Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I, gentle mistress.

                           And are you not my husband?

Antipholus of Syracuse

                                Adriana

 

The Comedy of Errors   Act V, Scene i, Line 371

 

It’s one metric line spoken by two different people: the first three words by Antipholus and the rest by Adriana. I say one metric line, but instead of the ten syllables of Will’s normal iambic pentameter, this one’s got twelve. So I’m not sure what’s up with that, but I suppose we should just let it be.

Anyway, this part of the exchange began with Adrian asking Antipholus of Syracuse (whom she has mistaken for her husband, Antipholus of Ephesus) who it was who had dined with her. And his answer to the question of whether or not he is her husband is

No; I say nay to that.  

Now you’d think that she’d be able to recognize her true husband who’s also standing there. We’re at the very end of the play where the two Antipoluses and the two Dromios are finally all in one place at one time. There’s only about fifty lines left in the play, and in those fifty lines everything’s going to be neatly wrapped up. For now, though, confusion still reigns.

Can you imagine if Pete of Syracuse and Mojo of Syracuse showed up in cheshire; perfect doubles of these two - Pete of Cheshire and Mojo of Cheshire.

Well, that could make an interesting story, couldn't it?