The Comedy of Errors Summary
William Shakespeare

Biography Essay"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer,... Read more

Considered by critics, scholars, and the theater-going public the most important dramatist in the history of English literature, William Shakespeare occupies a unique position in the pantheon of great... Read more

William Shakespeare's reputation is based primarily on his plays. With the partial exception of the Sonnets (1609), quarried since the early nineteenth century for autobiographical secrets allegedly ... Read more

T. G. Bishop, Case Western Reserve University The sea, in fact, is that state of barbaric vagueness and disorder out of which civilisation has emerged, and into which, unless saved by the ef... Read more

Maurice Hunt, Baylor University Both critics and editors of The Comedy of Errors reveal a notable uncertainty over the social status of the Dromio brothers. Taking their cue from the designat... Read more

In the essay below, Slights studies the portrayal of personal and political relations in The Comedy of Errors. ‘We being strangers here, how dar'st thou trust …’ (I.... Read more

In the essay that follows, Parker contends that the opening narration of the shipwreck is frequently misread, and elaborates on the significance of these lines in the context of the work's larg... Read more

In the following essay, Leggatt focuses on the “interweaving of the fantastic and the everyday” in the play, contrasting it to Plautus' Menaechmi. In the second scene of The Co... Read more

In the following essay, Rudd compares the plot structure, characterization, and farcical elements of Plautus’ Menaechmi to The Comedy of Errors. In comparing the two plays I shall quickly ou... Read more

In the following essay, Lanier explores “the question of how the material conditions and practices of self-display in Elizabethan England relate to crises of self-display faced by Shakespeare&#... Read more

In the essay below, MacCary maintains that Antipholus of Syracuse is the primary focus of The Comedy of Errors, noting that his search for his brother may be viewed as a search for himself. A commo... Read more

In the excerpt below, Smallwood applauds Tim Supple's 1996 production of The Comedy of Errors, maintaining that it was straightforward and “attentive” to Shakespeare's lang... Read more

In the review below, Hampton discusses a staging of Trevor Nunn and Guy Woolfenden's musical version of The Comedy of Errors, directed by John Rando, contending that the production honored the ... Read more

In the essay below, originally published in 1991, Whitworth studies the romantic elements of The Comedy of Errors, urging that the play be recognized as romance in its form and in much of its substanc... Read more

In the following essay, Shaw evaluates The Comedy of Errors as Shakespeare's eclectic adaptation of Latin sources, and considers the playwright's recasting of classical dramas by Plautus... Read more

In the following essay, MacCary presents a psychoanalytic and genre-based reading of The Comedy of Errors that emphasizes its classical comedic sources together with its narcissistic and egocentric th... Read more

In the following essay, Hennings studies the celebration of Christian ideals of marriage and family in The Comedy of Errors. At exactly what time in his career Shakespeare wrote The Comedy of Error... Read more

In the following essay, Christensen approaches The Comedy of Errors as a mercantile comedy that dramatizes tensions between the gendered spheres of public/commercial and private/domestic. ‘W... Read more

In the following excerpt, Maguire presents an overview of The Comedy of Errors that elucidates the drama's structural use of pairing and opposition in relation to its theme of marriage and its ... Read more

In the following essay, Garton suggests the significance of Shakespeare's use of Greek mythological sources in his naming and implicit characterization of the brothers Antipholus. There exis... Read more

In the following review of the Bomb-itty of Errors, a hip-hop adaptation of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors performed in New York City in 2000, French highlights the design and musical eleme... Read more

In the following review, Klein considers Brian B. Crowe's 2001 The Comedy of Errors for the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival an excessive farce short on style, but enjoys a few poignant moments ... Read more

In the following essay, Green analyzes the representation of the mother figure within the patriarchal social system of The Comedy of Errors. I. Mommy's Dearest To begin with, we live in a si... Read more

In the following excerpt, Whitworth discusses the production history of The Comedy of Errors and the critical controversy over the play's designation as a farce. Farce, City Comedy and Romanc... Read more

In the following essay, Riehle examines Shakespeare's practice of naming characters as a way of reflecting their inner natures in The Comedy of Errors. We have seen in the preceding chapters... Read more

In the following review, Phillips praises director Danny Scheie's 2001 production of The Comedy of Errors at A Noise Within, particularly his use of two actors rather than the usual four to pla... Read more

In the following review, Shirley finds Ben Donenberg's 2001 Shakespeare Festival/LA production of a modernized version of The Comedy of Errors lacking in unity despite some capable performances... Read more

William Shakespeare has written many plays for which he has been deemed one of the greatest playwrights in history. Some may disagree by calling his works simple, the characters underdeveloped and l... Read more