Comedy of Errors.
Based on the theme of mistaken identity, The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest plays. The play contains several classical elements that connect it to the comedies of Roman playwright Plautus, specifically The Brothers Menaechmus. This paper will critically compare the classical model with Shakespeare’s model, with a particular emphasis on The Comedy of Errors.
Before delving into the plots of Comedy of Errors and The Brothers Menaechmus, it is important to consider the influence of Plautus on the works of Shakespeare, Jonson, Wilde, and Shaw. Numerous dramatic literary devices were employed in some of the earliest Latin, Greek, and Italian works such as dramatic satura, biological metaphors, rhetorical and symbolic vocabulary. The pulse of dramatic comedy was set in those early works by Plautus and Terence. Their legacy was masterfully carried into later traditions through translations and re-creations.
Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors along with other plays written in vernacular languages by English playwrights like Jonson, Heywood, and Chapman were reproductions of specific plots from Plautus or Terence. The scope for creativity and flexibility was enormous with these re-creations.
Many early critics preferred to keep Shakespeare separate from other Elizabethan dramatists because they believed his works were not influenced by the New Comedic traditions. However, further investigation revealed that Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors was clearly influenced by The Brothers Menaechmus. The methodologies that Shakespeare adopted before he began deciphering Plautus became a matter of serious debate in the critic circle of the eighteenth century. Langbaine asserted that Shakespeare relied on Warner’s translation of the main Latin text, which was also reflected in the opinions of Gildon, Rowe, Pope, Dennis and Lennox. Furthermore, Dennis claimed that it was nearly impossible for Shakespeare to read Plautus without pain and difficulty” and assumed he must have sought assistance from a “stranger” or “some learned friend.” (Miola, 11)
Contemporary understanding of Shakespeare’s comedic works takes into account intellectual factors that were missing in New Comedic traditions. The ‘Plautine’ comedies were written in a farcical universe devoid of moral or ethical issues, with stereotyped characters that did not fit into the notion of redemption. However, there are ample validations to support the argument that Shakespeare was directly influenced by Plautus and his school of New Comedy.
The plot of Plautus’ The Brothers Menaechmus involves twin brothers, Menaechmus and Sosicles, who accidentally get separated from each other when their father Moschus takes seven-year-old Menaechmus on a business trip. Menaechmus is adopted by a businessman who lives in Epidamnus. Moschus dies of grief, and Sosicles is renamed after his lost brother, Menaechmus. ‘Menaechmus’ Sosicles keeps searching for his brother for years and almost gives up hope before deciding to stay for a while in Epidamnus.
The theme of mistaken identity is what the play is all about. During his stay in Epidamnus, ‘Menaechmus’ Sosicles faces strange situations because people mistake him for Menaechmus. Plautus masterfully keeps the dramatic suspicion alive as the two brothers never meet until the very end of the plot.
While ‘Menaechmus’ Sosicles meets people whom he thinks are loony and impolite, Menaechmus also goes through many hassles with his wife and friend Peniculus. The play ends with the meeting of the two brothers. Messenio, Sosicle’s slave, plays an important role in identifying that Menaechmus and Sosicles are long-lost twins.
Shakespeare’s deviation from the original plot is noteworthy. He includes another pair of twin slaves in addition to Plautus’ twin brothers. The Comedy of Errors commences with a hint of sorrow as Egeon recounts a tragic tale when he confronts his execution.
A heavier task could not have been imposed.
Then I have to speak of my unspeakable griefs:
Yet, the world may witness my end.
The damage was caused by nature, not by any malicious act.
I’ll speak of the sorrows that I am allowed to express.
I was born and wed in Syracuse.
Unto a woman…” (The Literature Network, 2000-2009)
On the day that his wife gave birth to twins, a poor woman also gave birth to two sons who were twins. Egeon purchased these two boys as slaves for his own sons. However, a shipwreck brought disaster to Egeon’s life, leaving him with only one son and one slave while his wife rescued the other son and slave. Egeon never saw his lost son or slave again.
Years later, Egeon’s grown-up son Antipholus of Syracuse and his slave Dromio of Syracuse set off in search of their lost counterparts. However, Antipholus of Syracuse does not return and Egeon himself sets out in search of him.
This story touches the heart of the Duke of Ephesus who gives Egeon one more day to pay back the fine.
The day Egeon leaves in search of his son, Antipholus of Syracuse also arrives in Ephesus to find his brother. He sends Dromio of Syracuse to deposit some money at an inn. The confusion and chaos of mistaken identity start from this point onwards as Dromio of Ephesus appears almost immediately, denying any knowledge of the money and asking Antipholus of Syracuse to return home for dinner. Such insolence from a servant is not taken lightly by Antipholus of Syracuse, and he beats up Dromio.
The servant returns to Antipholus’ supposed wife, Adriana, and informs her of the incident. Upon learning that her ‘husband’ had acted ignorant of her identity, Adriana, who already harbored doubts about his character, becomes convinced of her suspicions.
The plot of the play becomes extremely confusing yet farcical as Antipholus of Syracuse comes across Dromio of Syracuse. The sons and servants keep driving the people of Ephesus mad as they cannot comprehend how those fellows can appear in different places within a very short span of time. Other characters in the play, including Angelo, the goldsmith, a female courtesan, merchants, and Adriana’s cook Nell – everybody in town forms bizarre opinions about the son-servant duo. The story becomes intriguingly farcical when a psychiatrist is appointed to treat Antipholus of Ephesus. In the end, Egeon recognizes his son thinking him to be Antipholus of Syracuse but Antipholus of Ephesus cannot recognize Egeon. However, everything is sorted out eventually as the family reunites and Egeon is pardoned by the Duke.
The points of similarity between the plot of The Brothers Menaechmus” and that of “Comedy of Errors” suggest the intertextual patterns that Shakespeare must have recreated. However, one cannot overlook his own inputs regarding Elizabethan intelligence and innovative dramatic devices. Shakespeare purposefully made the plot more intriguing by introducing identical slaves and characters like Luciana and Nell to complicate the confusions of mistaken identities. Antipholus of Syracuse finds himself smitten by Luciana, whereas Dromio of Syracuse is approached by Nell. The subtlety of such literary techniques was dazzlingly appealing to the Elizabethan audience, not only making the plot fascinating but also providing scope for using dramatic tools such as puns: “…in her buttocks. I found it out by the bogs.”, “I found it by barrenness; hard in the palm of the hand.”, “In her forehead, armed and reverted, making war against her heir”, “Faith, I saw it not; but I felt it hot in her breath.” (Shakespeare et al., p. 195)
Apart from mistaken identities, Comedy of Errors employs slapstick literary devices and wordplay profusely. The plots of both The Brothers Menaechmus and Comedy of Errors require the use of exaggerated physical movements, but it is in Shakespeare’s work where subtleties of humor are blended with slapstick.
Notwithstanding the difficulties of comparing works from different literary times, it is an engrossing challenge for critics and historians alike to relate Plautus and Shakespeare to a common string of mistaken identity. Shakespeare’s extensive familiarity with Latin literature developed from staging plays in academics and schools throughout the fifteenth century. In Plautus’ comedies, Shakespeare could sense the ideal components for recreating an entertaining comedy unfolding around a succession of mistaken identities.
Works Cited
Miola, Robert. S. Shakespeare and Classical Comedy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Shakespeare, William, Orgel, Stephen, and Braunmuller, A. R. The Complete Works. London: Penguin Classics, 2002.
The Literature Network presents Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. This work was published between 2000 and 2009. You can read it online at http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/errors/1/.
