The Comedy of Errors - Analysis and Criticism

Analysis and Criticism

For centuries, scholars found little thematic depth in The Comedy of Errors. Its origins in The Menaechmi led many to see the play as a light, farcical work. It was often assumed that Shakespeare was deliberately avoiding the more serious themes of his histories, tragedies or later comedies. The play does however deal with very dark and serious themes, notably the insanity of Antipholus of Ephesus. He attempts to 'tear out' the eyes of his wife as well as attempting to 'scorch' her 'face and disfigure' her. He also beats many of Adriana's friends, sets Dr Pinch on fire, frequently beats his servant and sleeps with a prostitute. Antipholus of Ephesus is arguably one of Shakespeare's darkest and most violent characters.

In the eighteenth century the quality of a play was judged by its adherence to the classical unities, as specified by Aristotle in the fourth century BC. The Comedy of Errors and The Tempest were the only two of Shakespeare's plays to comply with this somewhat artificial standard.

Recent scholarship, however, has taken a different view. Particularly notable in the play is a series of social relationships, which, if rooted in a Roman past, acquire special significance in the transition to early modernity that constantly guides Shakespeare's drama. As Eric Heinze has noted, those relationships include dichotomies of master-servant, husband-wife, parent-child, native-alien, buyer-seller, and monarch-parliament. Each relationship is in crisis as it sheds its feudal forms, and confronts the market forces of early modern Europe.