The Comedy of Errors

thumb|right|Every why hath a wherefore. The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's early plays, written between 1592 and 1594. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical. A major part of the humor comes from slapstick, mistaken identity, puns and wordplay. It is about twins. Act I thumb|right|Let’s go hand in hand, not one before another. The pleasing punishment that women bear. Ægeon, scene i I to the world am like a drop of waterThat in the Ocean seeks another drop,Who, falling there to find his fellow forth,(Unseen, inquisitive) confounds himself. Antipholus of Syracuse, scene ii Act II A wretched soul, bruis'd with adversity,We bid be quiet, when we hear it cry;But, were we burden'd with like weight of pain,As much or more we should ourselves complain. Adriana, scene i Every why hath a wherefore. Dromio of Syracuse, scene ii Act III Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast. Balthazar, scene i Your town is troubled with unruly boys. Dromio of Syracuse, scene i No longer from head to foot than from hip to hip; she is spherical, like a globe; I could find out countries in her. Dromio of Syracuse, scene ii Act IV He is deformed, crooked, old and sere,Ill-faced, worse bodied, shapeless everywhere;Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind,Stigmatical in making, worse in mind. Adriana, scene ii Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil. Dromio of Syracuse, scene iii, l. 58 Cf. Chaucer, The Squire's Tale, l. 594 I am an Asse indeed; you may prove it by my long ears. I have served him from the hour of my Nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his hands for my service but blows. When I am cold, he heats me with beating; when I am warm, he cools me with beating; I am waked with it when I sleep, raised with it when I sit, driven out of doors with it when I go from home, welcomed home with it when I return, nay, I bear it on my shoulders as a beggar wont her brat; and I think when he hath lamed me, I shall beg with it from door to door. Dromio of Ephesus, scene iv Act V Be quiet, people; Æmilia (the Abbess), scene i A hungry lean-fac'd villain,A mere anatomy. Antipholus of Ephesus, scene i A needy, hollow-ey'd, sharp-looking wretch,A living-dead man. Antipholus of Ephesus, scene i Let’s go hand in hand, not one before another. Dromio of Ephesus, scene i External links The Comedy of Errors quotes analyzed; study guide with themes, character analyses, literary devices, teaching resources Category:Shakespearean comedies