Comedy of Errors.docx

1、Comedy of ErrorsComedy of Errors: Entire Play The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare ACT I SCENE I. A hall in DUKE SOLINUSS palace. Enter DUKE SOLINUS, AEGEON, Gaoler, Officers, and other Attendants AEGEON Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall And by the doom of death end woes and all. DUKE SOLI

2、NUS Merchant of Syracuse, plead no more;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 seald his rigorous statutes with their bloods,

3、Excludes all pity from our threatening 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 any Syracusi

4、an marts and fairs;Again: if any Syracusian born Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies, His goods confiscate to the dukes dispose, Unless a thousand marks be levied, To quit the penalty and to ransom him.Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Cannot amount unto a hundred marks;Therefore by law tho

5、u art condemned to die. AEGEON Yet this my comfort: when your words are done, My woes end likewise with the evening sun. DUKE SOLINUS Well, Syracusian, say in brief the cause Why thou departedst from thy native home And for what cause thou camest to Ephesus. AEGEON A heavier task could not have been

6、 imposed Than I to speak my griefs unspeakable:Yet, that the world may witness that my end Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence, Ill utter what my sorrows give 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;

7、our wealth increased By prosperous voyages I often made To Epidamnum; till my factors 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 b

8、ear, Had made provision for her following me And soon and safe arrived 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 distinguishd but by names.That very hour, and in the self-same inn, A m

9、eaner woman was delivered 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 fr

10、om Epidamnum had we saild, Before the always wind-obeying deep Gave any tragic instance of our harm:But longer did we not retain much hope;For what obscured light the heavens did grant Did but convey unto our fearful minds A doubtful warrant of immediate death;Which though myself would gladly have e

11、mbraced, Yet the incessant weepings of my wife, Weeping before for what she saw must come, And piteous plainings of the pretty babes, That mournd 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 ou

12、r boat, And left the ship, then sinking-ripe, to us:My wife, more careful for the latter-born, Had fastend 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 an

13、d I, Fixing our eyes on whom our care was fixd, Fastend ourselves at either end the mast;And floating straight, obedient to the stream, Was carried towards Corinth, as we thought.At length the sun, gazing upon the earth, Dispersed those vapours that offended us;And by the benefit of his wished light

14、, The seas waxd calm, and we discovered 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. DUKE SOLINUS Nay, forward, old man; do not break off so;For we may pity, though not pardon thee. AEGEON O,

15、 had the gods done so, I had not now Worthily termd them merciless to us!For, ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues, We were encounterd 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 bo

16、th of us alike What to delight in, what to sorrow for.Her part, poor soul! seeming as burdened 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 o

17、n us;And, knowing whom it was their hap to save, Gave healthful welcome to their shipwreckd 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 severd from my bliss;That by misfortune

18、s was my life prolongd, To tell sad stories of my own mishaps. DUKE SOLINUS And for the sake of them thou sorrowest for, Do me the favour to dilate at full What hath befalln of them and thee till now. AEGEON My youngest boy, and yet my eldest care, At eighteen years became inquisitive After his brot

19、her: and importuned me That his attendant-so his case was like, Reft of his brother, but retaind his name-Might bear him company in the quest of him:Whom whilst I labourd of a love to see, I hazarded the loss of whom I loved.Five summers have I spent in furthest Greece, Roaming clean through the bou

20、nds of Asia, And, coasting homeward, came to Ephesus;Hopeless to find, yet loath to leave unsought Or that or any place that harbours 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. DUKE SOLINUS Hapless AEgeon, whom the fates

21、 have markd 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 would sue as advocate for thee.But, though thou art adjudged to the death And passed sentence may not be recalld B

22、ut to our honours great disparagement, Yet I will favour thee in what I can.Therefore, merchant, Ill 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, And live; if no, then thou art doomd to die.Gaoler, take him

23、to thy custody. Gaoler I will, my lord. AEGEON Hopeless and helpless doth AEgeon wend, But to procrastinate his lifeless end.Exeunt SCENE II. The Mart. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, DROMIO of Syracuse, and First Merchant First Merchant Therefore give out you are of Epidamnum, Lest that your goods to

24、o 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.ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE Go bear it to the Centaur, where

25、we host, And stay there, Dromio, till I come to thee.Within this hour it will be dinner-time:Till that, Ill 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. DROMIO OF SYRACUS

26、E Many a man would take you at your word, And go indeed, having so good a mean.Exit ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE A trusty villain, sir, that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my humour with his merry jests.What, will you walk with me about the town, And then go to my inn and dine

27、 with me? First Merchant I am invited, sir, to certain merchants, Of whom I hope to make much benefit;I crave your pardon. Soon at five oclock, Please you, Ill meet with you upon the mart And afterward consort you till bed-time:My present business calls me from you now.ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE Farewel

28、l till then: I will go lose myself And wander up and down to view the city. First Merchant Sir, I commend you to your own content.Exit ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE He that commends me to mine own content Commends me to the thing I cannot get.I to the world am like a drop of water That in the ocean seeks a

29、nother 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.Enter DROMIO of Ephesus Here comes the almanac of my true date.What now? how chance thou art returnd so soon? DROMIO OF EPHESU

30、S Returnd so soon! rather approachd too late: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: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 stomac

31、h;You have no stomach having broke your fast;But we that know what tis to fast and pray Are penitent for your default to-day.ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE Stop in your wind, sir: tell me this, I pray:Where have you left the money that I gave you? DROMIO OF EPHESUS O,-sixpence, that I had o Wednesday last T

32、o pay the saddler for my mistress crupper?The saddler had it, sir; I kept it not.ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE I am not in a sportive humour now:Tell me, and dally not, where is the money?We being strangers here, how darest thou trust So great a charge from thine own custody? DROMIO OF EPHESUS I pray you, air, as you sit at dinner:I from my mistress come to you in post;If I return, I shall be post indeed, For she will score your fault upon my pate.Methinks your maw, like mine, shou