The Comedy of Errors (Mass Market Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author) "EGEON, a merchant from Syracuse..." (more)
Key Phrases: textual notes, The Comedy of Errors, Enter Antipholus, Enter Dromio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
These are the first two titles in Penguin's newly revamped "Pelican Shakespeare" series. The Pelicans have been the leading editions for many years, but the publisher realized that much new scholarship on the plays has been unearthed since the series was introduced. Eight Shakespeare scholars were hired to produce new, more accurate texts plus introductions and textual notes. The good stuff just gets better with age.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
A five-act comedy by William Shakespeare, first performed in 1592-93 and first published in the First Folio of 1623. The play, Shakespeare's shortest, was based on Menaechmi by Plautus. Aegeon, a merchant of Syracuse, is arrested in Ephesus and, unable to pay the local ransom, is condemned to death. He tells the duke, Solinus, his sad tale: years earlier he and his wife had been shipwrecked with their infant sons, identical twins, and a pair of infant slaves, also identical twins. The parents, each with a son and a slave, were rescued but then permanently separated. Antipholus of Syracuse, the son raised by Aegeon, has for five years been seeking his mother and brother, and Aegeon has been seeking him. Aegeon's story wins from Solinus a day's respite to raise the ransom money. Meanwhile, Antipholus of Syracuse and his slave Dromio have arrived in Ephesus, not knowing that his brother Antipholus of Ephesus and his brother's slave, also named Dromio, are already there. A series of misidentifications ensues. Antipholus of Syracuse is entertained by his brother's wife and woos her sister; he receives a gold chain meant for his brother and is chased by a goldsmith for nonpayment. He and his slave hide in a priory, where they observe Aegeon on his way to execution and recognize the priory's abbess as their mother Aemilia. The two separated families are reunited, and Antipholus of Ephesus pays his father's ransom. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671722573
• ISBN-13: 978-0671722579
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,226,041 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great place to start reading Shakespeare - just read more!, December 24, 2004

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Comedy of Errors (Arden Shakespeare: Second Series) (Paperback)

One of the problems that great artists present to us is where to begin in getting to know their works. Their masterworks are often so full of what they have spent a lifetime developing that most of it is lost on those who have not yet put in a significant amount of effort becoming familiar with that artist's style and means of expression. Yet, if one begins with their apprentice works one may become discouraged because they lack the miracles of the masterworks. So, where does one begin?

Shakespeare offers the reader an additional challenge of an English that is removed in style and idiom from us by 400 years. It is not an insurmountable challenge. In fact, it is quite easy to overcome with a bit of time reading it and getting into the flow. It just seems strange in the beginning, but it really does become easy to read once you spend some time with it. However, getting over that small hill has kept many from enjoying the glories of Shakespeare.

This play, "The Comedy of Errors", is clearly an early work. It has many virtues, but despite them it does not offer much of what we really value in Shakespeare. It is a very fine play and is constructed very well. It is a wonderful first work to read of Shakespeare because it is short and has a very simple plot. The new reader does not have to spend much effort contemplating characters or the immense subtlety of language of the great works. Its charms are direct and what it has to offer is pretty much on the surface of the words.

The plot is, like all farces, ridiculous. It involves twin brothers who are served by twin slaves. They are separated early in life and when the play opens one set does not know the other exists. One set (the Antipholus and Dromio from Syracuse) visits Ephesus where the other set (the Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus) lives. The play involves people confusing the two sets to the bewilderment of those suffering from the confusion. It really is quite funny. Of course, eventually, all is resolved to everyone's delight.

This edition, like all of the individual editions Arden offers of these plays, has a wonderful opening essay that offers a great deal of background on the play including a discussion of its performance history, sources, and discussion of the play itself. The appendices in the back offer excerpts from the sources and some brief information on the Gray's Inn performance of 1594.

If you desire to study Shakespeare and are willing to spend time reading many of his plays, "The Comedy of Errors" is a good work to start with just to ease into the language and get a feel for some of the conventions of Elizabethan theater. Just don't stop here. Shakespeare has so much more to offer that you owe it to yourself to continue your exploration of this supreme artist.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hilariously confusing, October 29, 2000

By	Chelsea (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

The Comedy of Errors is about two sets of twins that were separated during their childhood years. The younger twins decide to take the names of their older siblings out of respect. This causes many mishaps between the twins and the people they encounter. Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse set out to Ephesus to look for their siblings and this is where the misadventures begin. This play is classified as a comedy. The beginning starts out with Antipholuses father being sentenced to death. Further into the play it begins to very funny. There are so many details and confusions that you can't help but to be lost and confused about the plot. This play is enjoyable and will continue to keep your interest throughout the play. The mishaps start out as comical and eventually become more serious. People begin to be accused of crimes they did not commit and two innocent people are sent to jail. Shakespeare gradually builds up the suspense throughout the play and then ends the play with a scene where the characters are given reason to the previous incidents. The irony of the story and the constant confusion of the story will cause you to begin reading and not be able to stop until you have completely finished the play. The many jokes and puns in the play will also contribute to your amusement. Like my humanities teacher says, "You don't understand it? GOOD! That means that Shakespeare did his job well." The main purpose of this play is to completely confuse you and make you laugh while doing it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a laugh and an intellectual challenge.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Dromio, oh Dromio. Wherefore art thou, Dromio?" , July 27, 2004

By	G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Comedy of Errors (Arden Shakespeare: Second Series) (Hardcover)

I recently re-read THE COMEDY OF ERRORS prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of this farce-like play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Based on Menaechmi by Plautus, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) produced this romantic comedy between the years 1592-93 and published it in the First Folio in 1623. While on its surface this early play may seem superficial and frivolous when measured against KING LEAR or HAMLET, it is not without its own unique depths. It also shows that the Bard had a sense of humor. It tells the hilarious story of two, identical twin brothers (Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus) and their identical twin servants (both named Dromio), all of whom were separated at sea during their infancy until redisdovering each other through a series of madcap mix-ups, mayhem, and mistaken identities in the apparently insane town of Epheseus. Meanwhile, Egeon (the father of the Antipholus twins), has been granted a day to raise local ransom for illegally entering Ephesus. In that day, the separated twins are reunited, Antipholus of Ephesus pays his father's ransom, and Egeon discovers his long-lost wife (Aemilia) living in the local priory. In the end, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is as much about the power of family as the search for completing oneself. It is a play that reminds me that it is perhaps better to re-read and understand Shakespeare than to devour one bestseller after the next.

G. Merritt