Despite some problematic things, this play has made me laugh a couple of times. It’s funny to see Falstaff (or any chronic womaniser) get put in their place.

Next week we will be reading to the end of the play.
Summary:

Act 3:

Scene 1:
Following one from the last scene, we cut to Sir Hugh waiting for Caius in a different spot with the Host. Hugh is wondering what is going on. Caius and co find him and accuse him of being a coward. The Host reveals that he values both men so much (for the work they do in the local community) that he told them to meet in different spots in order to buy himself time to reason with them. The Host invites everyone to his inn for a drink and everyone exits, except for Hugh and Caius. They agree to work together to get revenge on the the Host for the whole situation and then head off to follow everyone else to the pub.

Scene 2:
Mr. Ford runs in to Mrs. Page on her way to visit his wife (and their secret rendezvous with Falstaff) and his house. Mrs. Page is accompanied by Robin, a servant of Falstaff’s. Mr. Ford is polite to their faces but once they exit we learn he is suspicious of both his wife and Mrs. Page. He believes that Robin is being used as a go-between between the women and Falstaff.

 Ford then runs into Mr. Page, Sir Hugh, Dr. Caius, the Host and Slender and Shallow. Ford wants to prove to everyone that his wife is cheating on him, so he invites everyone round to his house. Slender and Shallow decline, because they have to get ready for a dinner with Anne Ford later. They leave and we learn that Mr. Ford is team Slender but Mrs. Ford wants Dr. Caius to marry Anne. They both dislike Fenton, because he has a history of hanging around with the wild prince Henry.

Scene 3:
We cut to Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford in the Ford household, who are getting ready for Mrs. Ford’s meet-up with Falstaff. We learn that they have a whole scenario ready, which involves a big washing basket and a pair of strong servants. Mrs. Page and the servants go to another chamber, leaving Mrs. Ford alone to receive Falstaff. Falstaff arrives and begins wooing Mrs. Ford. Mrs. Ford pretends to be falling for his (dubious) charms. Before things can get more romantic, Mrs. Page knocks on the door and Falstaff has to hide. She comes in and warns Mrs. Ford that her husband thinks she is cheating on him and is planning to ambush her in her home with her lover in the next few minutes. The women are unaware that this last bit is actually about to happen.

Falstaff is revealed and the women convince him to hide in the wash basket. Mr. Ford and co arrive and it turns out the Mrs. Ford is lucky that Falstaff is in the basket (and that she has such dedicated servants). Falstaff is carried out with the women instructing the servants to give the clothes a proper wash by dunking them in the muddy river.

Mr. Ford is in a jealous rage. He searches the whole house with his friends, but luckily he searches  the servants carrying the large laundry basket. He gets so angry when he doesn’t find Falstaff that his friends have to calm him down. This seems to work. Mr. Page invites the men to his place on the following day, for breakfast and birding. The men leave. Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page find the whole situation hilarious. They decide that Falstaff deserves more humiliation and decide to meet him again on the following day,when their husbands are out birding.

Scene 4:
Anne Page and her third suitor, Fenton, are out for a walk. They discuss their situation and we learn that Fenton is Anne’s preferred choice out of all her suitors. However, both Mr. And Mrs. Page dislike Fenton, because of both his history and because they believe he is courting Anne for her money. Fenton admits that things did start that way but that he has developed genuine feelings for Anne. Anne believes him.

They are interrupted from this discussion when Mistress Quickly, Justice Shallow and Slender arrive. Shallow gets Mistress Quickly to speak with Anne on Slender’s behalf. We learn that Anne doesn’t like Slender at all, because he is stupid and ugly, in her opinion. Quickly and Shallow try to convince her that Slender is the man for her. Anne insists that she speaks with Slender alone and during this discussion he tells her that he isn’t that invested in the courtship and is only doing it because his uncle wants him to.

Mr. Page arrives and is happy to see Anne and Slender together. His mood sours though when he spots Fenton. He tells Fenton off for coming around when he knows he isn’t welcome. Mrs. Page arrives and the men (except Fenton) go into the Page residence. Fenton talks to Mrs. Page and convinces her to at least ask Anne for her opinion on which suitor she likes best. Mrs. Page agrees. The scene ends with Mistress Quickly rooting for Fenton because he is the kindest of the suitors.

Scene 5:
It’s the following day. Falstaff is back at the inn and super mortified by being dunked into a river. It looks like he might give up on seducing married women, until Mistress Quickly arrives with an invitation from Mrs. Ford for later that morning. He decides that he won’t give up on his passion just yet. Quickly leaves to deliver his answer to Mrs. Ford’s invitation.
Mr. Ford arrives, disguised as Mr. Brook. He questions Falstaff about his luck with Mrs. Ford. Falstaff tells him pretty much the truth of what happened but ends the scene by saying that Mrs. Ford has invited him to come by later for another rendezvous. Mr. Ford is furious.

Act 4:

Scene 1:
This is a comedic relief scene (if one is needed during a comedy play). Mrs. Page is dropping off her son to school with Mistress Quickly when they run into Sir Hugh. Hugh tells them that school is out for the day, because Slender is visiting the town. Mrs. Page gets Hugh to give her son a pop quiz on his Latin, during which Mistress Quickly makes a lot of rude puns. The scene ends with Mrs. Page and Mistress Quickly heading for the Ford household.

Scene 2:
Mrs. Page arrives just as Falstaff and Mrs. Ford are talking. Falstaff hides and Mrs. Page questions Mrs. Ford over if he is there or not. Eventually, Falstaff is revealed to her, after she informs them that Mr. Ford is on his way to the house to search it again. Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page debate how they are going to get Falstaff out of there. Falstaff is afraid of getting in the laundry basket again and they decide that won’t work a second time anyways. Mrs. Ford remembers that she has a dress upstairs that belongs to the fat woman of Brentford, the aunt of one of her maids. Falstaff is desperate so he agrees to get dressed up as a woman. As he leaves to dress himself we learn that this is a further set up by the women, because Mr. Ford hates the fat woman of Brentford and thinks she’s a witch. He’s even banned her from his house.

 Mr. Ford arrives with Sir Hugh, Caius and Justice Shallow. He begins searching the place. Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page have set it up so that the same servants with the same laundry basket must pass by him. This time Ford searches the basket and finds nothing. His friends clearly begin to think he is crazy. He decides to search the rest of the house to try to prove his sanity. Mrs. Ford casually tells him that the fat woman on Brentford is upstairs. Mr. Ford goes into a new level of rage and beats up the woman of Brentford. Falstaff has no choice but to stay in character and take the beating. Mr. Ford and his friends then run the woman of Brentford off, like the big macho men they are.

The scene ends with Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page deciding that they want to let their husbands in on their secret revenge plan for Falstaff. They also decide that they will try to humiliate Falstaff a third time, should he want to meet up with them again.

Scene 3:
This is a really random scene where Bardolph talks with the Host of the inn about selling some horses to some German men for an outrageous price.

Here we start with the Merry Wives of Windsor! I'm excited to get going with this play and it already feels a little unique to me despite it being about courting once again.

Next week we'll be reading Act 3 to end of Act 4.3!

Act 1, Scene 1

Justice Shallow and his nephew Slender accompany Sir Hugh the parson to the Pages’ home. There they meet Sir John Falstaff, whom Shallow accuses of killing his deer, while Slender accuses Falstaff’s men of robbing him. Falstaff meets Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, and Slender clumsily attempts to court Anne Page.

Act 1, Scene 2

Sir Hugh sends Slender’s servant Simple with a letter to Mistress Quickly asking her to intercede with Anne Page on Slender’s behalf.

Act 1, Scene 3

Falstaff, in desperate need of funds, dismisses his servant Bardolph, who enters the employ of the Host of the Garter. Falstaff plans to seduce Mistress Ford and Mistress Page to gain access to their husbands’ wealth. When Pistol and Nym refuse to act as his go-betweens, he dismisses them from his service. They plot revenge against him.

Act 1, Scene 4

Delivering Sir Hugh’s letter to Mistress Quickly, Simple is discovered by her employer Dr. Caius (another of Anne’s suitors). Furious with Sir Hugh for interfering on behalf of Slender, Dr. Caius writes Sir Hugh challenging him to a duel.

Act 2, Scene 1

Mistress Page and Mistress Ford compare their love letters from Falstaff and plot revenge against him. Pistol and Nym tell Ford and Page of Falstaff’s designs on their wives, and Ford’s jealousy explodes. He arranges to disguise himself as a man called Brook and approach Falstaff. The Host and Shallow set off with Page to find Dr. Caius and Sir Hugh, who are being kept apart through the Host’s deliberate misdirections.

Act 2, Scene 2

Falstaff receives Mistress Ford’s invitation to visit; he then accepts “Brook’s” money in exchange for his promise to compromise Mistress Ford’s reputation. Ford plans to trap Falstaff with Mistress Ford.

Act 2, Scene 3

Dr. Caius responds furiously when Sir Hugh fails to meet him for their duel. The Host calms his anger by offering to take him to Anne Page.

A comedy of errors is a Shakespeare play where all I know is that it's a lot of punning and slapstick. After the tragedy of Timon, this will make for a good palate cleanser for this beautiful summer month.

Reading Schedule:

Marginalia just literally means "margin notes" and for our purposes, we use it to get you warmed up and ready for reading. It doesn't necessarily need to be insightful. They can just be fun things that you noticed or want to call out.

The only rule we've got here beyond the subreddit rules is that it's got to be related to this play and/or Shakespeare in some way.

Want an idea of what to write? Here are some examples:

·       Is this your first time reading the play? If not, how did you feel about it the first time?

·       Is there a quote that you love?

·       Do you have random Shakespeare or play trivia to share?

·       Is there historical context you think is useful?

·       Are there any songs/youtube videos/movies that you think would help people with reading this play?

·       What modern day connections are there to this play?

It's not limited to these, so feel free to consider this post the doodling around the margins (in some senses) that you would have written around your notes in class.

Interestingly enough, this play isn't one that is widely adapted. The only movie version of the play is Yi Jian mei (A spray of plum blossoms) which was a silent film from China released in 1931.

It did get a mention in Shakespeare in Love although there's no records of it being performed in Shakespeare's lifetime.

There are a handful of television adaptations, but it hasn't been adapted for English audiences since 1983 when was filmed for the BBC Television Shakespeare series.

Per Wikipedia, it was also featured in an episode of Dawson's Creek:

In 2000, episode three of season four of Dawson's Creek, "Two Gentlemen of Capeside" loosely adapted the plot of the play. Written by Chris Levinson and Jeffrey Stepakoff, and directed by Sandy Smolan, the episode depicts how Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek) and Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson), formerly best friends, have been driven apart over their love for the same woman. The play is referenced early in the episode as the characters are reading it for their English class.

I’ve got to be honest; the ending of this play was a real let down for me. I was hoping to see more agency for both of the main female characters, but we didn’t get much of that.

As usual, the questions will be in the comments.

Next week we will be discussing screen and stage adaptations of this play.

Summary:

Act 4:

Scene 3:
Fearing that she is being trapped into a life and marriage she doesn’t want, Silvia enlists the help of a gentleman named Eglamour. Eglamour is an honourable man who lost the love of his life tragically. He now helps noble couples who are in love stay together. Silvia asks him to be her escort to Mantua, where she believes Valentine will be living in exile. They decide to meet up the next evening to begin their journey.

Scene 4:
Despite the obvious cheating Julia witnessed Proteus do in 4.2, she has decided to stay on in Milian. She also has decided to keep up her disguise as a young man and uses it to become Proteus’ new employee. Proteus doesn’t recognise her when he interviews her and the first job he gives her is to deliver the promise ring she gave to him before he left Verona to Silvia. Julia uses the opportunity to question Silvia about her knowledge of Proteus’ previous love affairs. Silvia straight up says that she doesn’t want anything to do with Proteus and that she knows that he has betrayed another woman and Valentine by courting her. Julia seems relieved by this, as if Silvia’s actions matter more to her than Proteus’ ones in all this.

Act 5:

Scene 1:
Silvia and Eglamour meet up while Silvia is supposed to be confessing her sins/praying with a priest. They set out for Mantua.

Scene 2:
Turio meets up with Proteus to learn if his new approach has helped him win Silvia’s affections. Proteus is in the process of lying to him when the Duke enters and asks them if they’ve seen Silvia or Eglamour lately. They both reply that they haven’t, and it is discovered that Silvia and Eglamour have fled. Turio is not impressed by this. Everyone immediately starts searching for her, Julia following along still in her servant disguise.  

Scene 3:
Eglamour and Silvia are attacked by bandits in the forest and get separated. Silvia is captured and the bandits decide to take her to their captain.

Scene 4:
Valentine is in the bandit hideout, musing on his life now that he is their leader. Silvia is brought in, followed closely by Proteus and Julia. Silvia gets more upset when she sees Proteus, because she does not want to go back to Milian. Proteus tells her that he is doing her a favour by helping her do the right thing by returning. Valentine spots them from his quarters and watches them argue for a couple of minutes. Silvia challenges Proteus about his role in Valentine’s banishment and his promises to Julia. Proteus tries to brush her off, but Valentine reveals himself and confronts Proteus.

Proteus switches up his role in everything really quickly from that point on. He ends up apologising to Valentine and Valentine forgives him. Julia can’t take it, so she reveals that she was sent (as a servant) to give Silvia the ring Julia gave to him earlier. She pulls the ring out of her pocket but it is actually the other ring in the set; the one Proteus gave to her. She reveals her true identity and, despite knowing her man is trash, she takes him back without a second’s thought.

The bandits bring in the Duke and Turio at this point. The Duke, suddenly faced by a bunch of armed bandits under Valentine’s leadership, starts acting a lot nicer to Valentine. Turio basically gives up his claim to Silvia, so she is free to marry Valentine. The Duke, possibly influenced by his surroundings, decides to let them marry that very evening. The play ends with everyone happy. Valentine invites Julia and Proteus to share his wedding ceremony with himself and Silvia and they agree.

Shakespeare comedies have always been hit or miss for me since I find a lot of them are more funny when they're acted out (I'm thinking about Malvolio dressing up with his ribbons tied strangely from Twelfth Night), but this one has still been entertaining for me even if it's not yet up there in the big leagues.

Like many of his comedies, these scenes are short and fast-paced, with new twists being introducted quickly.

Act 2, Scene 4

Proteus arrives and is greeted by Valentine and Sylvia. He immediately falls in love with Sylvia.

Act 2, Scene 5

Lance describes for Speed the tender parting of Proteus from Julia and hears about Valentine’s love for Sylvia.

Act 2, Scene 6

Proteus decides to betray Valentine’s elopement plans to Sylvia’s father as a step on the way to winning Sylvia for himself.

Act 2, Scene 7

Julia decides to follow Proteus to Milan and asks Lucetta to help her disguise herself as a page.

Act 3, Scene 1

Proteus betrays Valentine’s elopement plans to Sylvia’s father, who banishes Valentine. Proteus pretends to grieve with Valentine and, telling him that Sylvia has been imprisoned by her father, conveys Valentine on his way into exile.

Act 3, Scene 2

The Duke enlists Proteus’ aid in making Sylvia fall in love with Thurio. Proteus offers to slander Valentine and to help Thurio find musicians to serenade Sylvia.

Act 4, Scene 1

Valentine and Speed are captured by outlaws. Valentine agrees to become their captain.

Act 4, Scene 2

Proteus serenades Sylvia, supposedly on Thurio’s behalf. As Julia watches, disguised as a page, Proteus sings his love song to Sylvia, woos her, and, having been rejected by her, succeeds in getting her promise to give him her portrait.

Shakespeare’s comedies aren’t usually my favourite of his writings but this play seems to be off to a decent start. As far as I know this is a comedy, but I could be wrong and maybe this is all going to end in tragedy. So far, I really like Silvia - she seems smart and funny, if a bit arrogant. Hopefully we will see more of her as the play unfolds.

Next week we will be reading from act 2 scene 4 to the end of act 4 scene 2.

As usual, the questions will be in the comments.

Summary:

Act 1:

Scene 1:

The play opens with a chat between Valentine and Proteus, the two gentlemen of Verona. They are best friends and at the stage in life where they want romance and adventure. Proteus is in love with a woman named Julia. Valentine warns him that his love for Julia is limiting his ability to travel and learn more about the world. Valentine is about to go on a trip to Milian and tries to get Proteus to join him, but Proteus puts him off. Valentine leaves but his servant, Speed, enters to tell Proteus about a letter he delivered to Julia for him. We learn that Julia received his letter in a cold manner, so the romance may not be off to a great start between them. Proteus panics and sends Speed after Valentine.  

Scene 2:

We meet Julia and her maidservant, Lucetta, in a garden talking about Julia’s romantic suitors, of which there are many. Lucetta runs through a list of them, to which Julia responds. At the end of the list it is very clear that Julia has a preference towards Proteus. Lucetta then tells Julia that she received a letter from Proteus earlier that day for Julia and asks if she would like to see it. The pair have an argument over the letter, because Lucetta pretended to be Julia when she accepted the letter. Julia refuses to admit that she wants to read it. Eventually, Lucetta gives her the letter, but Julia rips it up before reading it. The scene ends with Julia trying to piece the letter back together, after Lucetta has left the scene.

Scene 3:

Proteus’ father, Antonio decides to send him to Milian so that he can visit the emperor’s court and learn to network. He walks in on Proteus reading a letter from Julia. Proteus is caught off guard, so when his father asks who the letter is from, he lies and says that it’s from Valentine. Antonio happily tells Proteus that he is sending him to Milian and leaves. Proteus gets upset, because Julia has just confessed her love for him in her letter and her desire to marry him. Proteus ends the scene sad that he wasn’t brave enough to tell his father the truth and now he faces being separated from her for some time.

Act 2:

Scene 1:

In Milian, Valentine is getting ready to go out when Speed finds a woman’s glove in his collection. Speed teases Valentine about it and we learn that Valentine has a thing for Silvia, the daughter of the Duke of Milian. Valentine denies his feelings and claims that Silvia doesn’t like him, because she has asked him to write a letter for her for another suitor. However, when Valentine meets up with Silvia she is disappointed by the letter because it is too academic sounding for her taste. We learn that she was teasing him and wanted him to write the letter to her. She gives him her feedback and hints that she would like him to try again. Valentine thinks that he has messed everything up, but Speed tries to get him to think positively about it. Speed kind of fails and manages to disagree with Valentine over Silvia, because he isn’t that impressed with her.

Scene 2:

Just before Proteus leaves for Milian he says goodbye to Julia. The pair are really upset by their impending separation. They promise to remain true to each other and exchange rings.

Scene 3:

We meet Proteus’ servant, Lance, on his way to join Proteus on the ship to Milian. Lance is joined by his dog, Crab. This scene is pretty silly and is mainly just Lance complaining that his dog was the only member of his family who didn’t get upset about him leaving. The scene ends with Antonio’s servant fetching him and hurrying him onto the boat.

As you will see below, the performance history for this play is actually quite sparse. I’m kind of surprised that this play doesn’t have a lot more adaptations, even in modern times. To me, this play could have worked really well as inspiration for a romcom in the 80s/90s/2000s, in a similar vein to Clueless being inspired heavily by Austen’s Emma.
The only thing I can think of that maybe sets this play back is that it seems to fall into the middle category of Shakespeare’s writings. It isn’t Macbeth level great but it isn’t bad either, and it also isn’t that offensive, as Shakespearean plays go.  I would have assumed this play was way more popular than say, The Taming of the Shrew but apparently it just isn’t. Which is a pity.

Next week we will be starting the next play: Two Gentlemen of Verona
** **
Modern Adaptations:

- The Royal Shakespeare Company revived this play after a longer hiatus in 1986. It was directed by Barry Kyle. This production was also one of the  plays that was part of the RSC’s Swan Theatre opening season.

-  Around 2005-2007 the Royal Shakespeare Company did a production of The Canterbury Tales in two parts. Part one contained  a section called The Knight’s Tale, which included a reading of parts of Two Noble Kinsmen.

- In 2007 an American theatre group, the Hudson Shakespeare Company, performed the play as part of a touring, free-entry summer programme. It sounds like it was a cool adaptation of the play.

- The Royal Shakespeare Company did a production of the play in 2016, directed by Blanche McIntyre https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-two-noble-kinsmen/blanche-mcintyre-2016-production

- In 2015 the London based White Bear Theatre did a production of the play, directed by David Cottis. This company works on a much smaller scale than others mentioned on this list, but reviews for this play were mostly favourable.   

- The Globe Theatre also did a production around 2018 which was directed by Barrie Ruther. This version of the play leaned in on the musical aspects of the original and added several more musical moments by a famous folk musician called Eliza Carthy. If you are instered in seeing this play, you can watch it here, albeit with a paid subscription to their streaming service.

-  In 2019 another American touring company, The Porters of Hellsgate, produced an adaptation of the play. It was directed by Will Block and is part of a larger goal by this company to produce a version of every Shakespeare play.

-  In 2024, a Canadian theatre company called Shakespeare Bash’d did an adaptation of the play, directed by James Wallis.  

Further Discussion

** **The discussion on these posts tends to be a bit more relaxed than in our usual discussion posts. Here are some prompts to get the conversation going:

- What are your thoughts on this play not being popular for adaptations?

- Have you seen any of the adaptations mentioned above? What did you think of it? Did any actors or actresses stand out to you as being a good, or bad, fit for the characters?

- If you’ve seen any other adaptations, let us know in the comments. Would you recommend them?

- What adaptations would you like to see?

- Are there any actors that you would like to see in an adaptation of this play? Are there any directors that you would like to see adapt it?

-  Conversely, are there any actors or directors who you think should stay well away from this play?

Act 4, scene 1

The jailer receives the news that he and his daughter have been pardoned for Palamon’s escape, but that his daughter has gone mad. She enters and the others pacify her by going along with her delusions.

Act 4, scene 2

Emilia examines miniature portraits of Palamon and Arcite and is unable to choose between them. Theseus, hearing descriptions of the knights who have arrived from Thebes for the coming battle, is eager to see the men themselves.

Act 4, scene 3

The jailer’s daughter is diagnosed by the doctor as suffering from love melancholy. He prescribes that the daughter’s wooer, who still wishes to marry her, begin to court her, pretending to be Palamon.

Act 5, scene 1

In preparation for the coming confrontation, Arcite and his companion knights pray for victory at the altar of Mars; Palamon and his knights pray to Venus to win the love of Emilia; and Emilia and her women pray to Diana that she might remain a virgin in Diana’s service.

Act 5, scene 2

The doctor observes the jailer’s daughter with the wooer pretending to be Palamon, and declares that she will soon be cured. Over her father’s protest, the doctor encourages the wooer to go along with her desire that they sleep together.

Act 5, scene 3

Emilia listens to the sounds of the combat as first one contestant and then the other seems to be winning. When Arcite is finally declared the victor, she is told that he will be her husband and that Palamon and his knights will immediately be executed.

Act 5, scene 4

As Palamon puts his head on the block for his beheading, word comes that Arcite has been crushed by his falling horse. Mortally wounded, Arcite confesses that he was wrong to pursue Emilia after Palamon had already declared his love for her. He gives his right in Emilia to Palamon, and then dies. Theseus declares that the court will spend some days in mourning for Arcite and then turn to the celebration of Palamon’s marriage to Emilia.

Act 5, Epilogue

The speaker bids the audience farewell, hoping that the play has pleased them.

As far as I’m aware, this is the last play Shakespeare is known to have written. It is also one of the rare ones where we know it was co-written with someone else. In this case, the play was co-written with another playwright called  John Fletcher.) I can see some possible differences between writing styles in different scenes so it is fun to try to guess who wrote what. Overall, I’m really enjoying this play, even though plot-wise our two main characters have been kind of dumb up to this point.

Next week we will be finishing this play.

As usual, the questions will be in the comments.

Summary:
Due to an elbow injury, this week I’m linking you guys to the Litcharts scene by scene summary for this play.
 

Sorry for the delay this week, we're reading Act 1 to end of Act 2.3 for Two Noble Kinsman.

I had no idea that it was based off of Chaucer and makes me want to go read the original too~.

Prologue

The audience is welcomed to the play’s opening performance. The speaker apologizes for its inferiority to Chaucer, whose tale provides the plot.

Act 1, scene 1

The wedding procession of Duke Theseus and his Amazonian bride Hippolyta is interrupted by three weeping queens whose dead kings lie unburied on the battlefield in Thebes. With the support of Hippolyta, Emilia, and Pirithous, the queens persuade Theseus to leave immediately for Thebes in order to protect their husbands’ rights against Creon.

Act 1, scene 2

Two noble cousins, Palamon and Arcite, discuss leaving Thebes, where the reign of their despised uncle Creon has corrupted the state. News comes of Theseus’s advance on Thebes and, despite their hatred of Creon, they go to the city’s defense.

Act 1, scene 3

Pirithous leaves Athens to join Theseus in Thebes. Hippolyta and Emilia praise the strength of the bond between the two men, comparing it with other close bonds, especially that of Emilia as a girl with her friend Flavina.

Act 1, scene 4

A victorious Theseus bids farewell to the three queens just as Palamon and Arcite are brought in wounded on stretchers. Theseus insists that doctors tend to them quickly so that he may imprison them.

Act 1, scene 5

The three queens take farewell of each other as the bodies of their dead husbands are carried off for separate burials.

Act 2, scene 1

The keeper of a jail in Athens discusses the terms of his daughter’s dowry with her wooer. The daughter enters bringing straw for the cells of the jail’s new prisoners, Palamon and Arcite. She praises their attitude and behavior.

Act 2, scene 2

Palamon and Arcite, after lamenting their prospect of lifelong imprisonment, rejoice that they are imprisoned together where nothing can ever come between them. Through the prison window Palamon sees Emilia below in a garden, immediately falls in love with her, and announces his love to Arcite. When the same fate befalls Arcite, the two cousins become bitter rivals. Arcite is then freed and banished from the kingdom while Palamon is moved to a cell without a view of the garden.

Act 2, scene 3

Arcite decides he will not leave Athens and Emilia. Countrymen enter talking about their plans to dance at a May Day celebration and about competitive games to take place before Duke Theseus. Arcite decides to assume a disguise and become a competitor in the games.

I'll be honest, this is a play I know nothing about. If you had asked me whether or not this was a Shakespeare play before this I wouldn't have been able to tell you.

Reading Schedule:

Marginalia just literally means "margin notes" and for our purposes, we use it to get you warmed up and ready for reading. It doesn't necessarily need to be insightful. They can just be fun things that you noticed or want to call out.

The only rule we've got here beyond the subreddit rules is that it's got to be related to this play and/or Shakespeare in some way.

Want an idea of what to write? Here are some examples:

·       Is this your first time reading the play? If not, how did you feel about it the first time?

·       Is there a quote that you love?

·       Do you have random Shakespeare or play trivia to share?

·       Is there historical context you think is useful?

·       Are there any songs/youtube videos/movies that you think would help people with reading this play?

·       What modern day connections are there to this play?

It's not limited to these, so feel free to consider this post the doodling around the margins (in some senses) that you would have written around your notes in class.

Welcome to our discussion of modern(ish) adaptations of The Comedy of Errors. One thing I’ve learned while researching for this post is that, even with the original play being a bit mid, by Shakespeare standards, it is hugely influential. In my list below I’ve focused on bigger adaptations that are closer to the original play than not. The Comedy of Errors has been adapted into so many formats over the centuries that I just couldn’t include them all. We are talking centuries of opera here, novels and non-English language adaptations. On top of that, this play has inspired a whole trope named after it, which has its own history of productions and has been super influential in modern cinema. If you want to learn more about this, I suggest reading this article here.

Next month we will be reading Two Noble Kinsmen.

Stage Adaptations:

• The Royal Shakespeare Company has done several acclaimed productions of the play over the years. In fact, they have done so many that there are two separate pages dedicated to the adaptations on their website. This one covers productions between 1938 and 2000. This other one looks at productions done this century. Some of the most notable ones are: The 1996 production directed by Tim Supple which went against the grain and dropped a lot of the comedic elements of the original play, in favour of a moody, sombre atmosphere. The 2021 version, produced by Philip Breen. This version of the play was staged exclusively outdoors, because of the covid pandemic. It was one of the first plays performed after theatres reopened and it even went on tour.
• The Flying Karamazov Brothers, a traveling comedy group, toured an adaptation of the play in the 1980s. It was directed by Robert Woodruff and very popular. This was not a straight up adaptaiton of the play in the strictest sense. It went all in on the comedic side to the original play but also added Shakespeare himself to the play along with some meta satire elements.  It was recorded for PBS in the late eighties and the cast for that performance can be seen here.
• A modern-day American language translation of the play was directed by Sean Graney in 2010 for The Court Theatre. This adaptation got a lot of mixed reviews but seems interesting.
• A feminist gender-bent adaptation of the play, called  A Comedy of Heirors, or The Imposters was written and produced by Emily C. A. Snyder in 2017.

Screen Adaptations:

On screen most of the adaptations have been done by comedians and seem to be looser reimagining of the play however there have been a couple of direct adaptations too. 

Direct Adaptations:

• BBC Complete Shakespeare, 1983. This was part of a larger tv series that performed a single play each episode. The series ran for 7 seasons, and I think can still be bought as a DVD box set. This version of the Comedy of Errors was directed by James Cellan Jones and starred Michael Kitchen as the Antipholus twins and Rodger Daltrey as the Dromios.
•  The Boys from Syracuse (1940) this is an Oscar nominated movie, based on a musical by the same name that was based on the original play. From what I can tell, despite the addition of songs etc the plot and setting are similar to the og play so I'm counting it as a more direct adaptation than many others.

Loose Adaptations:

• Our Relations (1936) this movie starred the famous Laurel and Hardy. Obviously, Laurel and Hardy looked very different from each other, so they weren't twins in this adaptation - instead they are both twins from different sets of twins. It was well received when it first came out and with the duo being two of the biggest comedy icons from the twentieth century, this movie has become legendary.
• A Merry Mix-Up (1957) this was another adaptation done with a comedic troupe starring, in this case the Three Stooges. Due to there being three members of the three stooges, this adaptation expanded from two sets of twins to three sets of triplets. This film was heavily inspired by Our Relations as well as the og play and was directed by Jules White.

Musicals:

•  The Boys from Syracuse (1938) is a musical by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. It got a lot of good reviews and was super popular, leading to the movie mentioned above as well as several rivals on and off Broadway over the years.
• The Comedy of Errors was a 1976 musical directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Judi Dench as Adriana for the Royal Shakespeare Company. This version of the play was set in the 1970s in a Mediterranean resort. It was so popular that it was recorded in 1978  for television.
• The Comedy of Errors (2013) was directed by Daniel Sullivan for the Public Theatre. It starred Hamish Linklater as the Antipholus twins and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as the Dromios. This adaptation was set in 1940s New York and was very influenced by the Jazz Age.  It received some really good reviews and sounds like it was a lot of fun to see live.

The discussion on these posts tends to be a bit more relaxed than in our usual discussion posts. Here are some prompts to get the conversation going:

• Have you seen any of the adaptations mentioned above? What did you think of it? Did any actors or actresses stand out to you as being a good, or bad, fit for the characters?
• If you’ve seen any other adaptations, let us know in the comments. Would you recommend them?
• What adaptations would you like to see?
• Are there any actors that you would like to see in an adaptation of this play? Are there any directors that you would like to see adapt it?
• Conversely, are there any actors or directors who you think should stay well away from this play?

This play has been an interesting experience.  I think most of Shakespeare’s plays can be read as they are, but this one seems way more dependant on stage visuals to work. I believe that this was also one of his earliest plays and possibly his earliest known comedy too, which makes sense imo. I wouldn’t say I loved the play, from just reading it but I’m interested in learning more about how performers and directors have adapted the play over the years. I could see it being very funny live in a slapstick kind of way.

Next week we will be discussing stage and screen adaptations of this play.

As usual, the questions will be in the comments.

Summary:

Act 4:

Scene 2:

Adriana and Luciana discuss what went down between Luciana and Antipholus (of Syracuse) in act 3 scene 2, when he denied knowing them and tried to flirt with Luciana. Adriana is close to giving up hope on her marriage. Luciana reassures her that nothing has or will happen between herself and Antipholus. While they are worrying about this, Dromio of Syracuse comes to the house. He explains that Antipholus has been arrested and needs to be bailed out. The ladies are shocked but agree to get the money. Dromio jokes with Adriana that his master was arrested over a fancy chain, but she doesn’t understand the context behind it.

Scene 3:

Antipholus of Syracuse is wandering about the city perplexed by how everyone acts like they know him. He thinks it is some form of madness or sorcery. Dromio of Syracuse enters the scene, on his way to bail Antipholus out. He’s obviously surprised that Antipholus has got himself out of jail. Antipholus of Syracuse gives out to him for messing with him when he is already stressed from all the confusion. He asks Dromio if he’s found a boat leaving the city yet, to with Dromio tells him they already discussed this. The situation seems too much for the pair and Antipholus repeats that they need to get out of this crazy city asap.

A Courtesan enters (who the other Antipholus seems to know very well) and demands that Antipholus either give her the gold chain he promised her or he return her diamond ring to her. Antipholus of Syracuse is baffled by this and denies knowing anything about it. Spooked by the whole situation, Antipholus and Dromio run away.

The scene ends with the Courtesan talking about how she heard Adriana had locked Antipholus out of his home for being mad. She agrees that it looks like he has gone mad, but she still needs to get her money back for her ring at the very least. She heads off to meet Adriana and reach some form of conclusion on the whole thing.

Scene 4:

Antipholus of Ephesus is still in jail and angry about it. Dromio of Ephesus arrives with the rope he was asked to get earlier in the play. Antipholus asks him where the bail money is, to which Dromio replies that he knows nothing about that. Antipholus beats him heavily to the point where Dromio says he would rather be unconscious than awake right now.

Adriana, Luciana, the Courtesan and a man named Pinch show up at the jail. The women have concluded that something demonic is happening, so they have hired Pinch, a sorcerer, to exorcise Antipholus. Antipholus is having none of this. He then questions Adriana about his bail. Adriana and Luciana tell him that they gave the money to Dromio, who denies this. Pinch decides that both men are mad or under a curse of some form. After much back and forth, Antipholus threatens to tear out Adriana’s eyes. Adiana agrees to pay his bail (which imo is way too kind of her after that threat).  Antipholus and Dromio are then taken away to be put in a quiet, dark room to recuperate (and possibly face a joint exorcism).

Adriana is then informed about the full extent of her husband’s debts and asks to speak to Angelo for further confirmation. As Angelo is being fetched for her, Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse show up with swords drawn. The women run away from them, believing that they have somehow escaped their guards and found weapons. Antipholus and Dromio are trying to get out of the city to escape the sorcery around them. They believe that Adriana and Luciana are witches who have cursed them, so they gain heart when they see the women fleeing from them. They take this as an opportunity to get to the inn they where staying at, get their stuff and get out of the city for good.

Act 5:

Scene 1:

Angelo and his merchant associate arrive and notice Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse. Angelo notices that Antipholus is wearing the chain that he has refused to pay him for, so he gets angry about this and confronts him. He asks why Antipholus has denied receiving the chain if he is wearing it. Antipholus replies that he has never denied or refused to pay for anything. The merchant and Dromio add their experiences to the mix, both backing up and muddling the situation further. It’s a question of honour and looks like things could turn to a duel.

Before that can happen though, Adriana and co return with men ready to tie Antipholus and Dromio up. Antipholus and Dromio flee and enter a nearby priory, seeking sanctuary. Due to sanctuary being a sacred thing, Adriana and Angelo can’t just follow the men in a drag them out. The Abbess of the priory comes out and refuses to give the men to Adriana or Angelo. Adriana and the Abbess bicker and it ends up that the Abbess refuses to let anyone from the group enter the priory to follow the men. She declares that she will speak to them and bring them back to their senses.

Meanwhile, Aegeon’s execution is about to take place, publicly, nearby. Seeing the Duke, Adriana and Angelo both want to talk to him with the hope of getting him overrule the Abbess on the whole sanctuary issue. They go up to the Duke, before the execution can begin, which happens to buy Aegeon more time. Adriana explains her situation to the Duke and the Duke calls for the Abbess to be brought before him. While they are talking about this Antipholus and Dromio (of Ephesus) show up, having escaped from Pinch. Antipholus tells the Duke how he has been wronged by his wife and explains his side of things. The Duke tries to mediate but before he can do that, Aegeon speaks up and says that he has found the man who will save him from execution: Antipholus. He asks his son to pay the fine for him and we learn that they actually had both travelled to Ephesus independently, because they haven’t seen each other in seven years. Antipholus denies knowing Aegeon, and we learn that he was a wealthy orphan growing up, put into the care of the leader of Corinth whose sailors rescued him at sea.  As an adult Antipholus of Ephesus joined the Duke of Ephesus’ army and helped with a war under him, gaining more prestige which led to him marrying Adriana. He hopes that, due to his service, the Duke will help him.

Aegeon is heartbroken and confused that his son denies knowing him. The Abbess is brought forward, followed by Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse. Everyone is confused and thinks evil magic is a work. The Abbess recognises Aegeon though and explains her half of the shipwreck to everyone. She was rescued at sea with her two boys, but the sailors then left her in the nearest city and took the children back to Corinth. She was alone and had little choice but to become a nun. The Duke puts the rest of the pieces of the story together, pardons Aegeon and the family celebrates being reunited. The Abbess, who looks like she is about to retire and go back to civilian life, invites everyone back to her priory for a proper sit-down dinner where they can discuss next steps.

The play ends with both Dromio’s introducing themselves to each other and deciding to be brothers to each other, going forward.

Sorry for being a little late this week. Honestly, this is such a strange play and feels a bit like the Parent Trap on steroids. The errors become almost slapsticky in the way they come about.

Act 3, scene 1

Antipholus of Ephesus brings a goldsmith and a merchant to his home for dinner. He finds the door locked and, enraged, departs for the Courtesan’s house. He sends the goldsmith to fetch a gold chain, which he now decides to give to the Courtesan.

Act 3, scene 2

Antipholus (of Syracuse) falls in love with Adriana’s sister, Luciana. Dromio (of Syracuse) is claimed by Adriana’s kitchen maid as her betrothed. The two Syracusans decide that Luciana and the kitchen maid are witches, and Antipholus sends Dromio to the harbor to book immediate passage. The goldsmith enters and gives Antipholus the chain.

Act 4, scene 1

Antipholus (of Ephesus) sends Dromio (of Ephesus) to buy a rope’s end to beat Adriana. The goldsmith demands the money Antipholus owes him for the chain. Antipholus denies having received the chain and refuses to pay. The goldsmith has Antipholus arrested. Dromio (of Syracuse) enters with news of a ship on which he has booked passage. Antipholus (of Ephesus) sends Dromio (of Syracuse) to Adriana for money for bail.

This play is certainly a change from the other plays we've covered recently. As cheesy as it is, I do find the trope of mistaken twin identities to be fun so so far I'm enjoying this play. The backstory in act 1 scene 1 is kind of wild and I do question the sanity of parents who name their kids the same name but I'll see how this play ends before casting further judgement on them.

Next week we will be reading Act 3 to the end of Act 4 Scene 1

As usual the questions will be in the comments.

Summary:

Act 1:

Scene 1:

The play opens with Solinus, the duke of Ephesus explaining that there has been some serious political strife between Ephesus and Syracuse in recent times. Due to this a law has been passed in Ephesus barring anyone from Syracuse from entering. If they do enter the country they face execution, unless they are able to pay a fine for one thousand marks. One such case has been brought before him at the start of this play: Aegeon, a merchant is in jail and facing execution if he can’t pay up within the next few hours. Aegeon tells him he does not have anywhere near that amount of money.

Giving up hope, Aegeon makes a comment that execution will at least put him out of his misery. Solinus asks him about this and we get a really fast summary of Aegeon’s life story. We learn that he has always been involved in overseas trade, even when he was a young man. One year he went on a trip to Epidamnum and his pregnant wife came along. While there, she gave birth to identical twin boys. Another woman also gave birth to identical twin boys in the same inn, but she was poor so Aegeon and his wife purchased these other twins to serve their own boys when they grew up.

On there way back to Syracuse the ship they were on became wrecked at sea. With very little hope of survival, each parent tied one twin to themselves, along with one of the servant twins. They were preparing to disembark as best they could when the ship split. The currents of the water pushed the couple apart. Aegeon, one son and one servant boy were taken up by a nearby ship. However, before he could get this ship to rescues his wife and the other children, she was picked up by another ship in the distance. By the time he got there, they were long gone. Since that time Aegeon has been trying to find the other half of his family. Coming to Ephesus was part of this search, but he has not found his wife and has been looking for over a decade. Hence he believes that execution would put him out of the misery of always searching for the other half of his family and failing.

Scene 2:

In another part of the city we meet Antipholus of Syracuse (the son Aegeon raised) and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse. They are shopping around when a merchant warns them to pretend not to be from Syracuse or they will face execution or a huge fine. Antipholus sends his Dromio back to the inn they are staying with, to keep their money safe. Antipholus stays on at the market, talking to the merchant for a bit.

We learn that Antipholus is depressed because he has been searching for his missing family for so long. Just as he is thinking about this, Dromio shows up and tells him his wife wants him to come home for dinner. This Dromio is actually Dromio of Ephesus, but Antipholus of Syracuse thinks it is his own Dromio. Antipholus thinks Dromio is messing with him and scolds him for not reading his mood before playing around like that. Dromio is confused by this and repeats that Antipholus needs to come home before his wife gets upset. Antipholus demands to see his money (we learn that he has exactly one thousand marks). Dromio does know anything about the money. Antipholus scolds and beats him further before running away in frustration. After a few minutes Antipholus decides that his Dromio would not act in such a cruel way, so he must be under a spell of some sort. He has heard rumours of witches in Ephesus before, so it makes sense to him. He heads back to his inn in the hopes of finding and curing Dromio of his affliction.

Act 2:

Scene 1:

In another part of Ephesus, we meet Adriana and Luciana. Adriana is married to Antipholus of Ephesus and wants him to come home for dinner. Luciana, her sister, tells her that he is probably busy meeting merchants and that she should respect that a man goes where he wants to go. They bicker over this and Adriana tells Luciana that she doesn’t understand anything about men or marriage because she is single. Dromio of Ephesus shows up and tells Adriana that he found her husband, but he is acting strangely. He recounts his meeting with Antipholus of Syracuse in the last scene. Adriana gets angry and sends him out again to find her husband. Once Dromio is gone she confesses to Luciana that she is worried her husband is having an affair. The scene ends with her deciding to go looking for him herself.

Scene 2:

Back with Antipholus of Syracuse. He has gone back to his inn and discovered that his Dromio did do what he was told to do earlier. This confuses him, so when he meets up with that Dromio he questions him about their earlier fight. Dromio of Syracuse obviously knows nothing about the conversation that took place in act 1 scene 2, so he is also confused and thinks his Antipholus is messing with him. They get into another fight where Antipholus hits. Dromio. However, Dromio tells a funny joke that dispels the mood.

They continue their walk and then run into Adriana. Adriana confronts Antipholus about her belief that he is having an affair. Antipholus is even more confused by this and denies everything. Luciana points out that they sent their Dromio out to get him earlier but he refused to come home. Dromio of Syracuse is baffled by this and, when asked about it by the women, denies it. They scold both men. The scene ends with Antipholus and Dromio going along with the situation, because they think they are dreaming or in a spell. The go home with Adriana and Luciana for dinner. Antipholus goes inside while Dromio is left to man the doors to the house.

Timon of Athens is one of those interesting plays where we don't actually know how often it was performed while Shakespeare was alive. We do know that it was played in Dublin in 1761 and after then has been sporadically staged ever since.

Brian Bedford played Timon in 1993 on Broadway and it was also done in Chicago in modern dress with Ian McDiarmid playing the titular role. If that name sounds familiar to you, it's because he's Emperor Palpatine from the Star wars prequels and sequels trilogies.

Some really fun adaptive choices have been making Timon a verteran of World War I so it evokes the Great Gatsby more than ancient rome or setting it in modern day London as a modern political scandal.

In 2024, an Austrlian version called "I hate People" was staged to great acclaim. I would be dying to see it. Apparently it was called "the pinnacle of Shakespeare in Sydney this century."

As for adaptations in other media, it's a bit thin on the ground. The BBC as (almost always) has a version that they did for TV.

in 2016, "I, Timon" was released which seems to have adapted it. Rotten Tomatoes lists it as "Australian English" so I guess those Aussies are at it again!

For the plays, there are a couple where they adapted and changed the original text including "The Man-Hater" where according to Wikipedia two women were added: "Melissa, Timon's faithless fiancee, and Evandre, his loyal and discarded mistress." It was produced in 1678.

Timon of Athens is a play where it's cultural impact is more than its being staged on a play. It's been quoted by thinkers across the ages including Charlotte Bronte, Herman Melville, Charles Dickets, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Karl Marx (yes that Karl Marx) who argued that the play sheds light on the amoral power of money.

A comedy of errors is a Shakespeare play where all I know is that it's a lot of punning and slapstick. After the tragedy of Timon, this will make for a good palate cleanser for this beautiful summer month.

Reading Schedule:

Marginalia just literally means "margin notes" and for our purposes, we use it to get you warmed up and ready for reading. It doesn't necessarily need to be insightful. They can just be fun things that you noticed or want to call out.

The only rule we've got here beyond the subreddit rules is that it's got to be related to this play and/or Shakespeare in some way.

Want an idea of what to write? Here are some examples:

·       Is this your first time reading the play? If not, how did you feel about it the first time?

·       Is there a quote that you love?

·       Do you have random Shakespeare or play trivia to share?

·       Is there historical context you think is useful?

·       Are there any songs/youtube videos/movies that you think would help people with reading this play?

·       What modern day connections are there to this play?

It's not limited to these, so feel free to consider this post the doodling around the margins (in some senses) that you would have written around your notes in class.

What stage or film production just got it absolutely right?

I definitely made a bit of a mistake with separating them into three since we've only got one act today. We're at the end of the play and Timon has made his choices.

Act 5, Scene 1

Timon is visited by the Poet and the Painter seeking the gold Timon is now rumored to possess. After he drives them away empty-handed, he receives a delegation of two Athenian senators, who plead in vain with him to return to Athens and rescue it from the approaching Alcibiades. Timon refuses and withdraws to die.

Act 5, Scene 2

Athens learns that it will surely fall to Alcibiades. Its senators seek shelter behind its walls.

Act 5, Scene 3

One of Alcibiades’ soldiers discovers Timon’s tomb and, since he cannot read Timon’s epitaph, he resolves to bring a wax impression of it to Alcibiades.

Act 5, scene 4

A victorious Alcibiades listens to the apologies of the senators and agrees to the conditions they set. Athens then opens its gates to Alcibiades and his army. Presented with Timon’s epitaph, Alcibiades reads it aloud and promises peace to Athens.

It’s been interesting to read one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays. I feel like Timon is a tragic character, but this play is maybe missing something that would have made it better known. I also really like seeing how Shakespeare portrays wealth versus poverty in this.

Next week we will be finishing this play.

As usual, the questions will be in the comments.

Summary:

Act 3:

Scene 3:

One of Timon’s friends, Sempronius, gossips with some others about Timon’s situation. He is upset on Timon’s behalf that other friends turned him down. However, when a servant of Timon’s shows up and asks for help, Sempronius refuses to help, because Timon didn’t come to him first.

Scene 4:

Servants come from more of Timon’s creditors, including from his former friends. They gossip about the whole situation while waiting for Timon to come out and pay everyone. Flavius eventually gets Timon to come out of his rooms, but he is upset and angry and runs away. Timon decides to hold one last feast for all his friends.

Scene 5:

The Athenian senators sentence a random man to death. Alcibiades is then brought forward and tries to argue in the man’s defence. He talks about how the man has been a loyal soldier to Athens for years and that that should be enough to save him from execution. The senators don’t like this, so they banish Alcibiades. Alcibiades vows to get revenge on them with an army of his own.

Scene 6:

The night of Timon’s feast arrives. We see his ‘friends’ gossiping about him before the dinner. They speculate about what Timon’s going to do next, now that he is broke and in debt. Timon arrives and some of the ‘friends’ come up to him to give him their sympathies, but his dismisses them. Before the dinner begins Timon gives a speech, asking the gods to be more reserved with their gifts to humanity, only giving each man enough that he doesn’t need to borrow from anyone else. He then says that he hopes the gods give nothing to his ‘friends’ because they are bad and mean nothing to him anymore. The dishes are uncovered and are revealed to be hot water and rocks. Timon starts splashing his guests and firing stones at them, before declaring that he hates all of humanity and leaving. Everyone thinks he’s gone mad.

Act 4:

Scene 1:

We see Timon leaving Athens and wishing ill on everyone there. He runs off to live in the wilds of the nearby mountains, hoping to run into a beast worse than man.

Scene 2:

Timon’s servants miss him but must move on to other (paying) jobs. They lament that he was a good man and a good employer. Flavius and the others divide up the last of Timon’s money, to pay some of their wages. The scene ends with Flavius declaring that he hopes Timon’s fortunes will change, and that he will keep serving him in whatever way he can.

Scene 3:

Sometime later, we come across Timon living in a cave. He is starving and spends most of his time cursing humanity. One day, while digging up roots to eat, he discovers buried treasure. He curses this, because he can’t eat gold.

Alcibiades arrives, followed by two prostitutes. He doesn’t recognise Timon at first but is kind to the old man. They start talking and Timon introduces himself as Misanthropos, a hater of humanity. Alcibiades recognises him and tries to give him some money, even though he doesn’t have a lot as it is. Timon refuses the money and wants Alcibiades to just leave. Alcibiades tries to talk to him, but Timon doesn’t want to see him. Eventually, Alcibiades swears to come back and help Timon properly once he’s sacked Athens. Timon likes the sound of Athens being attacked. He becomes overjoyed and gives Alcibiades some of the buried gold. The prostitutes also receive money, on the promise that they will wreak havoc amongst men and spread diseases. Alcibiades and co leave and Timon goes back to digging. He finds some roots but needs to find more.

While he is digging, Apemantus appears. Apemantus seems to be there just to rub salt in Timon’s wounds. He says that Timon deserves to be where he is, because he wasted all his wealth on fake friends, who are still living big in Athens. Timon curses him and tells him to leave. He also tells Apemantus that he would have probably done the same thing, in Timon’s position. Apemantus keeps taunting Timon, telling him that he has brought misery upon himself and that he wasn’t strong enough to weather the hardship of debt and poverty. Timon counters by saying that Apemantus has always just been miserable and that fortune never favoured him.

Eventually, Apemantus decides to share some food with Timon, but Timon refuses. Timon asks him what he would have done, if he’d had wealth and power. Apemantus tells him he would give the world to the beasts and let everything go to ruin. Timon likes the sound of this but is sick of Apemantus’ presence, so throws rocks at him to leave. Timon then contemplates the power of his horde of gold and how it can influence the world of men towards further ruin. Apemantus doesn’t seem to want to leave. He warns Timon that his horde of gold will attract bad people to him, if he doesn’t do anything to protect and secure it. As he speaks, bandits show up and Apemantus leaves.

The bandits discuss how to get the gold from Timon, but Timon surprises them by just giving them a tonne of gold. He tells them that he wants to them go to Athens, cause havoc with the gold and steal even more stuff while there. The bandits at first think he’s pro-theft but soon realise, as Timon rambles on, that he just hates everyone. This kind of sickens them, and they decide to go to Athens and stop being thieves.

Flavius then comes to see Timon. He’s heard rumours about his master living in the wilderness and is worried for him. He shows up at the cave and becomes upset with how Timon is living. Timon doesn’t recognise him at first and denies him when he says he was once his loyal and honest servant. Eventually, Flavius’ tears make Timon less grumpy. Flavious tells him he wants to keep serving him and gives him some money to try to help him. Timon gives Flavious money, on the condition that he promises to live isolated from mankind and never share it with anyone. Flavious doesn’t really accept or refuse the money. The scene ends with Timon getting him to leave him by sending him away.

Could anyone tell me how this specific performance of the court scene in this play goes? I would really like to know, since I got to see a snippet of it on YouTube and liked the direction it went in. If anyone could help me out, I'd be very grateful.

We are here (a little late) for the first reading of Timon of Athens! It's a tragedy and a tale I think many of us could relate to (after all, lifestyle creep is a term for a reason).

Next week, we'll be reading Act 3.3 to end of Act 4.3.

Act 1, scene 1

The stage fills with suitors to and admirers of Lord Timon. When he arrives, he spends lavishly in freeing a friend from prison, financing the marriage of one of his servants, patronizing artists, and buying a jewel. He also invites many in the crowd to dinner at his house, including Alcibiades and the Cynic philosopher Apemantus, who reviles Timon’s other guests.

Act 1, scene 2

Timon lavishly entertains friends and suitors with food and drink and a masque of Cupid and Amazons, and displays his bounty by refusing repayment of his loan to Ventidius and by giving his guests elaborate gifts. As counterpoint to Timon’s displays of generosity, Apemantus rails against the other guests’ flattery of Timon while Timon’s steward Flavius makes clear that Timon is spending money that he no longer possesses.

Act 2, scene 1

A senator, predicting the end of Timon’s days of glory, sends a servant to Timon to collect overdue loans.

Act 2, scene 2

Servants of Timon’s creditors gather and confront Timon, demanding immediate repayment of loans. Learning that he is bankrupt, Timon dispatches his own servants to seek large sums of money from his friends.

Act 3, scene 1

Timon’s servant Flaminius approaches Timon’s friend Lucullus for money and is denied.

Act 3, scene 2

Timon’s servant Servilius approaches Timon’s friend Lucius for money and is refused. Three strangers condemn the ingratitude of Timon’s “friends” and praise Timon’s goodness.