Antipholus of Ephesus: The Twin Who Has No Idea
First appears: Act 3, Scene 1
Antipholus of Ephesus has no idea his twin brother is in town. He just knows that his day has gone comprehensively wrong: he is locked out of his own house while dinner proceeds inside, his wife thinks he is elsewhere, and everyone he meets behaves as if the previous conversation they had with him was different from the one he remembers.
His anger builds throughout the play in a way that is completely understandable and entirely comic. He is not stupid; he is simply in a situation where logic has stopped working.
His arrest for debt at the end of Act 4, for debts he has not incurred, is the peak of his humiliation.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“My liege, I am advised what I say, Neither disturbed with the effect of wine, Nor heady-rash, provoked with raging ire, Albeit my wrongs might make one wiser mad.”
Antipholus of Ephesus — Act 5, Scene 1
“You have prevailed: I will depart in quiet, And, in despite of mirth, mean to be merry.”
Antipholus of Ephesus — Act 3, Scene 1
Themes
Other Characters in The Comedy of Errors
Test Your Knowledge
Think you know your Shakespeare? Put it to the test with one of our free quizzes.
See all quizzes →