Customer Reviews

The Comedy of Errors (Signet Classics)

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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

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.