Book review: The Comedy of Errors

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors is a Shakespearean classic and here are my thoughts of it. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a book review as it is a play of a certain age. But as a part of the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, and me being a thespian, I just had to read it!

Summary

In short, The Comedy of Errors is a typical twin-comedy-drama and very Shakespeare. Two sets of twins are separated by a heinous storm. Two of them end up in one place, the other two somewhere else and herein lies the premise of our plot. The pairs of twins then find themselves in the same city, and the comedy begins when one twins’ wife and friends mistake the newly arrived brother for the first mentioned. The same drama falls upon his servant, whose twin is the servant of his master’s twin. It’s really not that complicated when you read the list of characters.

Verdict

This is not exactly the same as reviewing new works of fiction. After all, Shakespeare is a classic read and must be discussed as such.

As The Comedy of Errors is first and foremost a play, it must be read as such. You will do well to remember to read the character list before embarking on a reading adventure. It’s not one of the longest of Shakespeare’s plays but if you’re not used to reading iambic verse or Elizabethan language it will demand some time and energy.

With that said, reading Shakespeare can be so much fun, especially the comedies as they are so rich in sassy comebacks and snappy remarks. There’s a reason someone made a Shakespearean insult book you know!

The Comedy of Errors is not at all complicated, except maybe for the language, and should be read as a comedy of its time. The characters themselves are hyper stereotyped and classicism, sexism and in part, racism, is evident in the text. For what it was, a Shakespearean comedy with twins, drama, deceit and confusion, it was a nice read indeed. Shakespeare sure knew his way around a farce!