Shakespeare’s shortest play is also his most farcical comedy with multiple mistaken identities. Two sets of identical twins, the masters both named Antipholus and the servants both named Dromio are separated at birth. One set grows up in Syracuse and comes to Ephesus to find the other, and every possible combination of master and servant happens resulting in gleeful chaos.   Discussion Topics: Comedy starts with a serious ticking clock where Egeon […]

Suitors are lining up for the lovely Bianca, but her father refuses to let her be wooed until her elder sister, Katherina, the titular shrew is wedded. The suitors draft the treasure hunter Petruchio to woo and wed Katherina, after which he successfully ‘tames’ her and shows off the seemingly obedient Katherina at Bianca’s wedding. Discussion Topics: Induction: the process or action of bringing about or giving rise to something. Taming is […]

The titular two gentlemen start out as friends, but inconstancy in love leads to strife. The play features the first instance of cross-dressing, much used and abused in Shakespeare’s later comedies. The cast is small, comic plots abound, but the dog Crab steals the show along with its master Launce. Discussion Topics: Friendship and love are the dominant themes with women intruding on male brotherhood. The climactic scene is ambiguous in how […]