Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

ABBESS

in The Comedy of Errors — Shakespeare, William

Metadata

PlayThe Comedy of Errors
AuthorShakespeare, William
Year (catalogued)1623
First performance1592
Decade1620s
GenreComedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyPembroke's Men (?)
Speech prefix(es)Ab. | Abb. | Abbeſſe.
Words554
Characters2959
Typicality0.29 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA11954.5
BritDrama no.944
ClusterCluster 19 — Grieving nobles & tragicomic sufferers

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

Be quiet people, wherefore throng you hither? How long hath this possession held the man. Hath he not lost much wealth by wrack of sea, Buried some deer 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 too? You should for that have reprehended him. I but not rough enough. Haply in private. I, but not enough. And thereof came it, that the man was mad. The venom clamours of a jealous woman, Poisons more deadly then a mad dogs tooth. It seems his sleeps were hindered by thy railing, And thereof comes it that his head is light. Thou sayest 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 bralles. Sweet recreation barred, what does ensue But moody and dull melancholy, Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair, And at her heals 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. No, not a creature enters in my house. Neither: he took this place for sanctuary, And it shall privilege him from your hands, Till I have brought him to his wits again, Or lose my labour in assaying it. Be patient, for I will not let him stir, Till I have used the approved means I have, With wholesome sirrups, drug, 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. Be quiet and depart, thou shalt not have him. Who ever bound him, I will loose his bonds, And gain a husband by his liberty: Speak old Egeon, if thou be'st the man That hadst a wife once called Aemilia, That boar thee at a burden two fair sons? O if thou be'st the same Egeon, speak: And speak unto the same Aemilia. 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. What then became of them, I cannot tell: I, to this fortune that you see me in. Renowned Duke, vouchsafe to take the pains To go with us into the Abbey here, And hear at large discoursed all our Fortune's, And all that are assembled in this place: That by this sympathised one days 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 are delivered: 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. Most mighty Duke, behold a man much wronged.

Plot summary

Plot — The Comedy of Errors
Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse, has been arrested under an Ephesian law which forbids Syracusans to set foot in Ephesus; he is unable to pay the fine and must face execution. He tells the Dike his story: long ago, a storm at sea separated him from his wife and one of his twin baby sons, along with one of a pair of infant twins destined to be family servants; once his remaining son grew up, he went looking for his lost brother; and now Egeon is looking for him. The Duke pities him and grants him a day to raise his fine from the Ephesians. Altipholis of Syracuse arrives in Ephesus and is advised to lie about his place of origin; he sends his servant D¥@iiio to take money to his lodgings. But Ephesus has an identical Antipholus and Dromio already in residence. The local Antipholus is late for dinner, much to his wife M@#iana’s annoyance, but it is the visiting Antipholus who is summoned by the local Dromio. When the latter reports that Antipholus denies even being married, Adriana suspects infidelity. She upbraids the Syracusan Antipholus and cajoles him in to eat. Though he suspects that her uncanny knowledge of him is attributable to witchcraft, he decides to take advantage of the proffered meal, and instructs Dromio to keep intruders out of the house. One prospective intruder is the house’s rightful owner, Antipholus of Ephesus; but Dromio of Syracuse refuses to open the door to him. He is ready to break in, but his friends advise him that this would publicly dishonour his wife. He goes off to dine with a courtesan, and sends for a chain he had ordered as a present for Adriana, to give to his hostess instead. Midian tries to encourage Antipholus of Syracuse to treat Adriana better, but he is attracted to her instead. Dromio also discovers an unexpected romantic entanglement in the rotund shape of a kitchen wench, the fiancée of his Ephesian counterpart. The chain goes astray: it is handed to the wrong Antipholus, but Aligeléithe goldsmith refuses to accept sews meter hie enattprne! Shanon athe ite ===== PAGE 207 ===== 1593 payment on delivery, insisting on calling back later instead. Angelo quickly mins into financial difficulties: he owes money to a merchant who is leaving town and needs it quickly; but happily the debt is equal to the sum Antipholus owes for the chain. Antipholus of Ephesus sends his Dromio to buy a rope’s end with which to beat his wife. Angelo asks him for his money and, when he denies receiving the chain, has him arrested for debt.…