1962 Performance of The Comedy of Errors at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Surrounding History of The Comedy of Errors

What influenced one of Shakespeare's earliest plays? Is there truth woven into the story of twins and confusion? For this section, I decided to look into the surrounding history of the influences of the play, the time period it was written and performed in, and the history of the play itself.

History of the Play

According to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the first recorded performance of The Comedy of Errors took place on December 28, 1594 (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors). Unfortunately, scholars are divided to this day about the composition date of the play, with some arguing "that it was written in the very early 1590s but others maintain that 1594 is the more likely date" (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors). Something I found interesting in my research of the play was that it was not printed until 1623 when Shakespeare's plays were collected in the First Folio, published seven years after the dramatist's death (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors).

1938 Production of The Comedy of Errors

The Menaechmi by Plautus

The Source and Inspiration

The source for William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors is an ancient comedy play by Plautus titled The Menaechmi.

Titus Maccius Plautus, commonly known as Plautus, lived from 254 to 184 BC and was a Roman playwright in Ancient Rome. Plautus' comedies "are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety" (Plautus). In Shakespeare's time, Plautus was the "the most popular of the dramatists of ancient Rome and this was certainly one of his most popular plays (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors).

Originally published in 1495, over a thousand years from its composition, The Menaechmi, sometimes translated as The Brothers Menaechmus or The Two Menaechmuses, serves as a direct source to Shakespeare's plot (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors). The Menaechmi follows the set of the titular identical twins. In their youth, one of the twins is lost and the other is given his name in memory. But as an adult, "the remaining twin goes off in search of his brother and, after many confusions of mistaken identity, the brothers find each other and all is well" (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors).

Sound familiar?

Titus Maccius Plautus (254 - 184 BC)

Shakespeare's Play and the Time Period

Influenced or Copied?

William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors is heavily (if not entirely copied) influenced by Plautus' The Menaechmi most plot points being the same and the overall comedy of confusion being caused by twins being in the forefront of the play.

But there are aspects of The Comedy of Errors that Shakespeare developed to be original to his work. One great instance of this is in the list of characters. According to the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare "enlarges and enriches the role of the neglected wife and adds a sister, father and mother, as well as the new location of Ephesus" (Dates and sources: The Comedy of Errors). Additionally, Shakespeare further shakes up the plot of The Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors by adding a second pair of identical twins - the Dromios.

A Sign of the Times

Written and first performed in the Elizabethan era (being 1558 to 1603), parts of The Comedy of Errors reflect the changing nature of society. The greatest example of this influence comes in the "significance attributed to the home, particularly by Adriana; the crux of her frustration with her husband is that he fails to fully value the home that she keeps for him (The Comedy of Errors - Historical Context). The play comes at a point of pure "social transition and dislocation within the not-yet distinct public and private spheres" making it one of the first with what we would consider "modern" or "forward-thinking" (The Comedy of Errors - Historical Context). According Encyclopedia.com, "Shakespeare seemed to have been executing a sort of exercise in farcical comedy, rather than seeking to make any political or historical statements," something that quickly changes with his series of English ruler plays (such as Henry IV, Henry V, and Richard II) (The Comedy of Errors - Historical Context).

The Ancient Cities - Ephesus and Syracuse

The background theme of the feud between Ephesus and Syracuse can be described as an "intestine war," or a war fought between a single country. In ancient times, and in the setting of the play, Ephesus and Syracuse were both cities within the country of Greece - counting this quarrel as an intestine war.

Ephesus

The city of Ephesus, the setting of The Comedy of Errors, was an ancient port city on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. Its ruins are extremely well-preserved and was at one point "considered the most important Greek city and the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region (History.com Editors).

Ephesus is mentioned several times in the New Testament of the Bible (in the book of Ephesians), and it is thought that Mary, the mother of Jesus, "spent her last years in Ephesus with Saint John. Her house and John’s tomb can be visited there today" (History.com Editors).

The ruins of Ephesus are seen by millions of tourists each year.

Syracuse

The city of Syracuse was originally a Greek colony founded by Corinth in 734 BC that sits on the east coast of Sicily (Cartwright).

In the time of the Romans, Syracuse became the capital of the Province of Syracuse where its citizens were obliged to pay tax to Rome (Cartwright). According to the World History Encyclopedia, Syracuse "continued as a significant settlement well into the 3rd century CE and impressive catacombs attest to its role as an important Christian centre up to the 7th century CE" (Cartwright). The decline of the city came in "878 CE when the city was captured by Arabs" leading to a close the city's long history of place of Greek and Roman culture (Cartwright).

The ruins of Ephesus

A street in Ephesus

A map of Ancient Syracuse

The city of Syracuse

Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. “Syracuse.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 28 Apr. 2011, www.worldhistory.org/syracuse/.

“The Comedy of Errors - Historical Context.” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 4 Nov. 2021, www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/comedy-errors#HistoricalContext.

“Dates and Sources: The Comedy of Errors.” Royal Shakespeare Company, www.rsc.org.uk/the-comedy-of-errors/dates-and-sources.

History.com Editors. “Ephesus.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Feb. 2018, www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ephesus.

“Plautus.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Oct. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautus.

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