Hailey Dowdy Mrs. Gibson English II H November 2, 2017 Brothers M and Comedy of Errors Comparison Essay Little is know about the life of Titus Maccius Plautus, however it is known that he was born in Sarsina, Umbria in 254 B.C. and was named after Titus, his father. It is believed that as a young boy he traveled to Rome and worked as a stage assistant. He got his other two names, Maccius and Plautus, when his potential as an actor was found out. He began a business as a merchant shipper, but it was when this fell through that Plautus worked as a miller’s laborer and he studied Greek drama in his free time. He gained much success from being an adaptor of Greek comedies for the Romans from the age of forty and on. However, his works seemed to be more original than pure translations. According to Cicero he died in 184 B.C. after being granted Roman citizenship. Shakespeare expands the story line of The Brother Menaechmus for his Comedy of Errors. The Brother Menaechmus starts off with a rather humorous prologue in which a know-it all character with a bubbly personality recaps the overall plot of this play by Plautus. The chaos and confusion begins when two seven year old twin boys, Menaechmus and Sosicles, split up with their parents. Menaechmus goes with his father on a business trip while his brother stays home. It is while he is away that Menaechmus is taken in my a businessman who lives in Epidamnus, thus separating the twins. …show more content…
This added chaos and confusion of identities and lost loved ones being added to the plot makes it even more exciting and enjoyable for the audience to endure. Also, the addition of the twin slaves for each of the twins creates an ironic and delightful situation of chance. All in all, the addition to by Shakespeare to the Brother Menaechmus to create his own Comedy of Errors was a good literary