The 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.

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 bought this book as "homework" for myself before seeing the play performed at a Shakespeare festival. I read through the comtemporary English on the right hand pages, skimming the Shakespearean left pages so I would recognize the dialog when I heard it. I saw the performance later the next day and was delighted with how many of the details I was able to understand, especially compared to the previous year at the festival, when I hadn't read the play ahead of time and couldn't follow the dialog as well. In the future, I will buy No Fear guides whenever I have tickets to a Shakespeare play.

I love all Shakespeare's works in all his genres, but this play is my favourite one of the Comedies. I have read it numerous times, but I have also seen it played on the stage, and it was unbelievably funny there. This play is actually one of Shakespeare's earliest. The play is a story about doubles, and the confusion that arises from this. Shakespeare protagaonists are a pair of twins, and to complicate things further each twin has an identical twin for a servant. Shakespeare's humour is bawdy as it was expected to be during the Elizabethan age. Some people think this particular play displays farcical humour because the humour is so broad, but I truly enjoyed reading it and seeing it. I think the genius of this particular play is in the deftness of the plot and the fast-paced perfection and timing of its action. I laughed out loud many times during this wonderful play.

There is no doubt that this comedy of Shakespeare's is delightful, crazy fun. You could call it the father (or mother) of all sit-coms. The play is suitable for middle school production and viewing, with some modifications. For my students and myself I prefer the Folger's edition of Shakespeare's plays for three reasons. First, the footnotes are easy to read and across from the text. 2. The choice of illustrations and 3. The introductory information. When purchasing for my students, though I have tried other publishers, I now always choose Folgers.