The Comedy of Errors Summary: Plot, Characters, Themes and Ending
What The Comedy of Errors is about
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays and his shortest. It is also one of his most farcical comedies. Much of the humour comes from slapstick and mistaken identity. Puns and word play add to it.
The play is set in the Greek city of Ephesus. A law there forbids merchants from Syracuse from entering the city. When an elderly Syracusan trader called Aegeon is found in Ephesus, he faces execution unless he can pay a fine of a thousand marks. He explains to Solinus, Duke of Ephesus, why he has come. Years ago his wife gave birth to twin sons. On the same day a poor woman had twin boys too, and Aegeon bought them as servants for his sons. A storm at sea split the family in two. Aegeon was rescued with one son and one servant. His wife was picked up by another boat with the other pair, and he never saw them again.
The son who stayed with him, Antipholus, has since gone looking for his lost brother. He took his servant Dromio with him. When they did not return, Aegeon set out after them. The Duke is moved by the story and gives him one day to find the money.
That same day Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse arrive in Ephesus. They do not know that this city is home to their twins, Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus. Everyone they meet takes them for the local pair. The result is a day of chaos. There are wrongful beatings and a near-seduction. A man is arrested. People are accused of infidelity, theft, madness and even demonic possession.
How the confusion builds
The trouble starts small. Antipholus of Syracuse sends his Dromio to leave money at an inn called The Centaur. Moments later the other Dromio appears. He knows nothing about any money and tells Antipholus to come home to dinner with his wife. Antipholus thinks his servant is being cheeky and beats him.
From there it snowballs. Adriana, the wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, already fears her husband's eye is straying. She takes the stranger home to dinner, and her real husband is locked out of his own house. He goes off to dine with a courtesan instead. Inside, the visiting Antipholus falls for Adriana's sister, Luciana. A goldsmith named Angelo hands him a gold chain meant for the other brother. Later the wrong man is arrested when he refuses to pay for it. Money for bail goes to the wrong Antipholus. The visitors decide Ephesus is full of witches. The locals decide Antipholus of Ephesus has gone mad, and a conjurer called Pinch is brought in to exorcise him.
The main characters
Antipholus of Syracuse is the visitor searching for his brother. He grows more baffled as the day goes on and comes to believe the city is bewitched.
Antipholus of Ephesus is the local twin. He is shut out of his home, arrested over a chain he never received and treated as a madman.
The two Dromios are the twin servants. They take the brunt of the beatings, and each is blamed for things the other said.
Adriana is the wife of Antipholus of Ephesus and is quick to suspect him. Her sister Luciana is courted by the wrong brother. She is flattered but worried about what it means.
Aegeon is the father whose story opens the play. His life hangs on a single day. Solinus, the Duke, holds his fate. Smaller roles include Angelo the goldsmith, the Courtesan, Pinch the conjurer and the Abbess of a nearby priory.
The themes
Identity sits at the centre. The twins look so alike that the people closest to them cannot tell them apart. A wife, a servant and a tradesman all lose track of who is who. The visitors begin to doubt their own sanity. The locals start doubting it for them. The play keeps returning to how much of a person's identity depends on other people recognising them.
Family is the other strong thread. The whole plot rests on a family broken apart at sea, and on a father and son who have each set out to put it back together. The farce plays out inside that frame. Marriage gets a sharper look too, through Adriana's fears about her husband and his furious reaction to being locked out.
How it ends (spoilers)
In the final act Adriana arrives with men to tie up the Syracusans. They take refuge in a priory, where the Abbess refuses to hand them over. When she brings them out, both pairs of twins stand together and the day's confusion finally makes sense. The Abbess then reveals that she is Emilia, Aegeon's lost wife. The Duke pardons Aegeon. The whole family goes into the abbey to celebrate being reunited.
Why it still matters
The play has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre many times around the world. Its title has also entered everyday English. People call something "a comedy of errors" when a run of mistakes has made it ridiculous.
It suits readers who want a short, funny way into Shakespeare. The jokes rely on situation as much as language, so the story stays easy to follow when the word play gets dense. It also suits anyone curious about how farce works. The premise is simple. Two pairs of identical twins end up in one city on the same day, and the play pushes that idea as far as it will go.
