Click on any scene below for a side-by-side translation from the original Shakespeare into modern English.
Act 1, Scene 1
Our comedy begins at the Ephesian marketplace, where Solinas, the Duke of Ephesus, is explaining why poor Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse, must die. (Yes, this is a comedy.)Solinus says that mer...
Act 1, Scene 2
As soon as Egeon and the Duke leave the Ephesian marketplace, Egeon’s missing son, Antipholus, and his servant, Dromio, both of Syracuse, show up. (We’ll call them S. Antipholus and S. Dromio t...
Act 2, Scene 1
E. Antipholus’s wife Adriana, and her sister, Luciana, are at E. Antipholus’s house waiting for the man to come home for dinner.They have a little philosophical exchange, during which Luciana i...
Act 2, Scene 2
Back at the marketplace of Ephesus, S. Antipholus is confused. He found out that the gold he sent with S. Dromio did indeed make it to the Centaur, and Dromio did book them a room. That's great, bu...
Act 3, Scene 1
E. Antipholus meets with Angelo, a goldsmith who's making Adriana a necklace (remember the necklace?). He notes that he’s late for dinner, which means his wife will be "shrewish," so he asks Ange...
Act 3, Scene 2
Still at E. Antipholus’s house, the confusion we’ve just seen outside is almost as bad as the confusion going on inside. S. Antipholus has just had dinner with Adriana (E. Antipholus’s w...
Act 4, Scene 1
At the marketplace in Ephesus, Angelo the goldsmith talks with a merchant. Apparently, Angelo owes him some money, and the Merchant wants to collect it before he sets sail to Persia. Ange...
Act 4, Scene 2
At E. Antipholus’s house, the women are a mess. Luciana tells Adriana about E. Antipholus’s proclamations of love. Adriana wants every dirty detail of her husband’s trespass. Luciana adm...
Act 4, Scene 3
S. Antipholus is still at the marketplace, waiting for S. Dromio to come tell him about whether any ships are leaving. S. Antipholus wonders at his good luck; it seems everyone in the whole city kn...
Act 4, Scene 4
E. Antipholus is still spending quality time with the jailer. He fumes about how he’ll give it to everyone once he’s bailed out, and he spots E. Dromio just in time to think he’s saved. ...
Act 5, Scene 1
Angelo apologizes to the Merchant to whom he owes money. He's sorry to have made the Merchant wait, but he’s really shocked that E. Antipholus hasn’t come through. Then, to everyone’s surpris...