture has undergone since his time. It's easy to see the similarity between this plot and any number of sitcom plots ranging from the "I Love Lucy" show all the way up through "Sabrina the Teenaged Witch" and "That Seventies Show". In fact, the plot device of twins causing mistaken identity was a VERY frequent device in the old "Patty Duke Show" back in the sixties (functionally as antiquated as Shakespeare's time to most young people). In fact, the semi-modern comic style that this play MOST reminds me of is "Abbott and Costello"; I can VERY easily envision Bud and Lou as the Antipholuses and Dromios, respectively.
All of which just goes to prove that Shakespeare wasn't, at least in his comedies, writing "literature". He was writing pop culture, and in some ways, pop culture hasn't changed a bit in 400 years.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Humor and word play from mistaken identity,
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This review is from: The Comedy of Errors (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
This is a short book, yet well worth the money for this Dover Thrift edition. Here, a case of doubly mistaken identity serves as a basis for much confusion and drama, and therefore many puns and other fun with word play. This earlier work is more readable than some of Shakespeare's later works, which may be one reason that it includes fewer footnotes.
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- Shakespeare from the Margins: Language, Culture, Context by Patricia Parker on 29 pages
- Berryman's Shakespeare by John Haffenden on 22 pages
- Sick Economies: Drama, Mercantilism, and Disease in Shakespeare's England by Jonathan Gil Harris on 18 pages
- The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy (Cambridge Companions to Literature) by Alexander Leggatt on 18 pages
- Folklore of Shakespeare by T. F. Thiselton Dyer on 16 pages
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