- Who is it for?
- Ages 12–99
- How long is it?
- 30 min
- What does it include?
- Synced read-along and a quiz
- What does it cost?
- Premium access in Emma's Library
About this audiobook
The merchant Egeon enters Ephesus, where travelers from Syracuse face a deadly fine. He explains that a shipwreck divided his family long ago: his wife Emilia and one infant twin vanished with one infant servant, while Egeon raised the other boys, both named Antipholus and Dromio. The Duke grants him one day to find ransom. Unknown to Egeon, Antipholus of Syracuse and his Dromio have just arrived in disguise, while their lost twins have lived in Ephesus for years. Adriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, mistakes the visiting Antipholus for her husband and brings him home; he is bewildered, while her sister Luciana attracts him. The local Antipholus is locked out of his own house, a gold chain reaches the wrong twin, debts and arrests multiply, and both Dromios are blamed for messages delivered by the other. The Syracusans take refuge in an abbey. Its abbess is revealed as Emilia, Egeon's lost wife. When both pairs finally stand together, mistaken identities dissolve, Egeon is saved, Adriana and her husband can speak honestly about their marriage, and the two Dromios enter the celebration side by side as brothers.
Why it's worth a listen
One shipwreck separated two identical masters and two identical servants. Years later all four enter the same city without knowing it, and a missing necklace, an unpaid bill, a locked door, and one astonished wife turn ordinary errands into comic chaos. Beneath Shakespeare's fastest farce lies a warm question: what happens to the self when everyone insists you are someone else?
What listeners will learn
Subjects: literature, storytelling, historical imagination.
- character
- setting
- conflict
- choice
- consequence
- theme
- retelling
- comedy
- errors
- classic
Questions for after listening
- Retell the central conflict in order.
- Name one important choice and what happened because of it.
- How did the setting or tradition shape the story?
A question to keep
How much of identity depends on being recognized correctly by other people?
Chapters
- The Merchant's Tale
- Strangers in an Enchanted City
- The Dinner of Shadows
- Locked Out and Locked Up
- The Madness of Ephesus
- The Web Untangled
- A Question to Keep
Editorial review
Quality reviewed · 96/100 on . Certificate EL-59AB-3E88 is bound to the exact narrated script.
The review checks factual care, audience fit, teaching quality, structure, tone and source honesty. Read the editorial standards.
Published 2026-07-19 · Updated
