R. A. Foakes Reihenfolge der Bücher (Chronologisch)

In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," written around the same time as "Romeo and Juliet," four intertwining stories unfold. As Theseus, Duke of Athens, prepares to marry the Amazon Hippolyta after defeating her in battle, the relationships between two pairs of young lovers (Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius) and even those between the fairy monarchs Oberon and Titania are fraught with complications. Set in a forest filled with supernatural beings, the magic of a flower and the meddling of Puck, a mischievous sprite, create and then resolve a night of sensory chaos. Adding to this mix is an irresistible troupe of actors intent on staging comical tales of love, miraculous transformations, and a remarkable variety of poetic expression, resulting in one of Shakespeare's most enchanting comedies. The play has inspired countless theatrical and cinematic adaptations, animated films, music, operas, ballets, paintings, and comics.

»The Comedy of Errors« ist ein frühes Werk Shakespeares, basierend auf der Komödie »Menaechmi« des Plautus. Das plautinische Verwechslungsspiel um die Zwillingsbrüder wird aber von Shakespeare verdoppelt: bei ihm gibt es zwei Zwillingspaare. Er verschärft zudem die psychologischen Konflikte, vertieft die Charaktere und nähert die Komödie immer wieder der Tragödie an. Die Beliebtheit des Stücks ist bis heute ungebrochen.

Two sets of twins are separated at birth by a storm at sea: a pair of masters (both named Antipholus) and a pair of servants (both named Dromio). Years later, the Antipholus-and-Dromio pair raised in Syracuse happen to visit Ephesus, where the respective twins reside—providing the basis for ongoing incidents of mistaken identity, within a lively plot of quarrels, arrests, and a grand courtroom denouement. Based on a pair of comic dramas from ancient Rome, <i>The Comedy of Errors</i> presents a spectacle of pure farce in the spirit of utmost fun and—as the title suggests—hilarious confusion. One of Shakespeare's earliest dramatic efforts, the play abounds in his trademark conceits, puns, and other forms of fanciful wordplay. It also foreshadows his later and greatest comedies, offering students and scholars a valuable key to the playwright's development.