Original Text |
Translated Text |
| Source: Folger Shakespeare Library |
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Enter the Second Merchant and Angelo the
Goldsmith. ANGELO
I am sorry, sir, that I have hindered you,
But I protest he had the chain of me,
Though most dishonestly he doth deny it. SECOND MERCHANT
How is the man esteemed here in the city? ANGELO
Of very reverend reputation, sir, 5
Of credit infinite, highly beloved,
Second to none that lives here in the city.
His word might bear my wealth at any time. SECOND MERCHANT
Speak softly. Yonder, as I think, he walks. Enter Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse again,
Antipholus wearing the chain. ANGELO
’Tis so, and that self chain about his neck 10
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, 15
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, 20
Had hoisted sail and put to sea today.
This chain you had of me. Can you deny it? ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
I think I had. I never did deny it. SECOND MERCHANT
Yes, that you did, sir, and forswore it too. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Who heard me to deny it or forswear it? 25 SECOND MERCHANT
These ears of mine, thou know’st, did hear thee.
Fie on thee, wretch. ’Tis pity that thou liv’st
To walk where any honest men resort. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Thou art a villain to impeach me thus.
I’ll prove mine honor and mine honesty 30
Against thee presently if thou dar’st stand. SECOND MERCHANT
I dare, and do defy thee for a villain. They draw. Enter Adriana, Luciana, Courtesan, and others. ADRIANA
Hold, hurt him not, for God’s sake. He is mad.—
Some get within him; take his sword away.
Bind Dromio too, and bear them to my house! 35 DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Run, master, run. For God’s sake, take a house.
This is some priory. In, or we are spoiled. Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse
exit to the Priory. | Angelo apologizes to the Merchant to whom he owes money. He's sorry to have made the Merchant wait, but he’s really shocked that E. Antipholus hasn’t come through. Then, to everyone’s surprise, S. Antipholus approaches, wearing Angelo’s necklace. Angelo confronts S. Antipholus about the necklace, and S. Antipholus rightly says he never denied he had it. The Merchant gets involved, and says he heard Antipholus deny he had the necklace he now wears. Tempers get hot and the men draw their swords. Adriana enters just in time to break up the fight. She tells the Merchant that her husband is mad, and she calls upon others present to bind up the mad men. S. Antipholus and S. Dromio, sensing their doom, run off into the priory (a religious house) and seek sanctuary. |
Enter Lady Abbess. ABBESS
Be quiet, people. Wherefore throng you hither? ADRIANA
To fetch my poor distracted husband hence.
Let us come in, that we may bind him fast 40
And bear him home for his recovery. ANGELO
I knew he was not in his perfect wits. SECOND MERCHANT
I am sorry now that I did draw on him. ABBESS
How long hath this possession held the man? ADRIANA
This week he hath been heavy, sour, sad, 45
And much different from the man he was.
But till this afternoon his passion
Ne’er brake into extremity of rage. ABBESS
Hath he not lost much wealth by wrack of sea?
Buried some dear friend? Hath not else his eye 50
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? ADRIANA
To none of these, except it be the last, 55
Namely, some love that drew him oft from home. ABBESS
You should for that have reprehended him. ADRIANA
Why, so I did. ABBESS Ay, but not rough enough. ADRIANA
As roughly as my modesty would let me. 60 ABBESS
Haply in private. ADRIANA And in assemblies too. ABBESS Ay, but not enough. ADRIANA
It was the copy of our conference.
In bed he slept not for my urging it; 65
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. ABBESS
And thereof came it that the man was mad. 70
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 75
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. 80
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? 85
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. LUCIANA
She never reprehended him but mildly 90
When he demeaned himself rough, rude, and
wildly.—
Why bear you these rebukes and answer not? ADRIANA
She did betray me to my own reproof.—
Good people, enter and lay hold on him. 95 ABBESS
No, not a creature enters in my house. ADRIANA
Then let your servants bring my husband forth. ABBESS
Neither. He took this place for sanctuary,
And it shall privilege him from your hands
Till I have brought him to his wits again 100
Or lose my labor in assaying it. ADRIANA
I will attend my husband, be his nurse,
Diet his sickness, for it is my office
And will have no attorney but myself;
And therefore let me have him home with me. 105 ABBESS
Be patient, for I will not let him stir
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, 110
A charitable duty of my order.
Therefore depart and leave him here with me. ADRIANA
I will not hence and leave my husband here;
And ill it doth beseem your holiness
To separate the husband and the wife. 115 ABBESS
Be quiet and depart. Thou shalt not have him. She exits. | An abbess (the superior of a group of nuns) enters, and asks just what exactly everybody thinks they’re doing, disturbing God’s peace. Adriana informs the Abbess she’s just trying to get her man, who’s been strange over the last week, but seems to be particularly insane today. The Abbess wonders what it is that has made the man mad. She asks if he’s lost money in a sea venture, or perhaps buried a friend, or fallen in love with another woman. Adriana admits it might be the last one. The Abbess says Adriana should have been more firm about this. Then, when Adriana insists she did nag him about it often, the Abbess decides it was Adriana’s nagging that did the man in. The Abbess goes on for a bit, painting Adriana as a nagging shrew. Luciana is surprised that her sister just lies down and takes it. Adriana says the Abbess’s criticisms of her are basically how she would’ve criticized herself. Regardless, she’d just like them to go into the priory and fetch her husband. The Abbess says no way. He went into the priory for sanctuary, and it’s sanctuary he'll get. And he won’t leave her care until she's thrown every cure she's got at him. |
LUCIANA, to Adriana
Complain unto the Duke of this indignity. ADRIANA
Come, go. I will fall prostrate at his feet
And never rise until my tears and prayers
Have won his grace to come in person hither 120
And take perforce my husband from the Abbess. SECOND MERCHANT
By this, I think, the dial points at five.
Anon, I’m sure, the Duke himself in person
Comes this way to the melancholy vale,
The place of death and sorry execution 125
Behind the ditches of the abbey here. ANGELO Upon what cause? SECOND MERCHANT
To see a reverend Syracusian merchant,
Who put unluckily into this bay
Against the laws and statutes of this town, 130
Beheaded publicly for his offense. ANGELO
See where they come. We will behold his death. LUCIANA, to Adriana
Kneel to the Duke before he pass the abbey. Enter the Duke of Ephesus, and Egeon the Merchant
of Syracuse, bare head, with the Headsman
and other Officers. DUKE
Yet once again proclaim it publicly,
If any friend will pay the sum for him, 135
He shall not die; so much we tender him. ADRIANA, kneeling
Justice, most sacred duke, against the Abbess. DUKE
She is a virtuous and a reverend lady.
It cannot be that she hath done thee wrong. ADRIANA
May it please your Grace, Antipholus my husband, 140
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,
That desp’rately he hurried through the street,
With him his bondman, all as mad as he, 145
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 150
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, 155
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 160
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. DUKE
Long since, thy husband served me in my wars, 165
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. 170
I will determine this before I stir. Adriana rises. Enter a Messenger. MESSENGER
O mistress, mistress, shift and save yourself.
My master and his man are both broke loose,
Beaten the maids a-row, and bound the doctor,
Whose beard they have singed off with brands of 175
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; 180
And sure, unless you send some present help,
Between them they will kill the conjurer. ADRIANA
Peace, fool. Thy master and his man are here,
And that is false thou dost report to us. | At Luciana’s suggestion, Adriana decides she’ll go to the Duke and weep at his feet until he has her husband forcibly removed from the Abbess’s care. The Merchant points out that it’s 5pm, so the Duke should be along soon to oversee the public beheading of a poor Syracusian merchant for showing up in Ephesus. The Duke enters with Egeon and some officers. He reminds the crowd that if anyone will provide the sum of 1,000 marks, Egeon’s life will be spared. Adriana doesn’t care so much about Egeon, and instead shouts out that she seeks some other justice, specifically against the tiny old nun. She explains to the Duke that her husband seems mad, and that the Abbess won’t let him out of, nor let anyone into, the priory. A messenger arrives and claims that Antipholus and Dromio have broken their bonds and attacked the doctor who has been attending them with fire and scissors. The messenger says Antipholus promised he was coming to get his wife next. Adriana is incredulous, as she thinks her husband is actually in the priory. |
MESSENGER
Mistress, upon my life I tell you true. 185
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. Cry within.
Hark, hark, I hear him, mistress. Fly, begone! DUKE
Come, stand by me. Fear nothing.—Guard with 190
halberds. Enter Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus. ADRIANA
Ay me, it is my husband. Witness you
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. 195 ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Justice, most gracious duke. O, grant me justice,
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. 200 EGEON, aside
Unless the fear of death doth make me dote,
I see my son Antipholus and Dromio. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Justice, sweet prince, against that woman there,
She whom thou gav’st to me to be my wife,
That hath abusèd and dishonored me 205
Even in the strength and height of injury.
Beyond imagination is the wrong
That she this day hath shameless thrown on me. DUKE
Discover how, and thou shalt find me just. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
This day, great duke, she shut the doors upon me 210
While she with harlots feasted in my house. DUKE
A grievous fault.—Say, woman, didst thou so? ADRIANA
No, my good lord. Myself, he, and my sister
Today did dine together. So befall my soul
As this is false he burdens me withal. 215 LUCIANA
Ne’er may I look on day nor sleep on night
But she tells to your Highness simple truth. ANGELO
O perjured woman!—They are both forsworn.
In this the madman justly chargeth them. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
My liege, I am advisèd what I say, 220
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, 225
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, 230
I went to seek him. In the street I met him,
And in his company that gentleman. He points to Second Merchant. 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 235
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. 240
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, 245
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, 250
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 255
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 260
For these deep shames and great indignities. | E. Antipholus shows up with E. Dromio. Adriana is shocked and convinced he moves about invisibly, as there’s no way to explain how he left the priory without her notice. E. Antipholus pleads that the Duke owes him justice, especially in exchange for all the service E. Antipholus did for him in war. Egeon offers that he recognizes these men as his son and his son’s servant, Dromio, but the old man is ignored. Egeon’s claims are drowned out by E. Antipholus railing against his wife for abusing and dishonoring him. The Duke then gets the whole story from E. Antipholus’s perspective. E. Antipholus complains that his wife locked him out of the house and that Angelo wrongly accused him of taking the golden necklace. Then he was wrongly arrested, and his servant, Dromio, didn’t bring his bail. When he finally got fed up and went with the officer to collect the bail from his house, he found his wife with a quack doctor, who declared him possessed and left him tied up and sealed in a dark vault in his own home. He gnawed open his bonds with his own teeth, and escaped to see the Duke. Long story short: It’s been quite a day. |
ANGELO
My lord, in truth, thus far I witness with him:
That he dined not at home, but was locked out. DUKE
But had he such a chain of thee or no? ANGELO
He had, my lord, and when he ran in here, 265
These people saw the chain about his neck. SECOND MERCHANT, to Antipholus of Ephesus
Besides, I will be sworn these ears of mine
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, 270
And then you fled into this abbey here,
From whence I think you are come by miracle. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
I never came within these abbey walls,
Nor ever didst thou draw thy sword on me.
I never saw the chain, so help me heaven, 275
And this is false you burden me withal. DUKE
Why, what an intricate impeach is this!
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. 280
To Adriana. You say he dined at home; the
goldsmith here
Denies that saying. To Dromio of Ephesus. Sirrah,
what say you? DROMIO OF EPHESUS, pointing to the Courtesan
Sir, he dined with her there at the Porpentine. 285 COURTESAN
He did, and from my finger snatched that ring. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS, showing a ring
’Tis true, my liege, this ring I had of her. DUKE, to Courtesan
Saw’st thou him enter at the abbey here? COURTESAN
As sure, my liege, as I do see your Grace. DUKE
Why, this is strange.—Go call the Abbess hither. 290 Exit one to the Abbess. I think you are all mated or stark mad. EGEON
Most mighty duke, vouchsafe me speak a word.
Haply I see a friend will save my life
And pay the sum that may deliver me. DUKE
Speak freely, Syracusian, what thou wilt. 295 EGEON, to Antipholus of Ephesus
Is not your name, sir, called Antipholus?
And is not that your bondman Dromio? DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Within this hour I was his bondman, sir,
But he, I thank him, gnawed in two my cords.
Now am I Dromio, and his man, unbound. 300 EGEON
I am sure you both of you remember me. DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Ourselves we do remember, sir, by you,
For lately we were bound as you are now.
You are not Pinch’s patient, are you, sir? EGEON, to Antipholus of Ephesus
Why look you strange on me? You know me well. 305 ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
I never saw you in my life till now. EGEON
O, grief hath changed me since you saw me last,
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? 310 ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS Neither. EGEON Dromio, nor thou? DROMIO OF EPHESUS No, trust me, sir, nor I. EGEON I am sure thou dost. DROMIO OF EPHESUS Ay, sir, but I am sure I do not, and 315
whatsoever a man denies, you are now bound to
believe him. EGEON
Not know my voice! O time’s extremity,
Hast thou so cracked and splitted my poor tongue
In seven short years that here my only son 320
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, 325
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. | Angelo vouches for S. Antipholus that he was locked out of his house, but beyond that? He's lying. Angelo did give E. Antipholus the necklace, and the man was seen wearing it. The Merchant asks whether E. Antipholus doesn’t remember being challenged to a duel and running into the priory (from which it seems he’s magically escaped). Of course, E. Antipholus has no idea about any of this; S. Antipholus is still locked in the priory. The Duke squabbles around about the Courtesan’s ring, and finally he decides everyone is mad, and someone should call the Abbess. Egeon finally speaks up, saying he thinks he’s found men to pay his bond. He identifies Antipholus and Dromio correctly, but they have no idea who he is. Egeon laments that he must appear much changed by grief, and then gives a beautiful speech about the passage of time. Though his face is grizzled and wrinkled, and he hasn’t aged gracefully, he says his memory still glimmers—he recognizes in this man his son, Antipholus. |
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
I never saw my father in my life. 330 EGEON
But seven years since, in Syracusa, boy,
Thou know’st we parted. But perhaps, my son,
Thou sham’st to acknowledge me in misery. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
The Duke and all that know me in the city
Can witness with me that it is not so. 335
I ne’er saw Syracusa in my life. DUKE
I tell thee, Syracusian, twenty years
Have I been patron to Antipholus,
During which time he ne’er saw Syracusa.
I see thy age and dangers make thee dote. 340 Enter Emilia the Abbess, with Antipholus of
Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse. ABBESS
Most mighty duke, behold a man much wronged. All gather to see them. ADRIANA
I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me. DUKE
One of these men is genius to the other.
And so, of these, which is the natural man
And which the spirit? Who deciphers them? 345 DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
I, sir, am Dromio. Command him away. DROMIO OF EPHESUS
I, sir, am Dromio. Pray, let me stay. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Egeon art thou not, or else his ghost? DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
O, my old master.—Who hath bound him here? | Antipholus of Ephesus, seemingly unmoved, says he’s never met his dad. Like, ever. Egeon is insistent, he says it’s only been seven years since the men parted in Syracuse. But E. Antipholus insists he’s never even been to Syracuse, and the Duke backs him up. He’s known E. Antipholus for twenty years, and the young man has never been to Syracuse. Egeon is about to be dismissed as a doddering old manwhen the Abbess enters. Actually, not only has the Abbess come, she’s brought with her Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse. Finally, everyone is face to face with the two sets of identical twins. |
ABBESS
Whoever bound him, I will loose his bonds 350
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, 355
And speak unto the same Emilia. DUKE
Why, here begins his morning story right:
These two Antipholus’, these two so like,
And these two Dromios, one in semblance—
Besides her urging of her wrack at sea— 360
These are the parents to these children,
Which accidentally are met together. EGEON
If I dream not, thou art Emilia.
If thou art she, tell me, where is that son
That floated with thee on the fatal raft? 365 ABBESS
By men of Epidamium he and I
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. 370
What then became of them I cannot tell;
I to this fortune that you see me in. DUKE, to Antipholus of Syracuse
Antipholus, thou cam’st from Corinth first. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
No, sir, not I. I came from Syracuse. DUKE
Stay, stand apart. I know not which is which. 375 ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
I came from Corinth, my most gracious lord. DROMIO OF EPHESUS And I with him. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Brought to this town by that most famous warrior
Duke Menaphon, your most renownèd uncle. | The Abbess reveals that she’s Emilia, Egeon’s long lost wife. After the shipwreck, her boys (one son and one servant) were taken from her by some Corinthian fisherman, leaving her alone in Epidamium. She never knew what happened to them, but she's been living as a nun ever since. The Duke dons his Captain Obvious hat and declares, "These sets of identical twins are long lost brothers!" The boys who were taken to Corinth by the fisherman explain that they eventually came to Ephesus with the warrior Duke Menaphon, who is the Duke's uncle. |
ADRIANA
Which of you two did dine with me today? 380 ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
I, gentle mistress. ADRIANA And are not you my husband? ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS No, I say nay to that. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
And so do I, yet did she call me so,
And this fair gentlewoman, her sister here, 385
Did call me brother. To Luciana. What I told you
then
I hope I shall have leisure to make good,
If this be not a dream I see and hear. ANGELO, turning to Antipholus of Syracuse
That is the chain, sir, which you had of me. 390 ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
I think it be, sir. I deny it not. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS, to Angelo
And you, sir, for this chain arrested me. ANGELO
I think I did, sir. I deny it not. ADRIANA, to Antipholus of Ephesus
I sent you money, sir, to be your bail
By Dromio, but I think he brought it not. 395 DROMIO OF EPHESUS No, none by me. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE, to Adriana
This purse of ducats I received from you,
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, 400
And thereupon these errors are arose. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS, to the Duke
These ducats pawn I for my father here. DUKE
It shall not need. Thy father hath his life. COURTESAN, to Antipholus of Ephesus
Sir, I must have that diamond from you. ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
There, take it, and much thanks for my good cheer. 405 ABBESS
Renownèd duke, vouchsafe to take the pains
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 410
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.— 415
The Duke, my husband, and my children both,
And you, the calendars of their nativity,
Go to a gossips’ feast, and go with me.
After so long grief, such nativity! DUKE
With all my heart I’ll gossip at this feast. 420 All exit except the two Dromios
and the two brothers Antipholus. DROMIO OF SYRACUSE, to Antipholus of Ephesus
Master, shall I fetch your stuff from shipboard? ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Dromio, what stuff of mine hast thou embarked? DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Your goods that lay at host, sir, in the Centaur. ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE, to Antipholus of Ephesus
He speaks to me.—I am your master, Dromio.
Come, go with us. We’ll look to that anon. 425
Embrace thy brother there. Rejoice with him. The brothers Antipholus exit. DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
There is a fat friend at your master’s house
That kitchened me for you today at dinner.
She now shall be my sister, not my wife. DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Methinks you are my glass, and not my brother. 430
I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth.
Will you walk in to see their gossiping? DROMIO OF SYRACUSE Not I, sir. You are my elder. DROMIO OF EPHESUS That’s a question. How shall we
try it? 435 DROMIO OF SYRACUSE We’ll draw cuts for the signior.
Till then, lead thou first. DROMIO OF EPHESUS Nay, then, thus:
We came into the world like brother and brother,
And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before 440
another. They exit. | Moving briskly along, the pairs then clear up the calamity about who had dinner with Adriana, who got the necklace, who was sent for bail money, and who brought bail money. E. Antipholus tries to pay the Duke bail for his father, but the Duke demurs, and instead just grants Egeon his life. The Courtesan gets her ring back; Egeon gets his sons back; and Aemilia gets her husband back. Also, now that it’s clear that he isn’t Adriana’s husband, S. Antipholus reiterates his offer to Luciana to be her husband and give her happiness. Finally, the Abbess ushers everyone into the abbey so they can talk over that bad, fateful day when they were separated, and the fateful day that’s brought them together again. |