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Zusatztext Praise for William Shakespeare: Complete Works “Remarkable . . . makes Shakespeare’s extraordinary accomplishment more vivid than ever.”—James Shapiro! professor! Columbia University! bestselling author of A Year in the Life of Shakespeare: 1599 “A feast of literary and historical information.”— The Wall Street Journal Informationen zum Autor William Shakespeare Klappentext Hilarious fun, this early comedy is filled with the merry violence of slapstick and farce. When two sets of twins, separated and apparently lost to each other, all end up in the rowdy, rollicking city of Ephesus, the stage is set for mix-ups, mayhem, and mistaken identity-plus the timeless puns, jokes, gags, and suspense that makes this play a wonderful theatrical frolic and a brilliant tour de force of language and laughter.Act 1 Scene 1 running scene 1 Enter Duke of Ephesus with [Egeon] the merchant of Syracuse, Jailer and other Attendants EGEON Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall, And by the doom of death end woes and all. DUKE Merchant of Syracusa, 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 sealed his rigorous statutes with their bloods, Excludes all pity from our threat'ning looks, For, since the mortal and intestine jars 'Twixt thy seditious countrymen and us, It hath in solemn synods been decreed, Both by the Syracusans and ourselves, To admit no traffic to our adverse towns. Nay, more: if any born at Ephesus Be seen at any Syracusan marts and fairs, Again, if any Syracusan born Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies: His goods confiscate to the duke's dispose, Unless a thousand marks be levièd To quit the penalty and to ransom him. Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Cannot amount unto a hundred marks, Therefore by law thou art condemned to die. EGEON Yet this my comfort: when your words are done, My woes end likewise with the evening sun. DUKE Well, Syracusan, say in brief the cause Why thou departed'st from thy native home, And for what cause thou cam'st to Ephesus. EGEON A heavier task could not have been 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, I'll utter what my sorrow gives 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, our wealth increased By prosperous voyages I often made To Epidamium, till my factor's 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 bear - Had made provision for her following me, And soon and safe arrivèd 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 distinguished but by names. That very hour, and in the self-same inn, A poor mean woman was deliverèd 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 from Epidamium had we sailed Be...
