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Director, Folger Shakespeare Library
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Set in the city of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors concerns the farcical misadventures of two sets of identical twins. Many years earlier, the Syracusan merchant Egeon had twin sons, both named Antipholus. At their birth, he bought another pair of newborn twins, both named Dromio, as their servants. In a shipwreck, Egeon lost his wife, one of his sons, and one of the Dromios.
Egeon’s remaining son, Antipholus of Syracuse, and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, come to Ephesus, where—unknown to them—their lost twins now live. The visitors are confused, angered, or intrigued when local residents seem to know them.
Similarly, Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus run into puzzling reactions from the people they know—who have been dealing, unwittingly, with the Syracusans. Antipholus of Ephesus’s wife bars him from his house; he is jailed after a jeweler claims he owes money on a gold chain he never received.
When the four twins come together, all is finally resolved. In one last twist, their parents reunite as well.
ACT 1
Scene 1
Merchant of Syracuse , Jailer , and other Attendants .
And by the doom of death end woes and all .
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 sealed his rigorous statutes with their bloods ,
Excludes all pity from our threat’ning 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 Syracusian marts and fairs ;
Again , if any Syracusian born
Come to the bay of Ephesus , he dies ,
His goods confiscate to the Duke’s dispose ,
[9] ACT 1. SC. 1 Unless a thousand marks be levièd
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 .
My woes end likewise with the evening sun .
Why thou departedst from thy native home
And for what cause thou cam’st to Ephesus .
Than I to speak my griefs unspeakable ;
Yet , that the world may witness that my end
Was wrought by nature , not by vile offense ,
I’ll utter what my sorrow gives 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 .
With her I lived in joy . Our wealth increased
By prosperous voyages I often made
To Epidamium , 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 arrivèd where I was .
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 distinguished but by names .
[11] ACT 1. SC. 1 That very hour , and in the selfsame inn ,
A mean woman was deliverèd
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 ,
Made daily motions for our home return .
Unwilling , I agreed . Alas , too soon
We came aboard .
A league from Epidamium had we sailed
Before the always-wind-obeying deep
Gave any tragic instance of our harm ;
But longer did we not retain much hope ,
For what obscurèd light the heavens did grant
Did but convey unto our fearful minds
A doubtful warrant of immediate death ,
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 mourned 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 ,
Had fastened 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 fixed ,
Fastened ourselves at either end the mast
And , floating straight , obedient to the stream ,
Was carried towards Corinth , as we thought .
[13] ACT 1. SC. 1 At length the sun , gazing upon the earth ,
Dispersed those vapors that offended us ,
And by the benefit of his wished light
The seas waxed calm , and we discoverèd
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 .
For we may pity though not pardon thee .
Worthily termed them merciless to us .
For , ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues ,
We were encountered 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 burdenèd
With lesser weight , but not with lesser woe ,
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 shipwracked 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 severed from my bliss ,
That by misfortunes was my life prolonged
To tell sad stories of my own mishaps .
[15]ACT 1. SC. 1
Do me the favor to dilate at full
What have befall’n of them and thee till now .
At eighteen years became inquisitive
After his brother , and importuned me
That his attendant — so his case was like ,
Reft of his brother , but retained his name —
Might bear him company in the quest of him ,
Whom whilst I labored of a love to see ,
I hazarded the loss of whom I loved .
Five summers have I spent in farthest 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 harbors men .
But here must end the story of my life ;
And happy were I in my timely death
Could all my travels warrant me they live .
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 should sue as advocate for thee .
But though thou art adjudgèd to the death ,
And passèd sentence may not be recalled
But to our honor’s great disparagement ,
Yet will I favor 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 ,
[17] ACT 1. SC. 2 And live . If no , then thou art doomed to die . —
Jailer , take him to thy custody .
But to procrastinate his lifeless end .
Scene 2
Dromio of Syracuse .
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 .
And stay there , Dromio , till I come to thee .
Within this hour it will be dinnertime .
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 .
And go indeed , having so good a mean .
[19]ACT 1. SC. 2
When I am dull with care and melancholy ,
Lightens my humor with his merry jests .
What , will you walk with me about the town
And then go to my inn and dine with me ?
Of whom I hope to make much benefit .
I crave your pardon . Soon at five o’clock ,
Please you , I’ll meet with you upon the mart
And afterward consort you till bedtime .
My present business calls me from you now .
And wander up and down to view the city .
Commends me to the thing I cannot get .
I to the world am like a drop of water
That in the ocean seeks another drop ,
Who , falling there to find his fellow forth ,
Unseen , inquisitive , confounds himself .
So I , to find a mother and a brother ,
In quest of them , unhappy , lose myself .
Here comes the almanac of my true date . —
What now ? How chance thou art returned so soon ?
The capon burns ; the pig falls from the spit ;
The clock hath strucken twelve upon the bell ;
My mistress made it one upon my cheek .
[21] ACT 1. SC. 2 She is so hot because the meat is cold ;
The meat is cold because you come not home ;
You come not home because you have no stomach ;
You have no stomach , having broke your fast .
But we that know what ’tis to fast and pray
Are penitent for your default today .
Where have you left the money that I gave you ?
To pay the saddler for my mistress’ crupper ?
The saddler had it , sir ; I kept it not .
Tell me , and dally not : where is the money ?
We being strangers here , how dar’st thou trust
So great a charge from thine own custody ?
I from my mistress come to you in post ;
If I return , I shall be post indeed ,
For she will scour your fault upon my pate .
Methinks your maw , like mine , should be your
clock ,
And strike you home without a messenger .
Reserve them till a merrier hour than this .
Where is the gold I gave in charge to thee ?
And tell me how thou hast disposed thy charge .
[23]ACT 1. SC. 2
Home to your house , the Phoenix , sir , to dinner .
My mistress and her sister stays for you .
In what safe place you have bestowed my money ,
Or I shall break that merry sconce of yours
That stands on tricks when I am undisposed .
Where is the thousand marks thou hadst of me ?
Some of my mistress’ marks upon my shoulders ,
But not a thousand marks between you both .
If I should pay your Worship those again ,
Perchance you will not bear them patiently .
thou ?
She that doth fast till you come home to dinner
And prays that you will hie you home to dinner .
Being forbid ? There , take you that , sir knave .
hands .
Nay , an you will not , sir , I’ll take my heels .
The villain is o’erraught of all my money .
They say this town is full of cozenage ,
As nimble jugglers that deceive the eye ,
[25] ACT 1. SC. 2 Dark-working sorcerers that change the mind ,
Soul-killing witches that deform the body ,
Disguisèd cheaters , prating mountebanks ,
And many suchlike liberties of sin .
If it prove so , I will be gone the sooner .
I’ll to the Centaur to go seek this slave .
I greatly fear my money is not safe .
[29]
ACT 2
Scene 1
Luciana , her sister .
That in such haste I sent to seek his master ?
Sure , Luciana , it is two o’clock .
And from the mart he’s somewhere gone to dinner .
Good sister , let us dine , and never fret .
A man is master of his liberty ;
Time is their master , and when they see time
They’ll go or come . If so , be patient , sister .
[31] ACT 2. SC. 1 There’s nothing situate under heaven’s eye
But hath his bound in earth , in sea , in sky .
The beasts , the fishes , and the wingèd fowls
Are their males’ subjects and at their controls .
Man , more divine , the master of all these ,
Lord of the wide world and wild wat’ry seas ,
Endued with intellectual sense and souls ,
Of more preeminence than fish and fowls ,
Are masters to their females , and their lords .
Then let your will attend on their accords .
They can be meek that have no other cause .
A wretched soul bruised with adversity
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry ,
But were we burdened with like weight of pain ,
As much or more we should ourselves complain .
So thou , that hast no unkind mate to grieve thee ,
With urging helpless patience would relieve me ;
But if thou live to see like right bereft ,
This fool-begged patience in thee will be left .
Here comes your man . Now is your husband nigh .
[33]ACT 2. SC. 1
and that my two ears can witness .
mind ?
Beshrew his hand , I scarce could understand it .
his meaning ?
too well feel his blows , and withal so doubtfully
that I could scarce understand them .
It seems he hath great care to please his wife .
But sure he is stark mad .
When I desired him to come home to dinner ,
He asked me for a thousand marks in gold .
‘’Tis dinnertime ,’ quoth I . ‘My gold ,’ quoth he .
‘Your meat doth burn ,’ quoth I . ‘My gold ,’ quoth
he .
‘Will you come ?’ quoth I . ‘My gold ,’ quoth he .
‘Where is the thousand marks I gave thee , villain ?’
‘The pig ,’ quoth I , ‘is burned .’ ‘My gold ,’ quoth
he .
[35] ACT 2. SC. 1 ‘My mistress , sir ,’ quoth I . ‘Hang up thy mistress !
I know not thy mistress . Out on thy mistress !’
‘I know ,’ quoth he , ‘no house , no wife , no
mistress .’
So that my errand , due unto my tongue ,
I thank him , I bare home upon my shoulders ,
For , in conclusion , he did beat me there .
For God’s sake , send some other messenger .
Between you , I shall have a holy head .
That like a football you do spurn me thus ?
You spurn me hence , and he will spurn me hither .
If I last in this service , you must case me in leather .
Whilst I at home starve for a merry look .
Hath homely age th’ alluring beauty took
From my poor cheek ? Then he hath wasted it .
Are my discourses dull ? Barren my wit ?
If voluble and sharp discourse be marred ,
[37] ACT 2. SC. 2 Unkindness blunts it more than marble hard .
Do their gay vestments his affections bait ?
That’s not my fault ; he’s master of my state .
What ruins are in me that can be found
By him not ruined ? Then is he the ground
Of my defeatures . My decayèd fair
A sunny look of his would soon repair .
But , too unruly deer , he breaks the pale
And feeds from home . Poor I am but his stale .
I know his eye doth homage otherwhere ,
Or else what lets it but he would be here ?
Sister , you know he promised me a chain .
Would that alone o’ love he would detain ,
So he would keep fair quarter with his bed .
I see the jewel best enamelèd
Will lose his beauty . Yet the gold bides still
That others touch , and often touching will
Wear gold ; yet no man that hath a name
By falsehood and corruption doth it shame .
Since that my beauty cannot please his eye ,
I’ll weep what’s left away , and weeping die .
Scene 2
Safe at the Centaur , and the heedful slave
[39] ACT 2. SC. 2 Is wandered forth in care to seek me out .
By computation and mine host’s report ,
I could not speak with Dromio since at first
I sent him from the mart . See , here he comes .
How now , sir ? Is your merry humor altered ?
As you love strokes , so jest with me again .
You know no Centaur ? You received no gold ?
Your mistress sent to have me home to dinner ?
My house was at the Phoenix ? Wast thou mad ,
That thus so madly thou didst answer me ?
Home to the Centaur with the gold you gave me .
And told’st me of a mistress and a dinner ,
For which I hope thou felt’st I was displeased .
What means this jest , I pray you , master , tell me ?
Think’st thou I jest ? Hold , take thou that and that .
Upon what bargain do you give it me ?
Do use you for my fool and chat with you ,
[41] ACT 2. SC. 2 Your sauciness will jest upon my love
And make a common of my serious hours .
When the sun shines , let foolish gnats make sport ,
But creep in crannies when he hides his beams .
If you will jest with me , know my aspect ,
And fashion your demeanor to my looks ,
Or I will beat this method in your sconce .
would leave battering , I had rather have it a
‘head .’ An you use these blows long , I must get a
sconce for my head and ensconce it too , or else I
shall seek my wit in my shoulders . But I pray , sir ,
why am I beaten ?
beaten .
say every why hath a wherefore .
me ; and then ‘wherefore’ : for urging it the second
time to me .
When in the ‘why’ and the ‘wherefore’ is neither
rhyme nor reason ?
Well , sir , I thank you .
that you gave me for nothing .
to give you nothing for something . But say , sir , is it
dinnertime ?
that I have .
[43]ACT 2. SC. 2
that ?
it .
purchase me another dry basting .
good time . There’s a time for all things .
you were so choleric .
the plain bald pate of Father Time himself .
recover his hair that grows bald by nature .
recovery ?
and recover the lost hair of another man .
of hair , being , as it is , so plentiful an excrement ?
bestows on beasts , and what he hath scanted men
in hair , he hath given them in wit .
man hath more hair than wit .
the wit to lose his hair .
hairy men plain dealers without wit .
lost . Yet he loseth it in a kind of jollity .
[45]ACT 2. SC. 2
falsing .
he spends in tiring ; the other , that at dinner they
should not drop in his porridge .
have proved there is no time for all things .
no time to recover hair lost by nature .
substantial why there is no time to recover .
bald and therefore , to the world’s end , will have
bald followers .
conclusion . But soft , who wafts us yonder ?
Some other mistress hath thy sweet aspects .
I am not Adriana , nor thy wife .
The time was once when thou unurged wouldst vow
That never words were music to thine ear ,
That never object pleasing in thine eye ,
That never touch well welcome to thy hand ,
That never meat sweet-savored in thy taste ,
Unless I spake , or looked , or touched , or carved to
thee .
How comes it now , my husband , O , how comes it
[47] ACT 2. SC. 2 That thou art then estrangèd from thyself ?
‘Thyself’ I call it , being strange to me ,
That , undividable , incorporate ,
Am better than thy dear self’s better part .
Ah , do not tear away thyself from me !
For know , my love , as easy mayst thou fall
A drop of water in the breaking gulf ,
And take unmingled thence that drop again
Without addition or diminishing ,
As take from me thyself and not me too .
How dearly would it touch thee to the quick ,
Shouldst thou but hear I were licentious
And that this body , consecrate to thee ,
By ruffian lust should be contaminate !
Wouldst thou not spit at me , and spurn at me ,
And hurl the name of husband in my face ,
And tear the stained skin off my harlot brow ,
And from my false hand cut the wedding ring ,
And break it with a deep-divorcing vow ?
I know thou canst , and therefore see thou do it .
I am possessed with an adulterate blot ;
My blood is mingled with the crime of lust ;
For if we two be one , and thou play false ,
I do digest the poison of thy flesh ,
Being strumpeted by thy contagion .
Keep then fair league and truce with thy true bed ,
I live distained , thou undishonorèd .
In Ephesus I am but two hours old ,
As strange unto your town as to your talk ,
Who , every word by all my wit being scanned ,
Wants wit in all one word to understand .
[49] ACT 2. SC. 2 When were you wont to use my sister thus ?
She sent for you by Dromio home to dinner .
That he did buffet thee and , in his blows ,
Denied my house for his , me for his wife .
What is the course and drift of your compact ?
Didst thou deliver to me on the mart .
Unless it be by inspiration ?
To counterfeit thus grossly with your slave ,
Abetting him to thwart me in my mood .
Be it my wrong you are from me exempt ,
But wrong not that wrong with a more contempt .
Come , I will fasten on this sleeve of thine .
Thou art an elm , my husband , I a vine ,
Whose weakness , married to thy stronger state ,
Makes me with thy strength to communicate .
If aught possess thee from me , it is dross ,
Usurping ivy , brier , or idle moss ,
Who , all for want of pruning , with intrusion
Infect thy sap and live on thy confusion .
[51]ACT 2. SC. 2
What , was I married to her in my dream ?
Or sleep I now and think I hear all this ?
What error drives our eyes and ears amiss ?
Until I know this sure uncertainty
I’ll entertain the offered fallacy .
This is the fairy land . O spite of spites !
We talk with goblins , owls , and sprites .
If we obey them not , this will ensue :
They’ll suck our breath , or pinch us black and blue .
Dromio — thou , Dromio — thou snail , thou slug ,
thou sot .
’Tis so . I am an ass ; else it could never be
But I should know her as well as she knows me .
[53]ACT 2. SC. 2
To put the finger in the eye and weep
Whilst man and master laughs my woes to scorn .
Come , sir , to dinner . — Dromio , keep the gate . —
Husband , I’ll dine above with you today ,
And shrive you of a thousand idle pranks .
Say he dines forth , and let no creature enter . —
Come , sister . — Dromio , play the porter well .
Sleeping or waking , mad or well-advised ?
Known unto these , and to myself disguised !
I’ll say as they say , and persever so ,
And in this mist at all adventures go .
[57]
ACT 3
Scene 1
the goldsmith , and Balthasar the merchant .
My wife is shrewish when I keep not hours .
Say that I lingered with you at your shop
To see the making of her carcanet ,
And that tomorrow you will bring it home .
But here’s a villain that would face me down
He met me on the mart , and that I beat him
And charged him with a thousand marks in gold ,
And that I did deny my wife and house . —
Thou drunkard , thou , what didst thou mean by this ?
That you beat me at the mart I have your hand to
show ;
If the skin were parchment and the blows you gave
were ink ,
Your own handwriting would tell you what I think .
By the wrongs I suffer and the blows I bear .
[59] ACT 3. SC. 1 I should kick being kicked and , being at that pass ,
You would keep from my heels and beware of an ass .
May answer my goodwill and your good welcome
here .
dear .
A table full of welcome makes scarce one dainty
dish .
words .
feast .
But though my cates be mean , take them in good
part .
Better cheer may you have , but not with better
heart .
But soft ! My door is locked .
them let us in .
Either get thee from the door or sit down at the
hatch .
[61] ACT 3. SC. 1 Dost thou conjure for wenches , that thou call’st for
such store
When one is one too many ? Go , get thee from the
door .
the street .
cold on ’s feet .
wherefore .
may .
owe ?
Dromio .
name !
The one ne’er got me credit , the other mickle
blame .
If thou hadst been Dromio today in my place ,
Thou wouldst have changed thy face for a name , or
thy name for an ass .
[63]ACT 3. SC. 1
and his company .
gate ?
And so tell your master .
Have at you with a proverb : shall I set in my staff ?
tell ?
answered him well .
blow .
[65]ACT 3. SC. 1
town ?
and his company .
boys .
sore .
fain have either .
neither .
hither .
in .
thin .
Your cake here is warm within ; you stand here in
the cold .
[67] ACT 3. SC. 1 It would make a man mad as a buck to be so
bought and sold .
pate .
are but wind ,
Ay , and break it in your face , so he break it not
behind .
me in .
fin .
For a fish without a fin , there’s a fowl without a
feather . —
If a crow help us in , sirrah , we’ll pluck a crow
together .
Herein you war against your reputation ,
And draw within the compass of suspect
Th’ unviolated honor of your wife .
Once this : your long experience of her wisdom ,
[69] ACT 3. SC. 1 Her sober virtue , years , and modesty
Plead on her part some cause to you unknown .
And doubt not , sir , but she will well excuse
Why at this time the doors are made against you .
Be ruled by me ; depart in patience ,
And let us to the Tiger all to dinner ,
And about evening come yourself alone
To know the reason of this strange restraint .
If by strong hand you offer to break in
Now in the stirring passage of the day ,
A vulgar comment will be made of it ;
And that supposèd by the common rout
Against your yet ungallèd estimation
That may with foul intrusion enter in
And dwell upon your grave when you are dead ;
For slander lives upon succession ,
Forever housèd where it gets possession .
And , in despite of mirth , mean to be merry .
I know a wench of excellent discourse ,
Pretty and witty , wild and yet , too , gentle .
There will we dine . This woman that I mean ,
My wife — but , I protest , without desert —
Hath oftentimes upbraided me withal ;
To her will we to dinner .
And fetch the chain ; by this , I know , ’tis made .
Bring it , I pray you , to the Porpentine ,
For there’s the house . That chain will I bestow —
Be it for nothing but to spite my wife —
Upon mine hostess there . Good sir , make haste .
Since mine own doors refuse to entertain me ,
I’ll knock elsewhere , to see if they’ll disdain me .
[71]ACT 3. SC. 2
Scene 2
A husband’s office ? Shall , Antipholus ,
Even in the spring of love thy love-springs rot ?
Shall love , in building , grow so ruinous ?
If you did wed my sister for her wealth ,
Then for her wealth’s sake use her with more
kindness .
Or if you like elsewhere , do it by stealth —
Muffle your false love with some show of
blindness .
Let not my sister read it in your eye ;
Be not thy tongue thy own shame’s orator ;
Look sweet , speak fair , become disloyalty ;
Apparel vice like virtue’s harbinger .
Bear a fair presence , though your heart be tainted .
Teach sin the carriage of a holy saint .
Be secret-false . What need she be acquainted ?
What simple thief brags of his own attaint ?
’Tis double wrong to truant with your bed
And let her read it in thy looks at board .
Shame hath a bastard fame , well managèd ;
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word .
Alas , poor women , make us but believe ,
Being compact of credit , that you love us .
Though others have the arm , show us the sleeve ;
We in your motion turn , and you may move us .
[73] ACT 3. SC. 2 Then , gentle brother , get you in again .
Comfort my sister , cheer her , call her wife .
’Tis holy sport to be a little vain
When the sweet breath of flattery conquers strife .
Nor by what wonder you do hit of mine —
Less in your knowledge and your grace you show not
Than our Earth’s wonder , more than Earth divine .
Teach me , dear creature , how to think and speak .
Lay open to my earthy gross conceit ,
Smothered in errors , feeble , shallow , weak ,
The folded meaning of your words’ deceit .
Against my soul’s pure truth why labor you
To make it wander in an unknown field ?
Are you a god ? Would you create me new ?
Transform me , then , and to your power I’ll yield .
But if that I am I , then well I know
Your weeping sister is no wife of mine ,
Nor to her bed no homage do I owe .
Far more , far more , to you do I decline .
O , train me not , sweet mermaid , with thy note
To drown me in thy sister’s flood of tears .
Sing , Siren , for thyself , and I will dote .
Spread o’er the silver waves thy golden hairs ,
And as a bed I’ll take them and there lie ,
And in that glorious supposition think
He gains by death that hath such means to die .
Let love , being light , be drownèd if she sink .
[75]ACT 3. SC. 2
sight .
It is thyself , mine own self’s better part ,
Mine eye’s clear eye , my dear heart’s dearer heart ,
My food , my fortune , and my sweet hope’s aim ,
My sole Earth’s heaven , and my heaven’s claim .
Thee will I love , and with thee lead my life ;
Thou hast no husband yet , nor I no wife .
Give me thy hand .
I’ll fetch my sister to get her goodwill .
Where runn’st thou so fast ?
Dromio ? Am I your man ? Am I myself ?
my man , thou art thyself .
man , and besides myself .
[77]ACT 3. SC. 2
how besides thyself ?
due to a woman , one that claims me , one that
haunts me , one that will have me .
would lay to your horse , and she would have me as
a beast ; not that I being a beast she would have me ,
but that she , being a very beastly creature , lays
claim to me .
one as a man may not speak of without he say
‘sir-reverence .’ I have but lean luck in the match ,
and yet is she a wondrous fat marriage .
marriage’ ?
wench , and all grease , and I know not what use to
put her to but to make a lamp of her and run from
her by her own light . I warrant her rags and the
tallow in them will burn a Poland winter . If she lives
till doomsday , she’ll burn a week longer than the
whole world .
nothing like so clean kept . For why ? She sweats . A
man may go overshoes in the grime of it .
mend .
could not do it .
[79] ACT 3. SC. 2 three quarters — that’s an ell and three quarters —
will not measure her from hip to hip .
breadth ?
from hip to hip . She is spherical , like a globe . I
could find out countries in her .
stands Ireland ?
found it out by the bogs .
hard in the palm of the hand .
reverted , making war against her heir .
I could find no whiteness in them . But I guess it
stood in her chin , by the salt rheum that ran
between France and it .
in her breath .
with rubies , carbuncles , sapphires ,
declining their rich aspect to the hot breath of
Spain , who sent whole armadas of carracks to be
ballast at her nose .
Netherlands ?
conclude : this drudge or diviner laid claim to me ,
[81] ACT 3. SC. 2 called me Dromio , swore I was assured to her , told
me what privy marks I had about me , as the mark
of my shoulder , the mole in my neck , the great wart
on my left arm , that I , amazed , ran from her as a
witch .
And , I think , if my breast had not been made of
faith , and my heart of steel ,
She had transformed me to a curtal dog and made
me turn i’ th’ wheel .
An if the wind blow any way from shore ,
I will not harbor in this town tonight .
If any bark put forth , come to the mart ,
Where I will walk till thou return to me .
If everyone knows us , and we know none ,
’Tis time , I think , to trudge , pack , and be gone .
So fly I from her that would be my wife .
And therefore ’tis high time that I were hence .
She that doth call me husband , even my soul
Doth for a wife abhor . But her fair sister ,
Possessed with such a gentle sovereign grace ,
Of such enchanting presence and discourse ,
Hath almost made me traitor to myself .
But lest myself be guilty to self wrong ,
I’ll stop mine ears against the mermaid’s song .
[83]ACT 3. SC. 2
I thought to have ta’en you at the Porpentine ;
The chain unfinished made me stay thus long .
Go home with it , and please your wife withal ,
And soon at supper time I’ll visit you
And then receive my money for the chain .
For fear you ne’er see chain nor money more .
But this I think : there’s no man is so vain
That would refuse so fair an offered chain .
I see a man here needs not live by shifts
When in the streets he meets such golden gifts .
I’ll to the mart , and there for Dromio stay .
If any ship put out , then straight away .
[87]
ACT 4
Scene 1
and an Officer .
And since I have not much importuned you ,
Nor now I had not , but that I am bound
To Persia and want guilders for my voyage .
Therefore make present satisfaction ,
Or I’ll attach you by this officer .
Is growing to me by Antipholus .
And in the instant that I met with you ,
He had of me a chain . At five o’clock
I shall receive the money for the same .
Pleaseth you walk with me down to his house ,
I will discharge my bond and thank you too .
Ephesus from the Courtesan’s .
[89] ACT 4. SC. 1 And buy a rope’s end . That will I bestow
Among my wife and her confederates
For locking me out of my doors by day .
But soft . I see the goldsmith . Get thee gone .
Buy thou a rope , and bring it home to me .
I promisèd your presence and the chain ,
But neither chain nor goldsmith came to me .
Belike you thought our love would last too long
If it were chained together , and therefore came not .
How much your chain weighs to the utmost carat ,
The fineness of the gold , and chargeful fashion ,
Which doth amount to three-odd ducats more
Than I stand debted to this gentleman .
I pray you , see him presently discharged ,
For he is bound to sea , and stays but for it .
Besides , I have some business in the town .
Good signior , take the stranger to my house ,
And with you take the chain , and bid my wife
Disburse the sum on the receipt thereof .
Perchance I will be there as soon as you .
[91]ACT 4. SC. 1
Or else you may return without your money .
Both wind and tide stays for this gentleman ,
And I , to blame , have held him here too long .
Your breach of promise to the Porpentine .
I should have chid you for not bringing it ,
But , like a shrew , you first begin to brawl .
Either send the chain , or send by me some token .
Come , where’s the chain ? I pray you , let me see it .
Good sir , say whe’er you’ll answer me or no .
If not , I’ll leave him to the Officer .
[93]ACT 4. SC. 1
Consider how it stands upon my credit .
me .
Either consent to pay this sum for me ,
Or I attach you by this officer .
Arrest me , foolish fellow , if thou dar’st .
I would not spare my brother in this case
If he should scorn me so apparently .
dear
As all the metal in your shop will answer .
To your notorious shame , I doubt it not .
That stays but till her owner comes aboard ,
[95] ACT 4. SC. 1 And then , sir , she bears away . Our fraughtage , sir ,
I have conveyed aboard , and I have bought
The oil , the balsamum , and aqua vitae .
The ship is in her trim ; the merry wind
Blows fair from land . They stay for naught at all
But for their owner , master , and yourself .
What ship of Epidamium stays for me ?
And told thee to what purpose and what end .
You sent me to the bay , sir , for a bark .
And teach your ears to list me with more heed .
To Adriana , villain , hie thee straight .
Give her this key , and tell her in the desk
That’s covered o’er with Turkish tapestry
There is a purse of ducats . Let her send it .
Tell her I am arrested in the street ,
And that shall bail me . Hie thee , slave . Begone . —
On , officer , to prison till it come .
Where Dowsabel did claim me for her husband .
She is too big , I hope , for me to compass .
Thither I must , although against my will ,
For servants must their masters’ minds fulfill .
[97]ACT 4. SC. 2
Scene 2
Might’st thou perceive austerely in his eye
That he did plead in earnest , yea or no ?
Looked he or red or pale , or sad or merrily ?
What observation mad’st thou in this case
Of his heart’s meteors tilting in his face ?
First he did praise my beauty , then my speech .
My tongue , though not my heart , shall have his will .
He is deformèd , crooked , old , and sere ,
Ill-faced , worse-bodied , shapeless everywhere ,
[99] ACT 4. SC. 2 Vicious , ungentle , foolish , blunt , unkind ,
Stigmatical in making , worse in mind .
No evil lost is wailed when it is gone .
And yet would herein others’ eyes were worse .
Far from her nest the lapwing cries away .
My heart prays for him , though my tongue do
curse .
haste .
A devil in an everlasting garment hath him ,
One whose hard heart is buttoned up with steel ;
A fiend , a fairy , pitiless and rough ;
A wolf , nay , worse , a fellow all in buff ;
A backfriend , a shoulder clapper , one that
countermands
The passages of alleys , creeks , and narrow lands ;
A hound that runs counter and yet draws dryfoot
well ,
One that before the judgment carries poor souls to
hell .
[101]ACT 4. SC. 2
But is in a suit of buff which ’rested him ; that can I
tell .
Will you send him , mistress , redemption — the
money in his desk ?
That he , unknown to me , should be in debt .
Tell me , was he arrested on a band ?
A chain , a chain . Do you not hear it ring ?
It was two ere I left him , and now the clock strikes
one .
for very fear .
reason !
worth to season .
Nay , he’s a thief too . Have you not heard men say
That time comes stealing on by night and day ?
[103] ACT 4. SC. 3 If he be in debt and theft , and a sergeant in the
way ,
Hath he not reason to turn back an hour in a day ?
And bring thy master home immediately .
Come , sister , I am pressed down with conceit :
Conceit , my comfort and my injury .
Scene 3
As if I were their well-acquainted friend ,
And everyone doth call me by my name .
Some tender money to me ; some invite me ;
Some other give me thanks for kindnesses ;
Some offer me commodities to buy .
Even now a tailor called me in his shop
And showed me silks that he had bought for me ,
And therewithal took measure of my body .
Sure these are but imaginary wiles ,
And Lapland sorcerers inhabit here .
me for . What , have you got the picture of old Adam
new-appareled ?
[105]ACT 4. SC. 3
Paradise , but that Adam that keeps the prison ; he
that goes in the calf’s skin that was killed for the
Prodigal ; he that came behind you , sir , like an evil
angel , and bid you forsake your liberty .
that went like a bass viol in a case of leather ; the
man , sir , that , when gentlemen are tired , gives
them a sob and ’rests them ; he , sir , that takes pity
on decayed men and gives them suits of durance ; he
that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his
mace than a morris-pike .
officer ?
he that brings any man to answer it that breaks his
band ; one that thinks a man always going to bed
and says ‘God give you good rest .’
foolery . Is there any ships puts forth tonight ? May
we be gone ?
hour since that the bark Expedition put forth tonight ,
and then were you hindered by the sergeant
to tarry for the hoy Delay . Here are the angels that
you sent for to deliver you .
And here we wander in illusions .
Some blessèd power deliver us from hence !
[107] ACT 4. SC. 3 I see , sir , you have found the goldsmith now .
Is that the chain you promised me today ?
devil’s dam , and here she comes in the habit of a
light wench . And thereof comes that the wenches
say ‘God damn me’ ; that’s as much to say ‘God
make me a light wench .’ It is written they appear
to men like angels of light . Light is an effect of fire ,
and fire will burn : ergo , light wenches will burn .
Come not near her .
Will you go with me ? We’ll mend our dinner here .
meat , or bespeak a long spoon .
spoon that must eat with the devil .
Thou art , as you are all , a sorceress .
I conjure thee to leave me and be gone .
Or , for my diamond , the chain you promised ,
And I’ll be gone , sir , and not trouble you .
of one’s nail , a rush , a hair , a drop of blood , a pin , a
nut , a cherrystone ; but she , more covetous , would
have a chain . Master , be wise . An if you give it her ,
the devil will shake her chain and fright us with it .
[109]ACT 4. SC. 4
I hope you do not mean to cheat me so .
Mistress , that you know .
Else would he never so demean himself .
A ring he hath of mine worth forty ducats ,
And for the same he promised me a chain .
Both one and other he denies me now .
The reason that I gather he is mad ,
Besides this present instance of his rage ,
Is a mad tale he told today at dinner
Of his own doors being shut against his entrance .
Belike his wife , acquainted with his fits ,
On purpose shut the doors against his way .
My way is now to hie home to his house
And tell his wife that , being lunatic ,
He rushed into my house and took perforce
My ring away . This course I fittest choose ,
For forty ducats is too much to lose .
Scene 4
I’ll give thee , ere I leave thee , so much money ,
To warrant thee , as I am ’rested for .
My wife is in a wayward mood today
[111] ACT 4. SC. 4 And will not lightly trust the messenger
That I should be attached in Ephesus .
I tell you , ’twill sound harshly in her ears .
Here comes my man . I think he brings the
money .
How now , sir ? Have you that I sent you for ?
end am I returned .
in adversity .
his hands .
villain .
I might not feel your blows .
but blows , and so is an ass .
[113]ACT 4. SC. 4
prove it by my long ears . — I have served him from
the hour of my nativity to this instant , and have
nothing at his hands for my service but blows .
When I am cold , he heats me with beating ; when I
am warm , he cools me with beating . I am waked
with it when I sleep , raised with it when I sit ,
driven out of doors with it when I go from home ,
welcomed home with it when I return . Nay , I bear it
on my shoulders as a beggar wont her brat , and I
think when he hath lamed me , I shall beg with it
from door to door .
called Pinch .
your end , or rather , the prophecy like the parrot ,
‘Beware the rope’s end .’
Good Doctor Pinch , you are a conjurer ;
Establish him in his true sense again ,
And I will please you what you will demand .
[115]ACT 4. SC. 4
To yield possession to my holy prayers ,
And to thy state of darkness hie thee straight .
I conjure thee by all the saints in heaven .
Did this companion with the saffron face
Revel and feast it at my house today
Whilst upon me the guilty doors were shut
And I denied to enter in my house ?
Where would you had remained until this time ,
Free from these slanders and this open shame .
sayest thou ?
[117]ACT 4. SC. 4
That since have felt the vigor of his rage .
And , yielding to him , humors well his frenzy .
By Dromio here , who came in haste for it .
But surely , master , not a rag of money .
That I was sent for nothing but a rope .
I know it by their pale and deadly looks .
They must be bound and laid in some dark room .
[119] ACT 4. SC. 4
bag of gold ?
But I confess , sir , that we were locked out .
And art confederate with a damnèd pack
To make a loathsome abject scorn of me .
But with these nails I’ll pluck out these false eyes
That would behold in me this shameful sport .
I am thy prisoner . Wilt thou suffer them
To make a rescue ?
He is my prisoner , and you shall not have him .
Hast thou delight to see a wretched man
Do outrage and displeasure to himself ?
[121]ACT 4. SC. 4
The debt he owes will be required of me .
Bear me forthwith unto his creditor ,
And knowing how the debt grows , I will pay it . —
Good Master Doctor , see him safe conveyed
Home to my house . O most unhappy day !
master .
Cry ‘The devil !’
and Dromio of Ephesus .
Officer , Adriana , Luciana , Courtesan remain .
Sister , go you with me .
[123]ACT 4. SC. 4
Came to my house and took away my ring ,
The ring I saw upon his finger now ,
Straight after did I meet him with a chain .
Come , jailer , bring me where the goldsmith is .
I long to know the truth hereof at large .
and Dromio of Syracuse .
To have them bound again .
Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse remain .
I long that we were safe and sound aboard .
will surely do us no harm . You saw they speak us
fair , give us gold . Methinks they are such a gentle
nation that , but for the mountain of mad flesh that
claims marriage of me , I could find in my heart to
stay here still , and turn witch .
[125]ACT 4. SC. 4
Therefore , away , to get our stuff aboard .
[129]
ACT 5
Scene 1
Goldsmith .
But I protest he had the chain of me ,
Though most dishonestly he doth deny it .
Of credit infinite , highly beloved ,
Second to none that lives here in the city .
His word might bear my wealth at any time .
Antipholus wearing the chain .
Which he forswore most monstrously to have .
Good sir , draw near to me . I’ll speak to him . —
Signior Antipholus , I wonder much
That you would put me to this shame and trouble ,
And not without some scandal to yourself ,
[131] ACT 5. SC. 1 With circumstance and oaths so to deny
This chain , which now you wear so openly .
Besides the charge , the shame , imprisonment ,
You have done wrong to this my honest friend ,
Who , but for staying on our controversy ,
Had hoisted sail and put to sea today .
This chain you had of me . Can you deny it ?
Fie on thee , wretch . ’Tis pity that thou liv’st
To walk where any honest men resort .
I’ll prove mine honor and mine honesty
Against thee presently if thou dar’st stand .
Some get within him ; take his sword away .
Bind Dromio too , and bear them to my house !
This is some priory . In , or we are spoiled .
exit to the Priory .
[133]ACT 5. SC. 1
Let us come in , that we may bind him fast
And bear him home for his recovery .
And much different from the man he was .
But till this afternoon his passion
Ne’er brake into extremity of rage .
Buried some dear friend ? Hath not else his eye
Strayed his affection in unlawful love ,
A sin prevailing much in youthful men
Who give their eyes the liberty of gazing ?
Which of these sorrows is he subject to ?
Namely , some love that drew him oft from home .
[135]ACT 5. SC. 1
In bed he slept not for my urging it ;
At board he fed not for my urging it .
Alone , it was the subject of my theme ;
In company I often glancèd it .
Still did I tell him it was vile and bad .
The venom clamors of a jealous woman
Poisons more deadly than a mad dog’s tooth .
It seems his sleeps were hindered by thy railing ,
And thereof comes it that his head is light .
Thou sayst his meat was sauced with thy
upbraidings .
Unquiet meals make ill digestions .
Thereof the raging fire of fever bred ,
And what’s a fever but a fit of madness ?
Thou sayest his sports were hindered by thy brawls .
Sweet recreation barred , what doth ensue
But moody and dull melancholy ,
Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair ,
And at her heels a huge infectious troop
Of pale distemperatures and foes to life ?
In food , in sport , and life-preserving rest
To be disturbed would mad or man or beast .
The consequence is , then , thy jealous fits
Hath scared thy husband from the use of wits .
When he demeaned himself rough , rude , and
wildly . —
Why bear you these rebukes and answer not ?
[137]ACT 5. SC. 1
Good people , enter and lay hold on him .
And it shall privilege him from your hands
Till I have brought him to his wits again
Or lose my labor in assaying it .
Diet his sickness , for it is my office
And will have no attorney but myself ;
And therefore let me have him home with me .
Till I have used the approvèd means I have ,
With wholesome syrups , drugs , and holy prayers ,
To make of him a formal man again .
It is a branch and parcel of mine oath ,
A charitable duty of my order .
Therefore depart and leave him here with me .
And ill it doth beseem your holiness
To separate the husband and the wife .
And never rise until my tears and prayers
[139] ACT 5. SC. 1 Have won his grace to come in person hither
And take perforce my husband from the Abbess .
Anon , I’m sure , the Duke himself in person
Comes this way to the melancholy vale ,
The place of death and sorry execution
Behind the ditches of the abbey here .
Who put unluckily into this bay
Against the laws and statutes of this town ,
Beheaded publicly for his offense .
of Syracuse , bare head , with the Headsman
and other Officers .
If any friend will pay the sum for him ,
He shall not die ; so much we tender him .
It cannot be that she hath done thee wrong .
Who I made lord of me and all I had
At your important letters , this ill day
A most outrageous fit of madness took him ,
[141] ACT 5. SC. 1 That desp’rately he hurried through the street ,
With him his bondman , all as mad as he ,
Doing displeasure to the citizens
By rushing in their houses , bearing thence
Rings , jewels , anything his rage did like .
Once did I get him bound and sent him home
Whilst to take order for the wrongs I went
That here and there his fury had committed .
Anon , I wot not by what strong escape ,
He broke from those that had the guard of him ,
And with his mad attendant and himself ,
Each one with ireful passion , with drawn swords ,
Met us again and , madly bent on us ,
Chased us away , till raising of more aid ,
We came again to bind them . Then they fled
Into this abbey , whither we pursued them ,
And here the Abbess shuts the gates on us
And will not suffer us to fetch him out ,
Nor send him forth that we may bear him hence .
Therefore , most gracious duke , with thy command
Let him be brought forth and borne hence for help .
And I to thee engaged a prince’s word ,
When thou didst make him master of thy bed ,
To do him all the grace and good I could .
Go , some of you , knock at the abbey gate ,
And bid the Lady Abbess come to me .
I will determine this before I stir .
My master and his man are both broke loose ,
Beaten the maids a-row , and bound the doctor ,
[143] ACT 5. SC. 1 Whose beard they have singed off with brands of
fire ,
And ever as it blazed they threw on him
Great pails of puddled mire to quench the hair .
My master preaches patience to him , and the while
His man with scissors nicks him like a fool ;
And sure , unless you send some present help ,
Between them they will kill the conjurer .
And that is false thou dost report to us .
I have not breathed almost since I did see it .
He cries for you and vows , if he can take you ,
To scorch your face and to disfigure you .
Hark , hark , I hear him , mistress . Fly , begone !
halberds .
That he is borne about invisible .
Even now we housed him in the abbey here ,
And now he’s there , past thought of human reason .
Even for the service that long since I did thee
When I bestrid thee in the wars and took
Deep scars to save thy life . Even for the blood
That then I lost for thee , now grant me justice .
I see my son Antipholus and Dromio .
[145]ACT 5. SC. 1
She whom thou gav’st to me to be my wife ,
That hath abusèd and dishonored me
Even in the strength and height of injury .
Beyond imagination is the wrong
That she this day hath shameless thrown on me .
While she with harlots feasted in my house .
Today did dine together . So befall my soul
As this is false he burdens me withal .
But she tells to your Highness simple truth .
In this the madman justly chargeth them .
Neither disturbed with the effect of wine ,
Nor heady-rash provoked with raging ire ,
Albeit my wrongs might make one wiser mad .
This woman locked me out this day from dinner .
That goldsmith there , were he not packed with her ,
Could witness it , for he was with me then ,
Who parted with me to go fetch a chain ,
Promising to bring it to the Porpentine ,
Where Balthasar and I did dine together .
Our dinner done and he not coming thither ,
[147] ACT 5. SC. 1 I went to seek him . In the street I met him ,
And in his company that gentleman .
There did this perjured goldsmith swear me down
That I this day of him received the chain ,
Which , God He knows , I saw not ; for the which
He did arrest me with an officer .
I did obey and sent my peasant home
For certain ducats . He with none returned .
Then fairly I bespoke the officer
To go in person with me to my house .
By th’ way we met
My wife , her sister , and a rabble more
Of vile confederates . Along with them
They brought one Pinch , a hungry , lean-faced
villain ,
A mere anatomy , a mountebank ,
A threadbare juggler , and a fortune-teller ,
A needy , hollow-eyed , sharp-looking wretch ,
A living dead man . This pernicious slave ,
Forsooth , took on him as a conjurer ,
And , gazing in mine eyes , feeling my pulse ,
And with no face ( as ’twere ) outfacing me ,
Cries out I was possessed . Then all together
They fell upon me , bound me , bore me thence ,
And in a dark and dankish vault at home
There left me and my man , both bound together ,
Till gnawing with my teeth my bonds in sunder ,
I gained my freedom and immediately
Ran hither to your Grace , whom I beseech
To give me ample satisfaction
For these deep shames and great indignities .
That he dined not at home , but was locked out .
[149]ACT 5. SC. 1
These people saw the chain about his neck .
Heard you confess you had the chain of him
After you first forswore it on the mart ,
And thereupon I drew my sword on you ,
And then you fled into this abbey here ,
From whence I think you are come by miracle .
Nor ever didst thou draw thy sword on me .
I never saw the chain , so help me heaven ,
And this is false you burden me withal .
I think you all have drunk of Circe’s cup .
If here you housed him , here he would have been .
If he were mad , he would not plead so coldly .
goldsmith here
Denies that saying .
what say you ?
[151]ACT 5. SC. 1
I think you are all mated or stark mad .
Haply I see a friend will save my life
And pay the sum that may deliver me .
And is not that your bondman Dromio ?
But he , I thank him , gnawed in two my cords .
Now am I Dromio , and his man , unbound .
For lately we were bound as you are now .
You are not Pinch’s patient , are you , sir ?
And careful hours with time’s deformèd hand
Have written strange defeatures in my face .
But tell me yet , dost thou not know my voice ?
[153]ACT 5. SC. 1
whatsoever a man denies , you are now bound to
believe him .
Hast thou so cracked and splitted my poor tongue
In seven short years that here my only son
Knows not my feeble key of untuned cares ?
Though now this grainèd face of mine be hid
In sap-consuming winter’s drizzled snow ,
And all the conduits of my blood froze up ,
Yet hath my night of life some memory ,
My wasting lamps some fading glimmer left ,
My dull deaf ears a little use to hear .
All these old witnesses — I cannot err —
Tell me thou art my son Antipholus .
Thou know’st we parted . But perhaps , my son ,
Thou sham’st to acknowledge me in misery .
Can witness with me that it is not so .
I ne’er saw Syracusa in my life .
Have I been patron to Antipholus ,
During which time he ne’er saw Syracusa .
I see thy age and dangers make thee dote .
Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse .
[155]ACT 5. SC. 1
And so , of these , which is the natural man
And which the spirit ? Who deciphers them ?
And gain a husband by his liberty . —
Speak , old Egeon , if thou be’st the man
That hadst a wife once called Emilia ,
That bore thee at a burden two fair sons .
O , if thou be’st the same Egeon , speak ,
And speak unto the same Emilia .
These two Antipholus’ , these two so like ,
And these two Dromios , one in semblance —
Besides her urging of her wrack at sea —
These are the parents to these children ,
Which accidentally are met together .
If thou art she , tell me , where is that son
That floated with thee on the fatal raft ?
[157]ACT 5. SC. 1
And the twin Dromio all were taken up ;
But by and by rude fishermen of Corinth
By force took Dromio and my son from them ,
And me they left with those of Epidamium .
What then became of them I cannot tell ;
I to this fortune that you see me in .
Duke Menaphon , your most renownèd uncle .
And this fair gentlewoman , her sister here ,
Did call me brother .
then
I hope I shall have leisure to make good ,
If this be not a dream I see and hear .
[159]ACT 5. SC. 1
By Dromio , but I think he brought it not .
And Dromio my man did bring them me .
I see we still did meet each other’s man ,
And I was ta’en for him , and he for me ,
And thereupon these errors are arose .
To go with us into the abbey here
And hear at large discoursèd all our fortunes ,
And all that are assembled in this place
That by this sympathizèd one day’s error
Have suffered wrong . Go , keep us company ,
And we shall make full satisfaction . —
Thirty-three years have I but gone in travail
Of you , my sons , and till this present hour
My heavy burden ne’er deliverèd . —
The Duke , my husband , and my children both ,
[161] ACT 5. SC. 1 And you , the calendars of their nativity ,
Go to a gossips’ feast , and go with me .
After so long grief , such nativity !
and the two brothers Antipholus .
Come , go with us . We’ll look to that anon .
Embrace thy brother there . Rejoice with him .
That kitchened me for you today at dinner .
She now shall be my sister , not my wife .
I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth .
Will you walk in to see their gossiping ?
try it ?
Till then , lead thou first .
We came into the world like brother and brother ,
And now let’s go hand in hand , not one before
another .
Appendix A
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- Citation Suggestion for this Edition
- TextGrid Repository (2025). Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors. The Folger Digital Texts in TextGrid. https://hdl.handle.net/21.11113/0000-0016-8462-4