The Comedy of Errors (14 page)

Exeunt all. The two Dromios and two brothers
[
Antipholus
]
remain

Exeunt
[
Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus
]

Exeunt

F = First Folio text of 1623, the only authority for the play

F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632

Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor

SD = stage direction

SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)

List of Parts
= Ed

Lines 1–30:
The play opens as Egeon is sentenced to death, the penalty for any Syracusan found in Ephesus. The tension between the two places introduces the presence of opposites and doubles in the play, of both theme and character. The Duke of Ephesus explains that payment of “a thousand marks” would ensure Egeon’s freedom, drawing attention to the play’s mercantile background and the theme of value/worth, often linked to human life. Egeon’s confiscated goods are worth only a hundred, however, and so he must die. He says that at least his “woes” will end with his death and the duke questions why he came to Ephesus.

Lines 31–138:
Egeon explains that he was born, brought up, and married in Syracuse but often traveled on business to Epidamium, leaving his wife behind. He had been away for almost six months when his pregnant wife arrived and shortly afterward gave birth to twin sons, “the one so like the other, / As could not be distinguished but by names.” He describes their mother’s joy at their birth, and then tells of another woman who gave birth “That very hour, and in the self-same inn” to another set of identical twins. Being poor, however, their mother found them “a burden,” so Egeon “bought” the poor woman’s sons to be brought up as servants to his own twins, and the family prepared to return to Syracuse.

On their journey, however, they were shipwrecked. Egeon’s wife tied the younger twin and his servant to one end of the mast, while Egeon tied the other son and servant to the other. During the storm they became divided; one parent each with one son and one servant boy. Egeon watched as his wife and the two boys were rescued by a Corinthian fishing boat, while his own party was rescued and taken back to Syracuse. Both his son and his servant were renamed after their lost brothers, a device that reinforces the complex nature of
identity. When they reached the age of eighteen they asked permission to go and seek for their lost twins. Egeon “hazarded the loss” of another son and agreed. But his son disappeared and Egeon has now spent “Five summers” searching for him, eventually deciding to chance looking in Ephesus despite the danger.

Lines 139–157:
The duke comments that Egeon has been “marked” by the fates to “bear the extremity of dire mishap.” He sympathizes and wishes that he could alter the laws, but “passèd sentence may not be recalled.” He grants Egeon one day, however, to raise the thousand marks to save his life, establishing the play’s time frame and creating a sense of pace and urgency to the subsequent action. Egeon merely sees this reprieve as “procrastinat[ing] his lifeless end.”

Lines 1–40:
A merchant advises ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE to pretend that he is from Epidamium to avoid trouble. He describes a “Syracusan merchant” who was unable to “buy out his life” and will therefore be executed “ere the weary sun set in the west.” The merchant returns some money he has been keeping for Antipholus, who sends his servant Dromio back to the inn with it, commenting on Dromio’s “merry” temperament. Antipholus invites the merchant to walk around the town with him but he has business to attend to. Alone, Antipholus muses on his unhappiness and his quest to find his brother, likening himself to “a drop of water / That in the ocean seeks another drop.”

Lines 41–105:
Dromio of Ephesus enters and, mistaking him for his own Dromio, Antipholus questions why he is “returned so soon.” Confused, Dromio of Ephesus says that he is actually “approached too late,” and goes on to tell a bewildered Antipholus that his dinner is burned and his wife is angry. Antipholus asks Dromio for the money he has just given him, and Dromio asks if he means the “sixpence” he gave him to pay the saddler. Assuming this is another of Dromio’s jokes, Antipholus insists he is “not in a sportive humour” before asking again for the money. Dromio repeats his request that Antipholus return home for dinner and they continue to talk at cross-purposes,
each assuming that he is addressing the other’s identical twin, until Antipholus loses his temper and beats Dromio, who runs away. Antipholus fears that his servant has been cheated out of his money and goes back to the inn to find him.

Lines 1–43:
Adriana wonders where her husband and servant are as “it is two o’clock,” one of the play’s many references to time. Luciana suggests that he has been invited to dinner by “some merchant,” adding that men have little regard for time and are masters of their own liberty. Adriana questions why men should have more liberty than women. Luciana comments that all males, even “The beasts, the fishes and the wingèd fowls,” “Are masters to their females.” Adriana argues that it is easy for Luciana to urge “helpless patience”: she has no “unkind” husband to “grieve” her.

Lines 44–117:
Dromio enters and tells them that Antipholus has just struck him. He says that his master “is stark mad”: on being asked to come home for dinner, he asked Dromio for “a thousand marks in gold” and said that he knew of “no house, no wife, no mistress.” Adriana beats Dromio and sends him back to fetch his master. When he has gone, Adriana complains of Antipholus’ treatment of her, suspecting that he is neglecting her for other women. She argues that he has “ruined” her looks and temper through his neglect and wishes that he would give her a “sunny look.” Luciana accuses her sister of “self-harming jealousy” but Adriana continues, saying that she will weep away what is left of her beauty.

Lines 1–108:
Antipholus of Syracuse has been back to the inn and found that his gold is safe and that Dromio has set out to look for him. Confused, he feels that there has not been time for him to have spoken to Dromio since he first sent him from the market. Dromio (of Syracuse) arrives, and Antipholus asks if he is still in “merry humour” or whether it was madness that made him speak of his
house and dinner. Dromio insists that he has not seen Antipholus since he gave him the money to take to the inn. Frustrated at his denials, Antipholus beats him and says that he must learn to judge his master’s humors better and not take advantage of Antipholus’ familiarity with him. They continue their quick-fire verbal exchange until interrupted by the arrival of Adriana and Luciana.

Lines 109–219:
Antipholus is mystified as Adriana beckons him over. She interprets his expression as ill temper, accusing him of giving his “sweet aspects” to “Some other mistress.” Recalling the time when her husband loved her, she asks him how he has become “estrangèd from” his previous self. She continues to complain of his infidelities until Antipholus tells her that he does not know her: he is “but two hours old” in Ephesus. Luciana remonstrates with him for his treatment of Adriana, adding that she has already sent Dromio to fetch him to dinner. Dromio denies this. Antipholus wonders whether he is dreaming, but decides to go along with events until the mystery is solved. Dromio furthers the sense of unreality by deciding that they must be in “fairy land.” Exasperated, Adriana insists that Antipholus go in to dine, and sets Dromio to “keep the gate,” telling him to “let no creature enter.”

Lines 1–48:
Antipholus of Ephesus enters, accompanied by his own Dromio. He explains to the men he is with that his wife is “shrewish” when he is late, asking them to help him make excuses and say that he was at Angelo’s organizing the making of her necklace. His Dromio has told him of the encounter in the market, when Antipholus supposedly asked him for a thousand marks, denied his “wife and house,” and beat him, and Antipholus says he is a “drunkard” and an “ass.” They arrive at the house to find the door locked. Dromio of Ephesus calls to the other servants to let them in, and, on the other side of the door, Dromio of Syracuse refuses. Each unaware that he is speaking to his twin, the two men exchange insults through the door. Dromio of Syracuse announces his name, and Dromio of Ephesus accuses him of stealing both his “office and [his] name.”

Lines 49–129:
Concealed from the men, Luce calls to “Dromio” to ask who is at the gate, unaware that she is addressing two people with the same name. A confusing, bawdy conversation ensues until Adriana, also concealed from the men’s view, asks what all the noise is. Antipholus of Ephesus calls to his wife to let him in, but believing her husband to be inside the house, she orders him away. Antipholus threatens to break in but Balthasar persuades him that this will create “vulgar comment” and suggests he dine at an inn instead. Antipholus agrees, deciding he will dine with “a wench” who is “Pretty and witty” and “wild” and, moreover, he will give her Adriana’s necklace to spite her for refusing him entry.