The Comedy of Errors, with line numbers E-Book

William Shakespeare

• Herausgeber: Seltzer Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 83

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

The classic comedy. According to Wikipedia: "The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1594. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and wordplay. The Comedy of Errors (along with The Tempest) is one of only two of Shakespeare's plays to observe the classical unities. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre. The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-incestuous seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession."

Leseprobe

The Comedy Of Errors By William Shakespeare

published by Samizdat Express, Orange, CT, USA

established in 1974, offering over 14,000 books

Other comedies by William Shakespeare:

All's Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

Love's Labour's Lost

Measure for Measure

The Merchant of Venice

The Merry Wives of Windsor

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Much Ado About Nothing

The Taming of the Shrew

Twelfth Night

Two Gentlemen of Verona

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Dramatis Personae

The Comedy Of Errors

Act I

Scene I A hall in Duke Solinus's palace.

Scene II The Mart.

Act II

Scene I The house of Antipholus of Ephesus.

Scene II A public place.

Act III

Scene I Before the house of Antipholus of Ephesus.

Scene II The same.

Act IV

Scene I A public place.

Scene II The house of Antipholus of Ephesus.

Scene III A public place.

Scene IV A street.

Act V

Scene I A street before a Priory.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Solinus, Duke Of Ephesus. (Duke Solinus:)

Aegeon, A Merchant Of Syracuse.

Twin Brothers, And Sons To Aegeon And Aemilia

Antipholus Of Ephesus

Antipholus Of Syracuse |

Twin Brothers, And Attendants On The Two Antipholuses

Dromio Of Ephesus

Dromio Of Syracuse |

Balthazar, A Merchant

Angelo, A Goldsmith.

First Merchant, Friend To Antipholus Of Syracuse.

Second Merchant, To Whom Angelo Is A Debtor.

Pinch, A Schoolmaster.

Aemilia, Wife To Aegeon, An Abbess At Ephesus.

Adriana, Wife To Antipholus Of Ephesus.

Luciana, Her Sister.

Luce, Servant To Adriana.

A Courtezan.

Gaoler, Officers, and other Attendants

 (Gaoler:)

 (Officer:)

 (Servant:)

SCENE Ephesus.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

ACT I

SCENE I A hall in Duke Solinus's palace.

 [Enter DUKE SOLINUS, AEGEON, GAOLER, Officers, and other Attendants]

(1) AEGEON Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall

 And by the doom of death end woes and all.

DUKE SOLINUS Merchant of Syracuse, plead no more;

 I am not partial to infringe our laws:

 The enmity and discord which of late

 Sprung from the rancorous outrage of your duke

 To merchants, our well-dealing countrymen,

 Who wanting guilders to redeem their lives

 Have seal'd his rigorous statutes with their bloods,

(10) Excludes all pity from our threatening looks.

 For, since the mortal and intestine jars

 'Twixt thy seditious countrymen and us,

 It hath in solemn synods been decreed

 Both by the Syracusians and ourselves,

 To admit no traffic to our adverse towns Nay, more,

 If any born at Ephesus be seen

 At any Syracusian marts and fairs;

 Again: if any Syracusian born

(20) Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies,

 His goods confiscate to the duke's dispose,

 Unless a thousand marks be levied,

 To quit the penalty and to ransom him.

 Thy substance, valued at the highest rate,

 Cannot amount unto a hundred marks;

 Therefore by law thou art condemned to die.

AEGEON Yet this my comfort: when your words are done,

 My woes end likewise with the evening sun.

DUKE SOLINUS Well, Syracusian, say in brief the cause

(30) Why thou departed'st from thy native home

 And for what cause thou camest to Ephesus.

AEGEON A heavier task could not have been imposed

 Than I to speak my griefs unspeakable:

 Yet, that the world may witness that my end

 Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence,

 I'll utter what my sorrows give me leave.

 In Syracusa was I born, and wed

 Unto a woman, happy but for me,

 And by me, had not our hap been bad.

(40) With her I lived in joy; our wealth increased

 By prosperous voyages I often made

 To Epidamnum; till my factor's death

 And the great care of goods at random left

 Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse:

 From whom my absence was not six months old

 Before herself, almost at fainting under

 The pleasing punishment that women bear,

 Had made provision for her following me

 And soon and safe arrived where I was.

(50) There had she not been long, but she became

 A joyful mother of two goodly sons;

 And, which was strange, the one so like the other,

 As could not be distinguish'd but by names.

 That very hour, and in the self-same inn,

 A meaner woman was delivered

 Of such a burden, male twins, both alike:

 Those,--for their parents were exceeding poor,--

 I bought and brought up to attend my sons.

 My wife, not meanly proud of two such boys,

(60) Made daily motions for our home return:

 Unwilling I agreed. Alas! too soon,

 We came aboard.

 A league from Epidamnum had we sail'd,

 Before the always wind-obeying deep

 Gave any tragic instance of our harm:

 But longer did we not retain much hope;

 For what obscured light the heavens did grant

 Did but convey unto our fearful minds

 A doubtful warrant of immediate death;

(70) Which though myself would gladly have embraced,

 Yet the incessant weepings of my wife,

 Weeping before for what she saw must come,

 And piteous plainings of the pretty babes,

 That mourn'd for fashion, ignorant what to fear,

 Forced me to seek delays for them and me.

 And this it was, for other means was none:

 The sailors sought for safety by our boat,

 And left the ship, then sinking-ripe, to us:

 My wife, more careful for the latter-born,

(80) Had fasten'd him unto a small spare mast,

 Such as seafaring men provide for storms;

 To him one of the other twins was bound,

 Whilst I had been like heedful of the other:

 The children thus disposed, my wife and I,

 Fixing our eyes on whom our care was fix'd,

 Fasten'd ourselves at either end the mast;

 And floating straight, obedient to the stream,

 Was carried towards Corinth, as we thought.

 At length the sun, gazing upon the earth,

(90) Dispersed those vapours that offended us;

 And by the benefit of his wished light,

 The seas wax'd calm, and we discovered

 Two ships from far making amain to us,

 Of Corinth that, of Epidaurus this:

 But ere they came,--O, let me say no more!

 Gather the sequel by that went before.

DUKE SOLINUS Nay, forward, old man; do not break off so;

 For we may pity, though not pardon thee.

AEGEON O, had the gods done so, I had not now

(100) Worthily term'd them merciless to us!

 For, ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues,

 We were encounterd by a mighty rock;

 Which being violently borne upon,

 Our helpful ship was splitted in the midst;

 So that, in this unjust divorce of us,

 Fortune had left to both of us alike

 What to delight in, what to sorrow for.

 Her part, poor soul! seeming as burdened

 With lesser weight but not with lesser woe,

(110) Was carried with more speed before the wind;

 And in our sight they three were taken up

 By fishermen of Corinth, as we thought.

 At length, another ship had seized on us;

 And, knowing whom it was their hap to save,

 Gave healthful welcome to their shipwreck'd guests;

 And would have reft the fishers of their prey,

 Had not their bark been very slow of sail;

 And therefore homeward did they bend their course.

 Thus have you heard me sever'd from my bliss;

(120) That by misfortunes was my life prolong'd,

 To tell sad stories of my own mishaps.

DUKE SOLINUS And for the sake of them thou sorrowest for,

 Do me the favour to dilate at full

 What hath befall'n of them and thee till now.

AEGEON My youngest boy, and yet my eldest care,

 At eighteen years became inquisitive

 After his brother: and importuned me

 That his attendant--so his case was like,

 Reft of his brother, but retain'd his name--

(130) Might bear him company in the quest of him:

 Whom whilst I labour'd of a love to see,

 I hazarded the loss of whom I loved.

 Five summers have I spent in furthest Greece,

 Roaming clean through the bounds of Asia,

 And, coasting homeward, came to Ephesus;

 Hopeless to find, yet loath to leave unsought

 Or that or any place that harbours men.

 But here must end the story of my life;

 And happy were I in my timely death,

(140) Could all my travels warrant me they live.

DUKE SOLINUS Hapless AEgeon, whom the fates have mark'd

 To bear the extremity of dire mishap!

 Now, trust me, were it not against our laws,

 Against my crown, my oath, my dignity,

 Which princes, would they, may not disannul,

 My soul would sue as advocate for thee.

 But, though thou art adjudged to the death

 And passed sentence may not be recall'd

 But to our honour's great disparagement,

(150) Yet I will favour thee in what I can.

 Therefore, merchant, I'll limit thee this day

 To seek thy life by beneficial help:

 Try all the friends thou hast in Ephesus;

 Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the sum,

 And live; if no, then thou art doom'd to die.

 Gaoler, take him to thy custody.

GAOLER I will, my lord.

AEGEON Hopeless and helpless doth AEgeon wend,

 But to procrastinate his lifeless end.

 [Exeunt]

SCENE II The Mart.

 [Enter ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE, DROMIO OF SYRACUSE, and FIRST MERCHANT]

(1) FIRST MERCHANT Therefore give out you are of Epidamnum,

 Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate.

 This very day a Syracusian merchant

 Is apprehended for arrival here;

 And not being able to buy out his life

 According to the statute of the town,

 Dies ere the weary sun set in the west.

 There is your money that I had to keep.

ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE Go bear it to the Centaur, where we host,

(10) And stay there, Dromio, till I come to thee.

 Within this hour it will be dinner-time:

 Till that, I'll view the manners of the town,

 Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings,

 And then return and sleep within mine inn,

 For with long travel I am stiff and weary.

 Get thee away.

DROMIO OF SYRACUSE Many a man would take you at your word,

 And go indeed, having so good a mean.

 [Exit]