The Comedy of Errors

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Characters

• Antipholus of Syracuse 
• twin brother of Antipholus of Ephesus
• son of Egeon
• traveling with slave, Dromio of Syracuse, to find his long-lost brother and mother
• Antipohlus of Ephesus
• twin brother of Antipholus of Syracuse
• son of Egeon
• well-respected merchant in Ephesus
• Adriana's husband
• Dromio of Syracuse
• slave of Antipholus of Syracuse
• twin brother of Dromio of Ephesus
• Dromio of Ephesus
• slave of Antipholus of Epheseus
• twin brother of Dromio of Syracuse
• Adriana
• wife of Antipholus of Syracuse
• fierce, jealous woman
• Luciana
• Adriana's unmarried sister
• object of Antipholus of Syracuse's affections
• Solinus
• Duke of Ephesus
• Egeon
• father of Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus
• husband of Abbess (Emilia)
• searching for wife and Ephesus son
• sentenced to death as play begins
• Abbess Emilia
• long-lost wife of Egeon
• Angelo
• goldsmith in Syracuse and friend to Antipholus of Ephesus
• Balthasar
• merchant in Syracuse
• Doctor Pinch
• schoolteacher, conjurer and would-be exorcist
• Luce (Nell)
• Antipholus of Ephesus' prodigiously fat maid
• wife of Dromio of Ephesus

Plot Summary

• Egeon, merchant of Syracuse, is condemned to death in Ephesus for violating the ban against travel between Syracuse and Ephesus. He tells the Duke of Ephesus, Solinus, that he did so because he was in search of his wife and his other twin son who were lost 25 years ago in a shipwreck. The Duke grants him a day to raise the bail money necessary to save his life.
• Antipholus of Syracuse is also visiting Ephesus, unbeknownst to Egeon. Adriana, the wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, mistakes him for her husband and takes him home to dinner. 
• When Antipholus of Ephesus returns, he is barred entry into his own house.
• Antipholus of Syracuse falls in love with Luciana, Adriana's sister, who is grossed out by her supposed brother-in-law's behavior.
• Antipholus of Syracuse receives a gold chain ordered by Antipholus of Ephesus, who refuses to pay for it because he never received it. He is arrested for debt. 
• Adriana believes her husband has gone mad and locks him in the cellar. 
• Meanwhile, Antipholus of Syracuse and his slave decide to flee from Ephesus, which they believe to be enchanted, but they are confronted by Adriana and the debt officer. They run into a nearby abbey.
• Adriana begs the Duke to intervene and get Antipholus of Syracuse out of the abbey. 
• Antipholus of Ephesus breaks free from the cellar and brings charges to the Duke against his wife.
• The Abbess, Emilia, brings out both twins and reveals herself to be Egeon's long-lost wife. The family and the twin slaves are all reconciled.