2014 STUDY GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Bard....................................................................................................................................2 About the Play .....................................................................................................................................3 Shakespeare’s Sources .......................................................................................................................4 Hark! Who Goes There? .................................................................................................................5 About Our Production ......................................................................................................................6 Creating the Look: Costume Design.............................................................................................8 Setting the Scene: A N’awlins Stage ..............................................................................................9 Women in the World of the Play .................................................................................................11 When Spake I Such a Word?..........................................................................................................12 Before the Play: The Bard’s Grammar ........................................................................................14 After the Play: Mistaken Identity ..................................................................................................15 What to Know When you Go to the Show...............................................................................16 About AST..........................................................................................................................................17 Works Consulted .............................................................................................................................18
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ABOUT THE BARD William Shakespeare, the legendary bard, was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden in Stratford-uponAvon, a small town northwest of London, England, in April 1564. Baptized a few days after birth on April 26th according to custom of the ecclesiastical order, it is thus widely assumed that Shakespeare was born on April 23rd. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in November of 1582, a women eight years older than himself. In the next few years, Anne had three children: Susanne in 1583, and twins, Hamnet and Judith, in 1585. The next seven years from 1585-1592 are regarded by scholars as Shakespeare’s “Lost Years” as little to no information about the Bard was recorded. References to Shakespeare reappeared in London in 1592, when the playwright Robert Greene wrote a negative critique of the “upstart Crow…wrapt in Martin Droeshout engraving Players hyde” which coincided with the production of the (1623), included in the First Folio Bard’s play Henry VI. From December 1592 to December 1593, the plague hit London, resulting in the closing of its theatres, but Shakespeare was not idle. His work first appeared in print as the narrative erotic poem Venus and Adonis and a year later, another narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece. Theatres around London reopened in 1594 and Shakespeare, along with Richard Burbage, joined a new company—the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Though Comedy of Errors was printed in the First Folio (the first whole collection of Shakespeare’s plays published posthumously), records indicate that Shakespeare’s men performed the play as early as 1594 at Gray’s Inn, a London school of law. Also in 1594, the first Shakespeare play was published, Titus Andronicus. From 1594-96, Shakespeare produced many of his history plays and comedies. By 1603, under the new reign of James I, he was the most popular and successful playwright in London. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men were renamed the King’s Men and experienced success and stability well into the mid-17th century. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, leaving most of his estate to his daughter Susanne. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in his hometown of Stratford.
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ABOUT THE PLAY Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays and one of his earliest comedies. As Stephen Greenblatt wrote in his introduction to the Norton edition of Comedy of Errors, this play is one that “discloses the hidden strangeness of ordinary existence.” Through farce, the mundane becomes extraordinary, allowing the audience not only to escape the tedium of their own existence, but also to question it. Is Aegeon’s doomed fate, revealed at the beginning of the play, fair? If not, what does that say about law and order? How do the relationships between the characters (master-slave, husband-wife, buyer-seller, officer-citizen, local-foreigner) reflect our own relationships with our peers? Who am I and how do other people view me? Hilarious, tragic, and utterly confusing at times, Comedy of Errors tells a story that takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotion. First performed during the 16th century in London, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s production sets the comedy in the 1940s, with the city of Ephesus loosely mirroring New Orleans. When the play begins, Aegeon of Syracuse has been searching for his twin sons for seven years when he arrives in Ephesus, the great rival city of his hometown. According to the town’s law, anyone from Syracuse caught in Ephesus may be put to death. Aegeon is captured, but before his death sentence is carried out, the Duke convinces the hopeless man to recount his tragic tale and reveal what brought him to Ephesus. Aegeon reluctantly begins, taking his audience back twenty-five years to a shipwreck that disastrously separated his family, prompting him to spend the rest of his days relentlessly trying to piece it back together. Unbeknownst to Aegeon, his youngest son Antipholus and his servant Dromio—both of whom were named after their lost twin brothers—are also in Ephesus. Antipholus of Syracuse, like his father, hopes to be reunited with his family, particularly his brother, Antipholus of Ephesus. However, as the boys from Syracuse try to inconspicuously search the town, the local townspeople comically mistake them for their Ephesian brothers—a mistake sparks the ensuing madness, paranoia, and absurdity that envelops the town. Antipholus of Ephesus, a wealthy, upstanding citizen, finds himself suddenly shut out of his own home, at odds with his servant, and accused of theft. All the while, his twin, Antipholus of Syracuse, has been taken in by his wife, Adriana, approached generously by several merchants, and has found love in Adriana’s sister Luciana (that’s awkward!). Despite finding a new identity as a well-respected, wealthy man, Antipholus of Syracuse becomes unsettled by the strangers who seem to know him as someone else. When he is convinced the town is a wicked place of sorcery and conjuring, his twin brother begins to make charges of betrayal against Adriana, and as their long lost father prepares to bear his fate, they all meet. The day’s mysteries unravel as brothers, father, and mother reunite. Through family, small cheer, and merry feast, peace and order is once again restored in Ephesus. By poking fun at ordinary life in a ridiculous way, Shakespeare manages to convince the audience that some aspects of the ordinary may, in fact, be ridiculous. Comedy of Errors, according to its very title, is a play about human error; anything that can go wrong will. Even though Shakespeare’s neat resolution—a pending marriage, content wife, and happy, reunited brothers—gently allows the audience to carry on after the production, a tentative truth has been irrevocably revealed: reality is crafted delicately out of our many imperfections. Shakespeare’s comedic examination of the nature of reality in Errors should ultimately encourage the audience to question for what reason, or “wherefore,” they abide by its constraints.
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SHAKESPEARE’S SOURCES
“Portrait of William Shakespeare” by Martin Dreshout the Elder
Much of Shakespeare’s inspiration for Errors comes the Roman playwright, Plautus and one of his great comedies, Menaechmi. Menaechmi tells the story of separated twins whose father died “crazed with grief” (Greenblatt 719). Hijinks ensue as the brother from Syracuse searches for his twin and is mistaken for him upon reaching the city of Epidamnum. Plautus’ comedy relies heavily on farce, a technique Shakespeare, too, uses in order to mimic the style of the classics. In addition to farce, both Plautus’ Menaechmi and Shakespeare’s Errors incorporate elements of tragedy, but subsequently trivialize them. It should be noted, however, that Shakespeare’s version minimalizes much of the tragic elements found originally in Plautus’ comedy, which seems almost to delight in tragedy. Shakespeare’s Errors is not an exact copy of Plautus’ Menaechmi; he makes many changes and alterations, influenced from a wide range of additional sources that marks the play significantly with his unique authorship.
Here are some of the Shakespeare’s additions to the plot: •
The Dromio twins: Shakespeare added a second set of twins to amplify the theme of mistaken identity and confusion. It is possible that he got this idea from another one of Plautus’ plays, Amphitruo, which features a set of identical slaves.
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Christian influence: In contrast to the pagan setting of Plautus’ play, Shakespeare moves the setting from the city of Epidamnum to Ephesus, the city where it is believed the Apostles Paul and John both spent time, organizing the church and writing letters and scripture. Shakespeare makes numerous Christian references throughout Errors and scholars even contend that the characters’ fear of witchery and demonic possession is a Christian response.
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The Women: Though Adriana, in Shakespeare’s Errors, is fashioned after the jealous, shrewish wife in Plautus’ Menaechmi, Luciana, Adriana’s unwed sister, appears to have been invented by Shakespeare. Adriana becomes a fully-fledged character in Shakespeare’s telling of the tale, rather than simply remaining a stock character. Luciana’s presence appears to contribute to the theme of marriage, as there is significant dialogue between Adriana and Luciana on the role of a wife and the relationship between husband and wife. Also, while Menaechmi resolves with the reunited brothers discussing their plan to sell the wife, slaves, and property, Errors makes no mention of Adriana’s fate at all, but instead circles back to Antipholus of Syracuse declaration of love and proposal to Luciana. Where Plautus’ play seemed to dismiss marriage and women, Shakespeare ends his play with a resolution dependent on the two themes.
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HARK! WHO GOES THERE?
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ABOUT OUR PRODUCTION Directed by Katherine Campbell and performed with a cast of just five actors, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s 2014 production of The Comedy of Errors provides the audience with an updated look at Shakespeare’s early comedy. Set during the 1940s in a New Orleans-like Ephesus, AST’s production posits many of Errors’ central themes—identity, marriage, gender, family, and law—in a more contemporary light, especially relative to an audience with a general understanding of American history. We sat down to chat with the director about her artistic vision for the show.
Can you explain what your vision was for this particular production? The particular production was sort of around the idea that only five people could be in the show so we approached the play from ‘Well, how can five people play ten different characters’. And the element of selling goods, being a merchant, came up through the text that Aegeon is a merchant and we landed on the idea that he would be selling hats. So with this idea that he would be selling hats, hats then could come to represent all the different characters within the play. By wearing a hat, the changing of hats, we can see ten different characters happen with five actors. Was there anything challenging about working with a small cast? I think that having a small cast, an ensemble type feeling where different actors are playing multiple roles, lends itself towards a very spontaneous, creative atmosphere in rehearsal. Laying down some ground rules to play in and then allowing the actors to play within that, I think creates a lot of spontaneity. So I didn’t find it particularly challenging, I found it particularly fun.
The Comedy of Errors, overall, is known as one of Shakespeare’s greatest farces, so it must to be funny, but is there anything else the audience should take away from this production? I think there’s a lot to take away from The Comedy of Errors, other than the ruckus, hilarity that is a comedy of errors. I think everyone asks themselves, “Who am I?” And we all wear different hats at different times in our lives; I think the question of identity is deeply rooted in the play. How do we define ourselves? Is it by those that we are around? Is it by our relationships with others? Is it by how the world sees us or how we see ourselves? I think the play asks those questions, which I think are very important.
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What drew you to The Comedy of Errors? I think The Comedy of Errors is the funniest of Shakespeare’s plays, like truly funny. And I love the hijinks in it, the honest mishaps that happen. No one is really trying to deceive other people, these are all honest mistakes unfurling in real time. So I think that makes for a really funny play. Ephesus in this production resembles New Orleans, specifically in the 1940s. Can you tell us a bit about this production choice? The idea to set the play in New Orleans came from a monologue, or a little monologue, a mini-logue, that Antipholus of Syracuse has when he arrives in to Ephesus. He meets the twin Dromio, not his, and realizes that something is amiss in the town. So you get a description of the town, which he says is full of cozenage, wizards, and witches, deceivers, and mountebanks. When we were thinking about what kind of place is Ephesus and how can we relate that to an American audience of today, New Orleans seemed to be a really amazing place that mirrored Ephesus as being dark and sort of mystical, a place where the unexpected could happen. The 1940s came through a lot of the music of New Orleans, once we sort of land on New Orleans, listening to different sounds, the music of the 1940s really seemed to embody the jazz era as well as the structured clothing of the 40s. It’s much easier to see class in time periods past than it is to see class now per se. Antipholus being very structured in a suit, we immediately understand his class. What do you think is the funniest scene in the production? The funniest scene in The Comedy of Errors… Well, I think there are so many funny moments in the show and I think every scene has something to offer—the funny-bone. My favorite scene is probably the whole of Act V, where you get to see all of the actors wearing all the different hats and becoming all the characters in the final scene. So for me, I think that’s the most fun to watch and the most fun to be a part of in rehearsal. What do you think is the least humorous scene, something that’s more serious? ]Probably the least humorous scene is the opening scene with Aegeon who has lost his entire family and is on the search for them and is doomed to die if he does not get enough money to pay the bail or however much it costs to live in Ephesus. So it starts off in dire mishap with very grave consequences. So it starts in a heavy place. Finally, what did you enjoy most about working on this production? I enjoyed the most—collaborating; collaborating with people in rehearsal. We’ve got a fantastic team of people there: the five actors who are brilliant and so easy to work with and have so much to offer, as well as our dramaturg, Chelsea, is there, always there to offer great wisdom, advice, and commentary; assistant director, Alaina; and stage manager, Jessica; assistant stage manager, Armelle. Everyone has a voice in the rehearsal process. Collaborating with people on an artistic endeavor is the most fulfilling thing.
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CREATING THE LOOK: COSTUME DESIGN In Shakespeare’s day, costumes were vital to successful theatrical troupes. After its playing space, a theatre company’s greatest asset was its collection of costumes. AST’s production of The Comedy of Errors, therefore, has paid careful attention to the fashion of the 1940s in order to create the characters’ looks on stage. In the 1940s, men wore suits at all hours of the day and women wore light, cotton dresses and skirts. Vibrant, bold colors were an important part of fashion and AST’s costume designer has paid careful attention to such trends and represents them in this production.
Antipholus
Adriana Dromio
8 Luciana
SETTING THE SCENE: A N’AWLINS STAGE At the time Comedy of Errors was written and performed for the first time, London would have had a large population made up of many foreign merchants and skilled craftsmen from places like Germany, Italy, Spain and other areas of Europe mixed in with the local English population. Despite, London’s urban diversity, English people were incredibly hostile toward foreigners, and the law often failed to protect them. Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors reflects this culture. For example, having just arrived in Ephesus, Aegeon is immediately recognized as a foreigner and harshly penalized. Duke Solinus appears to take some pity on Aegeon, but still commends the law for upholding justice: Hapless Aegeon, whom the fates have mark'd To bear the extremity of dire mishap! But, though thou art adjudged to the death Yet I will favour thee in what I can. Therefore, merchant, I'll limit thee this day; Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the sum, And live; if no, then thou art doom'd to die. (Act I, Scene I) In addition to this, the arrival of Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse, foreigners to Ephesus, creates chaos, paranoia, and poses a massive threat to the security of the Ephesian characters’ identitites. From the foreigners’ point of view, Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse, the cause of this disorder is not their intrusion into the city, but the xenophobic nature of the city itself. Ephesus is often described as a “fairy-land”: a place of witches, conjurings, and spirit forces. Considering this, New Orleans in the 1940s does not appear so different. America had just entered World War II against Japan, Germany, and Italy after being attacked at Pearl Harbor. New Orleans, a major port city like London, also had a large, diverse population of immigrants and locals. White locals native to the city were often openly hostile towards foreigners and minorities, and were beginning to move into suburbs, separating themselves from the foreigners. New Orleans history of voodoo and spooky folklore also make it a perfect 20th century analog for otherworldly Ephesus.
1940s New Orleans
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Shakespeare’s Ephesus is a market town, frequented by merchants and travelling salesmen and many other peoples. New Orleans in the 1940s, as it is now, was also an urban city that brought in exports and foreigners. In keeping with this theme, AST’s production has created an urban downtown set. Brightly colored doors, reminiscent of a downtown neighborhood, form the framework of the stage. A lamppost with street signs pointing to town establishments stands off to the side and hosts the ominous death warrant at the beginning of the performance. Ephesus, with its dark-working sorcerers, prating mountebanks, and the crazy Dr. Pinch, comes alive through this vibrant set, enchanting the Syracusian boys and spectators alike.
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WOMEN IN THE WORLD OF THE PLAY In addition to the other similarities, the role of women in 16th century London is comparable to that of women in New Orleans during the 1940s. Despite having Elizabeth I as Queen of England, common women still had severe restrictions placed on their liberty. Married women had very few rights under common law, but single women of full age had many rights: they could “inherit and administer land, make a will, sign a contract, possess property, sue and be sued, without a male guardian or proxy” (Greenblatt, 22). Audiences can note these differences by observing this interaction between Adriana and her sister Luciana: Luciana …A man is master of his liberty. Adriana Why should their liberty than ours be more? Luciana O, know he is the bridle of your will. Adriana There’s none but asses will be bridled so. Luciana Why, headstrong liberty is lash'd with woe. Men, are masters to their females, and their lords: Then let your will attend on their accords. Adriana This servitude makes you to keep unwed. Luciana Not this, but troubles of the marriage-bed (Act II, Scene I). Single and unwed women were given a wide range of freedoms, but the yoke of marriage divorced women from their liberty. While the restrictions on women’s liberty in the 1940s were not as extreme, these women also struggled for freedom. During wartime in America, many single women were permitted and even encouraged to work, but after the war, they were frequently fired or forced to quit work and encouraged instead to marry and become homemakers.
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WHEN SPAKE I SUCH A WORD? Word Bestow (v.) Cozenage (n.) Crupper (n.) Dilate (v.) Ducat (n.) Flout (v.) Hie (v.) Importune (v.) Knave (n.) Mark (n.)
Maw (n.) Mean (adj.) Mountebank (n.) O’er-raught (v.) Pate (n.) Peruse (v.) Post (v., n.) Prating (adj.) Sconce (n.) Sinking-ripe (adj.) Beshrew (v.) Fair quarter Fallacy (n.) Fie (interj.) Forbear (v.) Hence (adv.) Hither (adv.) Homage (n.) Loureth (v.) Nigh (adv.) Otherwhere (adv.) Sirrah (n.) Stale (n.) Waft (v.)
Meaning Act I to stow away deception, cheating leather strap on a saddle used to keep it from sliding forward on a horse to describe gold currency to insult, mock hurry to urge or beg someone to do something servant, rogue word to represent 1/3 of a pound; there was no coin of this amount in England; originally meaning a measure of weight of either gold or silver stomach, belly lowly, poor quack, travelling drug-seller past form of overreach; cheated, overtaken skull, head to survey, observe haste, door-post fast-talking, chattering skull, head ready to sink Act II curse proper regard, faith delusion or error for shame, expression of disgust or disapproval be patient to this place from this place, away to honor, show respect to someone publically, duty frowns near elsewhere servant, standard term for addressing inferiors decoy-bird, lover whose devotion is turned into ridicule for the amusement of a rival beckon, wave
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Withal (adv.) Wont (v.) Carcanet (n.) Cates (n.) Curtal (adj.) Mated (adj.) Miserly (adj.) Mickle (adj.) Minion (n.) Patch (n.) Rheum (n.) Shifts (n.) Siren (n.) Tallow (n.) Bark (n.) Chid (v.) Dalliance (n.) Devil’s dam (n.) Dowsabel (n.) Holp up Lapwing (n.) Lapland (n.) Perdie (interj.) Respice Finem Saffron (adj.) Sans Sere (adj.) Tarter limbo (n.) Waftage (n.) Circe’s cup (n.) Haply (adv.) Intricate Impeach (n.)
with this/it, by this/it used to, accustomed to Act III jeweled necklace provisions tailless or docked tail; household, common bewildered, confounded; married like one who pinches pennies or hoards money great, much hussy; inferior fool, clown mucus tricks, efforts in Greek mythology, a mermaid whose song lured sailors to their death fat Act IV ship past form of chide; to rebuke, scold waste of time mother of Satan generic term for a sweetheart helped a bird (the peewit) that diverts attention away from her nest to protect her young a place known for witches by god, expression religious command to “think on your end” orange-red color without withered hellish prison passage over water Act V in Greek mythology, the drink the goddess Circe used to turn men into swine maybe complex charge
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BEFORE THE PLAY: THE BARD’S GRAMMAR First, try to find three examples Shakespeare’s personal pronouns in The Comedy of Errors and identity their use. Next, create your own sentences using Early Modern English pronouns.
Shakespeare’s Pronouns
Our Pronouns
Use
Thou Thee Thy Thine Ye
You You Your Your You
subject object possessive possessive plural
Ex. 1 “Well, Syracusian, say in brief the cause Why thou departed'st from thy native home And for what cause thou camest to Ephesus.” (Act I, Scene I, Lines 23-24) -Duke Solinus Ex. 2 “Call thyself sister, sweet, for I am thee. Thee will I love and with thee lead my life: Thou hast no husband yet nor I no wife.” (Act III, Scene II) -Antipholus of Syracuse Ex. 3 “Hence prating peasant! Fetch thy master home” (Act II, Scene I) -Adriana Ex. 4 “Come, I will fasten on this sleeve of thine.” (Act II, Scene II) -Adriana
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AFTER THE PLAY: MISTAKEN IDENTITY Activity: Who Are They? Most of the characters in Comedy of Errors struggle to define themselves within the play. Antipholus of Syracuse first defines himself by family, and later, love. Antipholus of Ephesus, on the other hand, identifies himself by his status and wealth, then later family. Though both Antipholuses and Dromios look alike, they have different characteristics. For example, Antipholus of Syracuse may be more patient and energetic than Antipholus of Ephesus. Adriana identifies as a married woman, but struggles to limit herself to that definition. Who else is she? Ask your students to identify the similarities and differences among each Antipholus and Dromio. Ask them if they have anything in common with the characters.
Activity: Who Am I? Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors focuses a lot on mistaken identity. Have students write down five words that describe themselves. For example, one could write down “funny, cool, strong, smart, loud.” After students finish, tally and compare the results. How many words were repeated? Discuss results with students. Some of them may share characteristics with other students, we all share similarities with others, but we are also all unique in our own way. We each have a unique combination of characteristics.
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WHAT TO KNOW WHEN YOU GO TO THE SHOW
Attending a play is a lot more interactive than watching a film. Often times, an actor’s performance choices rely on the response of the audience which allows audience members to have an active role in the production. Essentially, you will be a part of this production of The Comedy of Errors! We hope you enjoy the show with these few guidelines in mind: • • • • •
Arrive on time. It’s difficult to find your seat in a dark theatre and searching for it can be distracting to other audience members, as well as the actors. Turn off your cell-phone before the performance. Please don’t bring food or drinks into the auditorium. Snacks can be noisy and distract from the performance. Wait until intermission or the end of the show. Unless it is an emergency, please wait until intermission or the end of the performance to leave your seat; walking between the aisles can be disruptive. Play along with the actors and enjoy the show!
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ABOUT AST Founded in 2006, The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre produces a repertory of family-friendly professional productions each summer in Conway. With our missions of artistic excellence, educational opportunities, and community outreach, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre adds something unique in our region and provides thousands of families with a one-of-a-kind experience in a world- class facility. After seven seasons of outstanding theatre, education, and outreach opportunities, over 10,000 tickets sold to date, over 1000 tickets given away to local students and charities, over 75 intern scholarships created, and over 150 theatre artists hired from all over the country, 2010 is proving to be a great year for this one-of- a-kind festival, and we hope to see you again (and again and again!). For this theatre to most effectively serve our community, we need to represent our community! Become a part of this exciting experiment as a board member, volunteer, season ticket holder, member, or patron. Thank you for supporting your local theatre.
For more details and information about Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, please visit our website: http://www.arkshakes.com/
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WORKS CONSULTED McDonald, Russ. The Bedford companion to Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2001. Print. Shakespeare, William, and R. A. Foakes. The Comedy of Errors. London: Methuen, 1962. Print. Shakespeare, William, T. S. Dorsch, and Ros King. The Comedy of Errors. Updated ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. Shakespeare, William, The Norton Shakespeare, based on the Oxford edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.
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