Introduction
Comedy dramas have been a part of human culture for several years. Such an abundant theatrical culture suggests that the history of many diverse works has been composed by playwrights from all over the globe. Consequently, there exist, to a greater or lesser extent, many similarities between works with vastly diverse roots. This is the situation with William Shakespeare’s Elizabethan drama The Comedy of Errors. Shakespeare’s play is heavily inspired by Latin comedy, namely by Titus Maccius Plautus’s play Menaechmi. This paper examines the impact Menaechmi had on Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and the similarities and differences between their themes, characters, plots, and endings.
Main body
Plautus tells the tale of the twin brothers in Menaechmi’s Prologue. When they are just seven years old, the boys are separated. Menaechmus, one of the brothers, was taken by their father, Moschus, on a journey to Tarentum, and Moschus ended up losing the kid. Menaechmus ended himself at Epidamnus, where a wealthy merchant adopted him. The second twin, Sosicles, had his name changed to Menaechmus in response to the family’s sadness at the loss of the child (Panayotakis 96). After some years, Menaechmus Sosicles and his slave Messenio resolve to locate his missing brother. Eventually, they arrive at Epidamnus after six years of traveling; the protagonists enter the scene. The five-act comedy that follows the Prologue is centered on the confusion caused by identical twins who live in the same city, unbeknownst to each other. After countless mistakes, the drama concludes when the twins finally meet.
Emilia and Egeon had two identical children in Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. “What was remarkable, they were so alike that they could not be recognized by anything except their names” (Shakespeare 1.1.51-52). Egeon brought more twins for each of his sons to have a servant. During a painful journey, the family was split. Therefore, Emilia, one of the sons, and his servant settled at Ephesus, while Egeon and the other two family members settled in Syracuse. Antipholus, the son residing in Syracuse, traveled with his servant Dromio to discover his missing brother after a while. However, they were unaware that Antipholus and Dromio’s twins had the same name. The drama takes place in Ephesus, where, like in Menaechmi, the presence of a whole family brings only uncertainty. This play also concludes when all the partners end up meeting.
As suggested by the title of Shakespeare’s work, one of the most prominent motifs in both plays is mistaken identity. The two dramas are plagued with errors and misunderstandings. Due to the existence of the twins, characters in Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors are continuously confused. However, the audience is always aware of whose character is being portrayed, which enhances the play’s humor. When Syracusan Antipholus first encounters Adriana, he does not recognize her, but she recognizes him and calls him by name. However, as the play progresses and confusions develop, both Syracusans question if their name and identity are the same. For example, Dromio expresses this uncertainty: “Do you recognize me, sir? Are you Dromio? Am I your man? Am I?” (Shakespeare 3.2.73-73). Thus, the duplicability of names and the fact that they might have several referents disqualifies them as reliable identifiers.
However, Messenio explains in Menaechmi why the residents of Epidemnus recognize the name Menaechmus. Thus, the twins never question their identities. In every instance of misunderstanding, each of them rejects what the others claim they did; for instance, Menaechmus Sosicles denies laughing at Erotium, saying, “Etiam nunc nego” (I still deny it) (Plautus, Menaechmi 396). In both dramas, the foreign twins Antipholus of Syracuse and Menaechmus Sosicles take advantage of the circumstances when they meet their alleged loves. After a puzzling talk with Erotium, Menaechmus Sosicles chooses to confess what Erotium says to him: (I Kept intentionally contradicting you for some time now, my girl) (Plautus, Menaechmi 418-9). Shakespeare’s most prominent additions to Plautus’ drama are the servants Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus.
There are several possibilities for character misunderstanding in both plays. In the play Menaechmus, Messenio barely confuses his master, but the people of Epidamnus are always confused. In The Comedy of Errors, Dromio of Ephesus asks Antipholus of Syracuse to dinner, while in Menaechmi, the Courtesan welcomes Menaechmus Sosicles. Antipholus and Menaechmus are surprised in both instances, but Antipholus’ confusion in the Errors is worse since he believes his servant is asking him to a strange house.
Menaechmus Sosicles’ search for his brother, and Menaechmus Epidamus’ romantic entanglements, are the two primary events in Plautus’ narrative. Each brother is the main hero of one of the two activities, which grows more entangled until its conclusion.
Conversely, The Comedy of Errors is about a twin looking for his missing brother. However, instead of Antipholus of Ephesus having just love conflicts like Menaechmus Epidamnus, all the characters revolve around weird but powerful familial links. Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of the family element in romance. In this fashion, Shakespeare introduces another set of brothers to be reconciled in the family-romance climax of the play. Furthermore, comparing the spouses in both plays, it is evident that the family is reinforced in Shakespeare’s play.
Concerning the structure of the two plays, each consists of five Acts. Nevertheless, Menaechmi contains an additional act, the Prologue, at the beginning. The Prologue and the first scene of The Comedy of Errors begin with the author narrating and relating the past and giving some pertinent present-day information. However, there are disparities in how playwrights begin their works. The primary difference is the narrator’s voice. An unnamed speaker narrates the Prologue of Menaechmi. Thus, Plautus establishes a separation between the audience and the play. In addition to introducing the play, these sentences also introduce the author and the scene: “This is the city of Epidamnus while this play is acting” (Menaechmi 72). As can be seen, the play is set in Epidamnus, but Athens is mentioned as it was considered to be the usual comic place.
The storyline of The Errors is revealed via the dialogue between the Duke and Egeon. Egeon gets arrested because he is a Syracusan in Ephesus. This act and the actors are already an aspect of the past and present narrative. The information is presented transversely to avoid accentuating the theatrical fantasy. The Duke demonstrates, for example, the cause for detaining in the following manner:
“Nay, more: if any born at Ephesus / Be seen at Syracusan marts and fairs; / Again, if any Syracusan born / Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies” (Shakespeare 1.1.16-19).
Towards the play’s conclusion, the dramatic fiction contrast is striking. In the concluding words of Menaechmi, Messenio requests applause from the audience: “Now, spectators, fare ye well and give us your loud applause” (Plautus, Menaechmi 1162). In contrast, Dromio of Ephesus addresses his brother with his last words in The Comedy of Errors. “We came into the world like brother and brother, / And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.” (Shakespeare 5.1.427-8). In these instances, and the Prologue, The Comedy of Errors drama is closer to the audience than Menaechmi.
Menaechmi is situated in the Greek city of Epidamnus, as was common in New Comedy. Shakespeare’s play is likewise situated in the Greek city of Ephesus, according to the traditional model. Numerous factors explain Shakespeare’s selection of Ephesus. Christianity inspires it since St. Paul resided there and was formerly regarded as a city filled with sorcerers and exorcists. That was also recognizable to the audience; therefore, it was the ideal setting for Shakespeare’s play.
Additionally, both playwrights play with the hospitability of each city. As seen by many characters, Epidamnus is exhibited as an inhospitable place. Many characters have wishes to fulfill, for instance, Menaechmus wants to give back the stolen robe, and Peniculus only thinks about eating (Fletcher 28). However, Epidamnus is not a hospitable place for such wish-fulfillment, amongst other things, because, as many Plautine spaces, it is a place where citizens maneuver, overhear, and spy on each other. In like manner, Ephesus is also inhospitable. Moreover, Shakespeare adds another city problem to his play, which is that Syracusans are not allowed to be in Ephesus, and Ephesians are not allowed to be seen in Syracuse. This remarks the idea of Ephesus being an inhospitable city, which is even more hostile to Syracusans.
The two plays have several similarities and variations in terms of their characters. Shakespeare established most of his characters based on those of Plautus, but he also brought new characters to The Comedy of Errors, as seen by the number of characters in the plays. There were ten characters in Menaechmi but sixteen in The Comedy of Errors. Shakespeare’s drama has around eight to ten more significant characters than Plautus’. In addition, the play’s proportionate distribution of Plautus’ twins is exceptional. Menaechmus features in seven scenes but does not meet until the play’s last scene, the dénouement. However, this is not the case in Shakespeare’s play. Antipholus of Ephesus appears in fewer scenes than his twin brother Dromio of Syracuse. In both plays, it is puzzling that the foreigner twins did not realize that his identity was being confused, which might be because he had an identical brother.
Conclusion
Both plays are successful dramas following a critical assessment. Plautus’s play is a comedic exploration of the implications of mistaken identification, but Shakespeare’s play is a more profound and multilayered analysis of the issue. The inclusion of twin brothers and their spouses adds intricacy to Shakespeare’s storyline and creates an additional opportunity for mistaken identities and humorous scenarios. The fantastical features and connections to classical mythology contribute to the story’s appeal. In addition, the resolution of the mistake via the intervention of a courtesan provides a more human aspect and affords additional opportunities for character development and comic relief. In my view, the storyline of Shakespeare’s play is more impressive, owing to its greater intricacy and the inclusion of a subplot, which imparts richness and depth to the drama.
Works Cited
Fletcher, K. F. B. “Characterization through the use of myth in Plautus’ Menaechmi.” Syllecta Classica 28.1 (2017): 25-50. Web.
Panayotakis, Costas. “Plays of mistaken identity.” A Companion to Plautus (2020): 93-107. Web.
Plautus, Titus M. “The Two Menaechmuses.” Casina, The Casket Comedy, Curculio, Epidicus, The Two Menaechmuses. Translated by Paul Nixon, vol.2, London, Heinemann; Cambridge; Massachusetts, Harvard University, 1916-1938.
Shakespeare, William. The Oxford Shakespeare. The Comedy of Errors. Edited by Charles Withworth, New York, Oxford University Press, 2008.