Comedy Of Errors Play Analysis

The Text The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s earlier plays. The first recorded performance of the comedy was on December 28, 1594, as part of the Christmas festivities at Gray’s Inn in London. The exact date that the play was written is uncertain, but it is generally agreed that it was written sometime during 1589-1594 and between The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Love’s Labour’s Lost. It was first printed in the First Folio in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, and is Shakespeare’s shortest play and one of his eighteen comedies. The main characters of the play are identical twin brothers, both named Antipholus, who have been separated when they were children. Each brother is accompanied by his servant, and these servants also happen to be identical twins who share the name Dromio. One Antipholus and Dromio grow up in Ephesus, while the other pair grows up in Syracuse. The action begins when Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse travel to Ephesus on a quest to find their brothers, whom they have never met. There they are mistaken for their brothers, and a comedic chain of events spurred by this confusion unfolds. The main source of The Comedy of Errors is The Menaechmi, a play written by Plautus, a famous playwright who …show more content…
There are also many examples of high and low comedy within the language and action of the play. High comedy appealed to the more educated, affluent class. This included verbal wit, like puns and word play, and satire, a combination of comedy and criticism. An example of high comedy is the conversation that Dromio of Ephesus has with Antipholus of Ephesus about the kitchen maid who is infatuated with Dromio. They compare her to a globe and identify different countries upon her body. Simultaneously the two men make fun of the kitchen maid and the countries they compare her