Comic Relief

Character Role Analysis

The Dromios

The Dromios are the salve of the play in most regards. Whenever the Antipholi flip out, the Dromios are there to bear the brunt of their anger, and also often to calm them. Outside of their relationship with the Antipholi, the Dromios provide most of the laughs in play with their witty observations and ample puns. Most importantly, the Dromios serve as foils to the severity with which the Antipholi are reunited. The Antipholi don’t emote excessively when they are reunited, though it should be the happy conclusion of S. Antipholus’s whole quest. Instead, the men are brusque and businesslike – it’s up to the Dromios to close the play on a high note. What we hoped the Antipholi would say and feel ends up being expressed by the Dromios. Though S. Antipholus knows he should be rejoicing with his brother, he tells the Dromios to rejoice instead. Perhaps because they’ve been so free and easy throughout the whole play, the Dromios take S. Antipholus’s advice. The hopeful and playful interaction of the Dromios at the play’s end gives the audience hope that joy will follow the closing of the curtain.