Analysis

To help explore any scene in The Comedy of Errors, it’s important to ask questions about how it's written and why.

Shakespeare’s plays are driven by his characters and he chooses his words, structure and rhythm carefully to tell you things about their relationships or their mood. When looking at his language, ask yourself, like actors do: Why is the character saying this? Why are they doing this? What is their motive?

Just like detectives, we need to look for clues to help answer those questions. Below you can find some interrogation techniques we use to analyse text, introduced by the actors that use them. 

 

  • Analysing the language of comedy

    Shakespeare has a lot of fun with language in The Comedy of Errors, especially between the servant and master duos with Antipholus and Dromio. Both Dromios are quick and witty with language, making use of puns and word play, both for entertainment and to talk their way out trouble. Their witty banter is a playful way to exchange insults or to lighten the mood. Shakespeare uses different types of wordplay, including puns, where a word or phrase can have more than one meaning.

    How many different examples of comic wordplay can you find in The Comedy of Errors?

    Shakespeare often gives his main characters an opportunity to be witty and it is often fun to see a servant outwit their master or mistress. In Act 2 Scene 2, Dromio uses wordplay to cheer his master up and to avoid more trouble for himself. As you look at the scene, make note of:

    • Puns
    • Repetition
    • Line length
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Was there ever any man thus beaten out of season,
    When in the why and the wherefore is neither rhyme nor reason?
    Well, sir, I thank you.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Thank me, sir, for what?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Marry, sir, for this something that you gave me for nothing.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    I’ll make you amends next, to give you nothing for something.
    But say, sir, is it dinner-time?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    No, sir, I think the meat wants that I have.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    In good time, sir. What’s that?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Basting.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Well, sir, then ‘twill be dry.
    Dromio of Syracuse
    If it be, sir, I pray you, eat none of it.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Your reason?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Lest it make you choleric, and purchase me another dry basting.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Well, sir, learn to jest in good time: there’s a time for all things.
    Dromio of Syracuse
    I durst have denied that, before you were so choleric.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    By what rule, sir?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Marry, sir, by a rule as plain as the plain bald pate of Father Time himself.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Let’s hear it.
    Dromio of Syracuse
    There’s no time for a man to recover his hair that grows bald by nature.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    May he not do it by fine and recovery?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Yes, to pay a fine for a periwig and recover the lost hair of another man.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Why is Time such a miser of hair, being, as it is, so plentiful an excrement?
    Dromio of Syracuse
    Because it is a blessing that he bestows on beasts; and what he hath scanted men in hair, he hath given them in wit.
    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Why, but there’s many a man hath more hair than wit.

    Questions to consider

    What can we learn about Dromio of Syracuse from this scene? Ask yourself:

    • What does Dromio’s choice of language tell us about him? What does it tell us about the kind of relationship he and Antipholus of Syracuse have?
    • Which words does Dromio choose to repeat and change the meaning of? What kind of meaning does he give them?
    • Some of the word meanings have changed since Shakespeare’s time. How does this affect how funny the scene is?
    • Some of the lines are quite short. How might this affect the pace of the scene?
    • Look at the imagery in this scene. Think about what the characters could be doing physically when they use these images and how this could be used to make the audience laugh.

    We’ve started to look at how Shakespeare uses language tools and witty wordplay to create comedy in Act 2 Scene 2. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what the language in this scene reveals about the relationship of master and servant, Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse.

    Point

    Dromio thinks his beating is uncalled for and unjustified. He is confident enough in his relationship with Antipholus to say so.

    Evidence

    ‘Was there ever any man thus beaten out of season, / When in the why and the wherefore is neither rhyme nor reason? / Well, sir, I thank you.’

    Explanation

    Shakespeare gives Dromio a rhyming couplet to emphasise his feelings here as the words ‘season’ and ‘reason’ stand out. He also uses alliteration in the repetition of ‘w’ in ‘When in the why and the wherefore’ which also draws attention to Dromio’s grievance. This scene is written mainly in prose but there is still a rhythm to the exchange between the characters which gives a sense of their close relationship but also Dromio’s annoyance at being beaten.

    Point

    Antipholus and Dromio enjoy comic banter together and have a similar sense of humour, their minds working as fast as each other.

    Evidence Select an option

    Explanation Click text to edit

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    Point

    Dromio has succeeded in changing his master’s mood.

    Evidence Click text to edit

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    Explanation Click text to edit

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    Point Click text to edit

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    Evidence Click text to edit

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    Explanation Click text to edit

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    What else can I do to explore witty language?

    • Look at other times in the play when characters use witty exchanges or banter. When do they do it to have fun and when are they doing it to affect another character?
    • Look at where these exchanges come in the play. Why do you think Shakespeare puts them where he does? For example: do they create moments for physical comedy or tell us more about the characters’ relationships?
    • Keep a record of the images the characters use in their witty exchanges. There is a lot of use of religious and witchcraft imagery in this play. Find out more by looking at the Analysing the Imagery section below.

  • Analysing the language of violence

    For a comedy, this play is packed full of violent language and action. The entire play starts with a violent story of a shipwreck where an entire family is pulled apart and the first character we meet, Egeon, is sentenced to death in Act 1 Scene 1. Both Dromios get beaten often, mostly because of mistaken identity, and Antipholus of Ephesus makes some increasingly violent threats to everyone, including his wife, as his situation gets more extreme.

    Take a look at the violent language throughout the play.

    What effect does this language and the action that accompanies it have on the comedy?

    In Shakespeare’s day, beating servants was a common theme in plays and a reality for many servants in real life. The audience watching would have included servants as well as people who had servants, so they would have had experience or at least knowledge of this behaviour. The expected roles of husbands and wives were also very different, with a husband having a lot more control over their wife’s life.

    Take a closer look at Antipholus’ behaviour and Dromio’s language in Act 4 Scene 4. Antipholus of Ephesus has sent Dromio to buy a rope to beat his wife with. Here, Dromio returns, not knowing the confusion that has happened since he was away. See if you can notice the following in Dromio’s language:

    • Antithesis
    • Repetition
    • Proverbs and sayings
    Antipholus of Ephesus
    To what end did I bid thee hie thee home?
    Dromio of Ephesus
    To a rope's-end, sir; and to that end am I returned.
    Antipholus of Ephesus
    Beating him

    And to that end, sir, I will welcome you.

    Officer
    Good sir, be patient.
    Dromio of Ephesus
    Nay, 'tis for me to be patient; I am in adversity.
    Officer
    Good, now, hold thy tongue.
    Dromio of Ephesus
    Nay, rather persuade him to hold his hands .
    Antipholus of Ephesus
    Thou whoreson, senseless villain!
    Dromio of Ephesus
    I would I were senseless, sir, that I might not feel your blows.
    Antipholus of Ephesus
    Thou art sensible in nothing but blows, and so is an ass.
    Dromio of Ephesus
    I am an ass, 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.
    Antipholus of Ephesus
    Come, go along; my wife is coming yonder.
    Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, the COURTESAN, and PINCH
    Dromio of Ephesus
    Mistress, 'respice finem,' respect your end; or rather, the prophecy like the parrot, 'beware the rope's-end.'
    Antipholus of Ephesus
    Beating him

    Wilt thou still talk?

    Courtesan
    How say you now? is not your husband mad?
    Adriana
    His incivility confirms no less.
    Good Doctor Pinch, you are a conjurer;
    Establish him in his true sense again,
    And I will please you what you will demand.
    Luciana
    Alas, how fiery and how sharp he looks!
    Courtesan
    Mark how he trembles in his ecstasy!

    Questions to consider

    • How do you think Dromio’s language affects the drama of the play at this point? What effect might this have on the audience?
    • What do you think Antipholus’ actions reveal about him at this point in the play?
    • What challenges does this violent action have for the actors? Do you think it adds to the comedy or drama or both?
    • Look at how other characters respond to Antipholus in this scene. What does this suggest to you about his character?

    Taking a closer look at Antipholus of Ephesus’ language and behaviour in Act 4 Scene 4, see if you can complete the below grid and create four points which explain what the language in this scene reveals about the character at this point in the play.

    Point

    Dromio of Ephesus has had enough of being treated badly by his master.

    Evidence

    ‘I am an ass, 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.’

    Explanation

    Shakespeare uses increasingly long sentences the more Dromio expresses his feelings, suggesting that he has finally snapped and his emotions are bubbling over. The truth is pouring out of him. Dromio picks up Antipholus’ use of the word ‘ass’ at the start as a springboard into how long he has had to put up with this abuse. Shakespeare uses the repetition of ‘beating’ to remind us how violent Antipholus is. The build up of antitheses in ‘cold’ and ‘warm’, ‘waked’ and ‘sleep’, ‘raised’ and ‘sit’, ‘out of doors’ and ‘home’ emphasise that Dromio suffers constant abuse that never ends. Shakespeare also uses the imagery of begging to make the point that the burden of beatings that Dromio carries on his shoulders (like a beggar carries a child) will eventually disable him and reduce him to actually begging himself.

    Point

    Antipholus and Dromio are well matched in their argument.

    Evidence Select an option

    Explanation Click text to edit

    Enter your explanation here

    Point

    Dromio tries to warn Adriana of her husband’s dangerous mood.

    Evidence Click text to edit

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    Explanation Click text to edit

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    Point Click text to edit

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    Evidence Click text to edit

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    Explanation Click text to edit

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    What else can I do to explore the language of violence?

    Look at the entrance of Dromio of Ephesus in Act 2 Scene 1. Ask yourself:

    • Where does Adriana’s anger come from? Why does Shakespeare have Dromio enter at this point in the scene?
    • Look closely at Luciana’s treatment of Dromio. What do her actions suggest about her?

    Look at the things Antipholus of Ephesus says to Adriana in Act 4 Scene 4. Pay particular attention to how he threatens her and what he calls her. How do you think an audience might have reacted to this in Shakespeare's time? How might a modern audience react today?

  • Analysing the imagery

    As with all of Shakespeare’s plays, there are lots of types of imagery used in The Comedy of Errors. It’s a great idea to keep a list of the key quotes and imagery used in each act.

    Here are three types of imagery that come up a lot in The Comedy of Errors:

    Water Imagery

    • The play opens with the story of a shipwreck that has torn a family in two. In Act 1 Scene 1, Egeon tells how his wife and son were ‘taken up / By fishermen of Corinth’, his loved ones caught like fish out of the ocean. This shipwreck creates the plot and forms the characters we meet.
    • In Act 1 Scene 2, when we first meet Antipholus of Syracuse, he describes himself as ‘a drop of water / That in the ocean seeks another drop’. This is an image similar to the proverb ‘finding a needle in a haystack’ and tells us how difficult his search is. It also describes how he feels watered down and diluted and has ‘lost himself’ in this search.
    • In Act 2 Scene 2, Adriana uses the similar image of 'a drop of water in the breaking gulf' to show how she and her husband are impossible to separate without it taking something away from both of them.
    • How many examples of water imagery can you find in the play and what do they reveal about the characters who use them?

    Religious Imagery

    • Images of religion are used often in The Comedy of Errors by characters who are trying to find some order in all the confusion. In Act 3 Scene 2, Antipholus of Syracuse asks of Luciana: 'Are you a god? Would you create me new?’ He is referring to an image of God creating Adam, to illustrate how powerful an effect she’s had on him.
    • In Act 5, we discover that Emilia has lived in a priory, a symbol of safety in a strange place and where Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse take sanctuary. However, Emilia blames Adriana for what has happened with Antipholus, leaving Adriana feeling that the abbess is abusing her position.
    • Characters refer to religious images and sayings to protect themselves from what they can’t understand. In Act 4 Scene 3, Dromio of Syracuse calls the Courtesan ‘Mistress of Satan’ disguised as a prostitute who ‘appear to men like angels of light’.
    • How many examples of this type of imagery can you find in the play and what do they reveal about the characters who use them?

    Witchcraft Imagery

    • Imagery of witchcraft and sorcery features a lot in this play as Ephesus is a place of danger to Syracusans and rumours of what happens there have spread. It is also the only way some of the characters can make sense of the confusion around them. In Act 2 Scene 2, Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse have to ask each other if they have changed shape as they feel so confused, they feel they have been ‘transformed’ by Adriana and Luciana’s words ‘in mind’ and in ‘shape’.
    • In Act 3 Scene 2, Dromio of Syracuse tells his master how Nell has described birthmarks she thinks he has: ‘the mole in my neck, the great wart on my left arm’, the type of intimate things a witch might know about someone they are casting a spell on.
    • Take a closer look at the extract from Act 1 Scene 2 to explore how imagery of witchcraft is used by Antipholus of Syracuse. Why do you think Shakespeare uses this language here? Why is the imagery of witchcraft and magic so important in the rest of the play?

    Antipholus of Syracuse
    Upon my life, by some device or other
    The villain is o'er-raught of all my money.
    They say this town is full of cozenage -
    As, nimble jugglers that deceive the eye,
    Dark-working sorcerers that change the mind,
    Soul-killing witches that deform the body,
    Disguisèd cheaters, prating mountebanks
    And many such - like liberties of sin.
    If it prove so, I will be gone the sooner.
    I’ll to the Centaur to go seek this slave;
    I greatly fear my money is not safe.

    Thinking about Act 1 Scene 2 we’ve started to look at what the imagery about magic and witchcraft and word choices in the scene tells us about Antipholus of Syracuse. See if you can complete the below grid and create four points which explain what this language shows about his characters and Ephesus at this point in the play.

    Point

    Antipholus of Syracuse thinks he’s in danger and needs to get out of it fast.

    Evidence

    ‘And many suchlike liberties of sin. / If it prove so, I will be gone the sooner. / I’ll to the Centaur to go seek this slave; / I greatly fear my money is not safe.’

    Explanation

    Shakespeare gives Antipholus a speech directly to the audience. This usually happens when a character is sharing intimate thoughts and feelings. Here, Antipholus is confiding his fears with us. His lines are in iambic pentameter and the regular verse quickens the pace and shows us that he is on top of his thoughts for now. However, instead of using a rhyming couplet to end the scene, Shakespeare gives us a half-rhyme which jars slightly, suggesting that things are not as they should be.

    Point

    Antipholus is superstitious and believes in the supernatural.

    Evidence Select an option

    Explanation Click text to edit

    Enter your explanation here

    Point

    Antipholus has his father’s habit of letting his imagination get carried away with him.

    Evidence Click text to edit

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    Explanation Click text to edit

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    Point Click text to edit

    Enter your point here.

    Evidence Click text to edit

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    Explanation Click text to edit

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  • Analysing the themes

    As with all of Shakespeare’s plays, there are lots of themes that appear in The Comedy of Errors. It’s a great idea to keep a list of key quotes and themes in each act.

    Here are three themes that can be seen in The Comedy of Errors and are useful to look out for:

    Theme of identity

    • Identity is a central theme in The Comedy of Errors. Mistaken identity creates most of the comedy and drama caused by identical twins being given the same names. The errors build up, creating tensions until the final scene which untangles the plot. Adriana declares: ’I see two husbands’, while the Duke assumes one is a ‘natural man’ and the other a ‘genius’ or spirit.
    • Much is made of people being in the wrong place. Antipholus of Syracuse is warned to ‘hide his identity’ the moment he arrives. He has travelled so far from home, he feels like a ‘drop of water’ in the ocean and says of his family: ‘In quest of them, unhappy, lose myself’.
    • Many of the characters in the play make sense of the confusion by assuming they or others are not themselves and have turned mad or been transformed. Adriana brings a conjurer to get her ‘mad’ husband back to ‘his true sense’ and Dromio of Syracuse gets so lost by Act 3 Scene 2, he asks his master: ‘Do you know me, sir? Am I Dromio? Am I your man? Am I myself?’
    • See how many references you can find in the play to identity and madness. Can these be split into categories of positive and negative?

    Theme of marriage

    • Marriage is a very important subject in the play. Egeon has lost his wife to the ‘unjust divorce’ of a shipwreck but is reunited with her in a twist which reveals that the abbess we meet in the very last scene turns out to be Emilia, his lost wife. Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse, both unmarried, meet women who mistake them for their husbands. In Antipholus’ case, it is the ‘fair dame’ Adriana (although he prefers her sister). In Dromio’s case, it is ‘a very beastly creature’ who ‘lays claim’ to him, leading to the exchange in Act 3 Scene 2.
    • Many characters give opposing views on marriage, for example Adriana and Luciana in Act 2 Scene 1. The married Adriana complains that husbands have more ‘liberty’ than wives. Her unmarried sister, Luciana, thinks a husband is ‘the bridle of your will’ and ‘master of all’. Luciana is wary of the ‘troubles of the marriage bed.’ Antipholus of Ephesus is painted as a neglectful husband with a jealous wife. He promises a gift to a courtesan, saying: ‘Be it nothing but to spite my wife.’ (3:1)
    • See how many times marriage is discussed by characters in the play. Who seems to have a happy marriage and who doesn’t? Does this change by the end of the play? When is marriage seen as positive and by whom? How differently is an unmarried man seen compared with an unmarried woman?

    Theme of commerce

    • Commerce and the business of trade is very important to people in The Comedy of Errors. The Duke says in Act 1 Scene 1 that the merchant wars between Syracuse and Ephesus have led to ‘rigorous statutes’ and the death penalty for Egeon. Egeon is a merchant whose business has had ‘prosperous voyages’ but now seems to be coming to an end with his ‘factor’s death’.
    • The subject of money adds tension to the plot. Egeon must raise a ransom of ‘a hundred marks’ in a day or he dies. In Act 4 Scene 1, we find out that Angelo is in debt and his ‘sum is due’ which means he has to chase payment for the gold chain he has made but given to the wrong Antipholus. The gold chain itself becomes a symbol of commerce. Antipholus of Ephesus is a rich man who can give it away. When the Courtesan thinks she has lost her diamond ring without the chain in return, she says it represents a fortune that is ‘too much to lose’ (4:3).
    • How important is commerce and money in the world of the play? Does money and wealth make any of the characters behave in a certain way and how?

Teacher Notes

For older or more able students, this article from the 2012 production programme explores the theme of identity in more detail.