MY
NAME IS ANGELO
from William Shakespeare’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’
14159: Curso monográfico
de literatura inglesa: Shakespeare in Performance
Curso 2006-2007
Profesor: Vicente Forés
Alumno: Alfredo Carbonell Rico
Good Morrow, Master! My name is Angelo. I am just a humble goldsmith. As
any other merchant from all over the world, I trade with golden products such
as necklaces, rings or gold chains. A long, long time ago in a far, far away
country named
Egeon, a merchant of
Meanwhile, unknown to Egeon, his son Antipholus of Syracuse (and Antipholus'
slave Dromio) was also visiting
The confusion increased when a gold chain ordered by the Ephesian Antipholus was given to Antipholus of Syracuse by me. Read, read how it was done:
3.2
Before the house of Antipholus of
Enter ANGELO with the chain
ANGELO
Master Antipholus,--
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Ay, that's my name.
ANGELO
I know it well, sir, lo, here
is the chain.
I thought to have ta'en you at the Porpentine:
The chain unfinish'd
made me stay thus long.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
What is your will that I shall
do with this?
ANGELO
What please yourself, sir: I
have made it for you.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Made it for me, sir! I bespoke
it not.
ANGELO
Not once, nor twice, but
twenty times you have.
Go home with it and please
your wife withal;
And soon at supper-time I'll
visit you
And then receive my money for
the chain.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
I pray you, sir, receive the money
now,
For fear you ne'er see chain nor money more.
ANGELO
You are a merry man, sir: fare
you well.
Exit (1)
As any other Merchant in the World, I have my friends, my costumers but also
my supplier, who sell me the gold I work with. As long as I do not like being
asked for money, I do not even name him. He is just ‘the second merchant’ and
his role in this mess was to increase the tension of the identity mistakes, for
it comes that as long as the problem is money, the public forces got involved
and what in the beginning was a funny confusion became a legal matter. See how
it came that I asked the wrong Antipholus for the
gold chain, my Lord:
Enter Second Merchant, ANGELO,
and an Officer
Second Merchant
You know since Pentecost the sum
is due,
And since I have not much
importuned you;
Nor now I had not, but that I
am bound
To
Therefore make present
satisfaction,
Or I'll attach you by this
officer.
ANGELO
Even just the sum that I do
owe to you
Is growing to me by Antipholus,
And in the instant that I met
with you
He had of me a chain: at five
o'clock
I shall receive the money for
the same.
Pleaseth you walk with me down to his house,
I will discharge my bond and
thank you too.
Enter ANTIPHOLUS of
Officer
That labour may
you save: see where he comes.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
While I go to the goldsmith's
house, go thou
And buy a rope's end: that
will I bestow
Among my wife and her
confederates,
For locking me out
of my doors by day.
But, soft! I see the
goldsmith. Get thee gone;
Buy thou a rope and bring it
home to me.
DROMIO OF
I buy a thousand pound a year:
I buy a rope.
Exit
ANTIPHOLUS OF
A man is well holp up that trusts to you:
I promised your presence and
the chain;
But neither chain nor
goldsmith came to me.
Belike you thought our love
would last too long,
If it were chain'd
together, and therefore came not.
ANGELO
Saving your merry humour,
here's the note
How much your chain weighs to
the utmost carat,
The fineness of the
gold and chargeful fashion.
Which doth amount
to three odd ducats more
Than I stand debted to this gentleman:
I pray you, see him presently
discharged,
For he is bound to
sea and stays but for it.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
I am not furnish'd
with the present money;
Besides, I have some business
in the town.
Good signior,
take the stranger to my house
And with you take the chain
and bid my wife
Disburse the sum on the
receipt thereof:
Perchance I will be there as
soon as you.
ANGELO
Then you will bring the chain
to her yourself?
ANTIPHOLUS OF
No; bear it with you, lest I
come not time enough.
ANGELO
Well, sir, I will. Have you
the chain about you?
ANTIPHOLUS OF
An if I have not, sir, I hope
you have;
Or else you may return without
your money.
ANGELO
Nay, come, I pray you, sir,
give me the chain:
Both wind and tide stays for
this gentleman,
And I, to blame, have held him
here too long.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Good Lord! you
use this dalliance to excuse
Your breach of
promise to the Porpentine.
I should have chid you for not
bringing it,
But, like a shrew, you first
begin to brawl.
Second Merchant
The hour steals on; I pray
you, sir, dispatch.
ANGELO
You hear how he importunes
me;--the chain!
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Why, give it to my wife and
fetch your money.
ANGELO
Come, come, you know I gave it
you even now.
Either send the chain or send
me by some token.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Fie, now you run this humour
out of breath,
where's the chain? I pray you, let me see it.
Second Merchant
My business cannot brook this
dalliance.
Good sir, say whether you'll
answer me or no:
If not, I'll leave him to the
officer.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
I answer you! what should I answer you?
ANGELO
The money that you
owe me for the chain.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
I owe you none till I receive
the chain.
ANGELO
You know I gave it you half an
hour since.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
You gave me none: you wrong me
much to say so.
ANGELO
You wrong me more, sir, in
denying it:
Consider how it stands upon my
credit.
Second Merchant
Well, officer, arrest him at
my suit.
Officer
I do; and charge you in the
duke's name to obey me.
ANGELO
This touches me in reputation.
Either consent to pay this sum
for me
Or I attach you by this
officer.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Consent to pay thee that I
never had!
Arrest me, foolish fellow, if
thou darest.
ANGELO
Here is thy fee; arrest him,
officer,
I would not spare my brother
in this case,
If he should scorn
me so apparently.
Officer
I do arrest you, sir: you hear
the suit.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
I do obey thee till I give
thee bail.
But, sirrah,
you shall buy this sport as dear
As all the metal in
your shop will answer.
ANGELO
Sir, sir, I will have law in
Ephesus,
To your notorious shame; I
doubt it not.(1)
Now, I will tell you how the trial was. A trial where Antipholus of Ephesus obviously denied he had any gold
chain from me and where things were wrong (or right) when he decided to escape
with his servant to a near Abbey. See, see how it was:
Enter Second Merchant and
ANGELO
ANGELO
I am sorry, sir, that I have hinder'd you;
But, I protest, he had the
chain of me,
Though most
dishonestly he doth deny it.
Second Merchant
How is the man esteemed here
in the city?
ANGELO
Of very reverend reputation,
sir,
Of credit infinite, highly
beloved,
Second to none that lives here
in the city:
His word might bear my wealth
at any time.
Second Merchant
Speak softly; yonder, as I
think, he walks.
Enter ANTIPHOLUS of
ANGELO
'Tis
so; and that self chain about his neck
Which he forswore
most monstrously to have.
Good sir, draw near to me,
I'll speak to him.
Signior Antipholus, I wonder much
That you would put me to this
shame and trouble;
And, not without some scandal
to yourself,
With circumstance and oaths so
to deny
This chain which now you wear
so openly:
Beside the charge, the shame,
imprisonment,
You have done wrong to this my
honest friend,
Who, but for staying on our
controversy,
Had hoisted sail and put to
sea to-day:
This chain you had of me; can
you deny it?
ANTIPHOLUS OF
I think I had; I never did
deny it.
Second Merchant
Yes, that you did, sir, and
forswore it too.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Who heard me to deny it or
forswear it?
Second Merchant
These ears of mine, thou know'st did hear thee.
Fie on thee, wretch! 'tis pity that thou livest
To walk where any
honest man resort.
ANTIPHOLUS OF
Thou art a villain to impeach
me thus:
I'll prove mine honour and
mine honesty
Against thee
presently, if thou darest stand.
Second Merchant
I dare, and do defy thee for a
villain.
They Draw.
Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, the Courtezan, and others
ADRIANA
Hold, hurt him not, for God's sake! he
is mad.
Some get within him, take his
sword away:
Bind Dromio
too, and bear them to my house.
DROMIO OF
Run, master, run; for God's
sake, take a house!
This is some priory. In, or we
are spoil'd!
Exeunt Antipholus
of
[…]
ANGELO
My lord, in truth, thus far I
witness with him,
That he dined not at home, but
was lock'd out.
DUKE SOLINUS
But had he such a chain of
thee or no?
ANGELO
He had, my lord: and when he
ran in here,
These people saw the chain
about his neck.(1)
The situation is finally resolved by the Abbess, Emilia,
who brought out the set of twins and revealed herself
to be Egeon's long-lost wife. Antipholus
of Ephesus reconciled with Adriana; Egeon was
pardoned by the Duke and reunited with his spouse; Antipholus
of Syracuse resumed his romantic pursuit of Luciana, and all ended happily with
the two Dromios embracing(3). But now I must tell how
it came that I reckon my own mistake (due to the physical similarity) and more
important than this, how I got the money for my work:
[…]
ANGELO
That is the chain, sir, which
you had of me.
ANTIPHOLUS
OF
I think it be, sir; I deny it
not.
ANTIPHOLUS
OF
And you, sir, for this chain
arrested me.
ANGELO
I think I did, sir; I deny it
not.
ADRIANA
I sent you money, sir, to be
your bail,
By Dromio;
but I think he brought it not.
DROMIO OF
No, none by me.
ANTIPHOLUS
OF
This purse of ducats I
received from you,
And Dromio,
my man, did bring them me.
I see we still did meet each
other's man,
And I was ta'en
for him, and he for me,
And thereupon these errors are
arose.(1)
This has been the story so far from my very point of view. And now, here
is my existentialist question: Which was my role in all this mess? Well, as I
said before, I think that my colleague and I essentially contributed to raise
the dramatic tension of the story for the identity mistake was at the beginning
a funny matter but with the inclusion of the gold chain and the money it became
a legal matter. And it was that at this point the local authorities got
involved in the case and that Antipholus and Dromio from
And now, how are you going to pay me, master? Three thousand ducats or
an Excellent mark?
REFERENCES:
1-TEXT: www.gutenberg.org,
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, Inc.
<http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/0ws0610.txt>
2- Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on The Comedy of Errors.
28 Nov. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/errors/>.
3- www.wikipedia.com
The Comedy of Errors
Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_of_errors>
©Alfredo Carbonell Rico
©a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
Universitat de Valencia press
September 2006-
January 2007
Last update: 1st
February 2007