Shakespeare
The Comedy of Errors
Shakespeare was…
An English poet
 A playwright
 An English actor
 He’s considerate the greatest
writer in the English language

The comedy of Errors
It is his shortest and one of his most
farcical comedies, with a major
part of the humor and mistaken
identity, in addition to puns and
wordplay. It believed to have
been written between 1592 and
1594
Characters
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Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus
Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse
Emilia, the lost wife of Egeon, now Lady Abbess
at Ephesus
Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of
Syracuse, twin brothers, sons of Egeon and
Emilia
Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse,
twin brothers, bondmen, each serving his
respective Antipholus
Adriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus
Luciana, her sister
Luce, kitchen-maid to Adriana, also referred to
as Nell ("a mountain of mad flesh that claims
marriage of me" -- Dromio of Syracuse)
Introduction
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The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of
identical twins that were accidentally separated
at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant,
Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns
out to be the home of their twin brothers,
Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of
Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the
friends and families of their twins, a series of wild
mishaps based on mistake identities lead to
wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of
Antipholus of Ephesus, and accusations of
infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic
possession.
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Egeon, in his youth, married a woman and had twin
sons. On the same day, a poor woman also gave birth
to twin boys, and he purchased these as slaves to his
sons.
Soon afterwards, the family made a sea voyage, and
was hit by a tempest. His wife was rescued by one
boat, Egeon by another, so he never again saw his
wife, or the children with her.
Recently, the son Antipholus of Syracuse, now grown,
and his son’s slave Dromio of Syracuse, left Syracuse
on a quest to find their brothers in Ephesus (another
island, were Antipholus of Ephesus grows up). When
Antipholus of Syracuse did not return, Egeon (his
father) set out in search of him.
Moreover, Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus wanted to
imprison Egeon (for not paying taxes), but he asked to
the Duke for a week in freedom to find their children.
Recently, the son Antipholus of
Syracuse, now grown, and his son’s
slave Dromio of Syracuse, left
Syracuse on a quest to find their
brothers in Ephesus (another island,
were Antipholus of Ephesus grows up).
When Antipholus of Syracuse did not
return, Egeon (his father) set out in
search of him.
 Moreover, Solinus, the Duke of
Ephesus wanted to imprison Egeon
(for not paying taxes), but he asked to
the Duke for a week in freedom to find
their children.
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When the both Syracuse arrived at Ephesus,
these characters make many things happen;
Antipholus of Syracuse argue with his slave,
Dromio, because he thinks that he steal his
money… and then, weeks later, as they had not
achieved find his brother,The Syracusans decide
to leave the island as soon as possible, and
Dromio runs off to make travel plans. But then,
Antipholus is forced by Angelo, a goldsmith, to
buy a gold chain, which he don´t want to pay. So
he is arrested and jailed, until his wife, Adriana,
paid his bail.
After this, Adriana thinks her husband has been
unfaithful, so she tries to practice with him
exorcism, but he escapes and then, he
denounces her.
When Egeon founds all his sons in the
island, he told the entire story and then
everyone begins to understand the
confused events of the past.
In the end, the family celebrated
together the reunification.
Analysis
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For centurys, It believed that
Shakespeare was avoiding his
tragedies for comedies.
Now, it believed that the play it is
based in real acts
Adaptations
Plays
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In 1734, an adaptation called See
If You Like It was staged at Covent
Garden
In 1980 it was a single
representation, it was shown on
MTV
Opera
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In 1786, in a theater it was
performed an opera called Gli
Equivoci by Stephen Storace. This
story is similar to The Comedy of
Errors but it was changed some
names.
Musicals
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The play has been adapted as a
musicals three times. It was
composed by famous actors, a
hip-hop and it has won three
awards
Film
In 1968, It was recorded a film in
Bollywood "No Dooni Char“ or ("2
x 2 = 4"). It was based in this play.
 Angoor, it is a most important film
in India and it was based in this
play.
 Ulta Palta that is a Canadian film, It
was based in The Comedy of
Errors.
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Television
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The popular TV show "The X-Files"
features an episode called "Fight
Club", the story of which heavily
parallels many elements from A
Comedy of errors.
Mari Matty &
Yeri
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