Background
This early comedy is unusually interested in language itself: elaborate wordplay, formal speeches, and comic imitation are part of its subject. The ending interrupts the expected marriage plot with news that demands patience and grief.
Reading notes
- Read the verbal contests as social performances, not only as puzzles.
- Notice how the women answer the men’s rules and theatrical tricks.
- Consider why the play postpones its romantic resolutions at the end.
Version note
Text source: the Standard Ebooks EPUB edition identified on this page. This site extracted the English text and retained the source edition’s chapter order. Public-domain status must be checked for the territory where the text will be distributed.