The Duke sympathizes with Aegeon’s sad tale and regrets the punishment he feels he must nonetheless exercise upon him in accordance with Ephesian law, which it is his duty as leader of the city to uphold. Reflecting this tension, the Duke seems to distance himself from his own responsibility by alluding to the fates, the three goddess sisters who represent destiny and, in particular, the unpredictability of life:
Hapless [Aegeon], whom the fates have marked
To bear the extremity of dire mishap
The Duke’s reference to the fates helps establish the Ancient Greek setting of the play, embedding its characters in the religious context of classical Antiquity. Renaissance theater often contrasts the fates of classical mythology (who dole out rewards and punishment without much regard for how deserving or undeserving a person is) to that of the biblical God, who punishes and rewards in accord with Christian principles. That Aegeon doesn’t deserve to be executed means little to the fates, as the Duke suggests, as the fates are arbitrary and unpredictable.
Further, in alluding to this trio of goddesses at this particular moment, the Duke seems to suggest that he has no real decision-making power, despite his high political office. It is not him, but the fates who have "marked” Aegeon for “dire mishap.” Shakespeare hints that there might be something self-serving in the Duke’s attempt to blame the fates for Aegeon’s death sentence. After all, it is the Duke himself who sentences Aegeon, and it is also the Duke who lifts Aegeon’s sentence at the end of the play, implying that it has been within his power to grant clemency all along.
Despite the Ancient Greek setting of the play, Dromio of Ephesus makes an anachronistic biblical allusion to the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified, a deeply important symbol for most Christians:
ADRIANA
Back, slave, or I will break thy pate across.
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
And he will bless that cross with other beating.
Between you, I shall have a holy head.
Dromio makes a pun of Adriana’s threat to smack him in the “pate” (or head), registering the similarity between the words “across” and “cross.” Continuing to play with this language of crosses, Dromio says that Adriana will beat him in the head and her equally angry husband will do likewise. Between the marks left on his head by the two of them, he will have a “cross” composed of two lines, leaving him with a “holy head.” His masters, in creating the sign of the cross upon his head, will deliver a holy beating—ironically, then, the beatings will become a sort of blessing.
Dromio’s allusion to the cross makes light of a spiritually significant symbol in Christian thought, demonstrating his flippant and unserious nature. The image of Christ upon the cross was an important subject for reflection and meditation in early-modern Christianity. For Dromio, however, it simply provides another opportunity for frivolous wordplay.
Shakespeare alludes to a stock character of Renaissance literature and theater, the “cuckold,” when Dromio describes his master Antipholus as “horn mad”:
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Why, mistress, sure my master is horn mad.
ADRIANA
Horn mad, thou villain?
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
I mean not cuckold mad, But sure he is stark mad
Dromio here compares the enraged Antipholus of Ephesus to a horned animal such as a goat, which typically uses its horns to fight its rivals. However, this reference to horns also has a secondary implication in early modern theater, as horns and goats were typically associated with the stock character of the “cuckold”—or, in other words, the husband of a wife who is having an affair. In fact, to “wear the horns” meant to be cuckolded: a popular idiom in early-modern Britain that implied that another man had placed his “horns” (associated with virility and genitalia) upon the head of another man, thereby emasculating him.
Adriana catches the reference and is gravely insulted by this allusion to horns, as she interprets it as an accusation that she is committing adultery against her husband. Dromio is quick to clarify that this was not his intention, but in doing so, he acknowledges that he understands the implication of his word choices.
Dromio and Antipholus of Syracuse allude to contemporary historical events of Shakespeare’s time in a scene in which they make a number of unflattering jokes at the expense of the kitchen maid, Luce. In doing so, they likewise satirize other European nations, such as France and Spain. Dromio compares Luce's round body to the globe itself, and Antipholus jokingly asks where various parts of the world are located on her.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Where France?DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
In her forehead, armed and
reverted, making war against her heir.ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Where America, the Indies?DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
O, sir, upon her nose, all o’erembellished
with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires,
declining their rich aspect to the hot breath of
Spain, who sent whole armadas of carracks to be
ballast at her nose.
First, Dromio alludes to the French Wars of Succession, sometimes referred to as the French Wars of Religion, which saw Catholics in France fight against the succession to the throne of a Protestant French king (the “heir” alluded to by Dromio). Next, Dromio compares the lands of the New World to Luce's nose, alluding to the wealth (“rubies” and other precious gemstones) that Europeans believed could be found in great numbers in the Americas. Spain, then, is Luce's breath, reaching up for the treasures inside her nostrils. In this somewhat grotesque image, Spain is satirized as greedily devouring the resources of the new world. This scene reflects Shakespeare’s interest in topical humor that would have been of interest to his audience in the 1590s, and it also showcases the quick wit of both Dromio and Antipholus of Syracuse.
The Duke alludes to the classical figure of Circe, a sorceress who could transform men into animals using various magical potions:
Why, what an intricate impeach is this!
I think you all have drunk of Circe’s cup.
In Greek Mythology, Circe is an enchantress and minor goddess who's known for her knowledge of herbs and potions. The most famous legend involving Circe is found in The Odyssey by Homer. As Odysseus and his men return from the Trojan War to Ithaca, they stop on the Island of Aeaea, where Circe transforms the crew into pigs. Circe, then, is commonly associated with magic and, more specifically, with the power of transformation.
The Duke’s allusion to Circle highlights the malleability of identity in the play: though no characters literally transform, their identities are constantly in flux or called into question. In trying to make sense of the presence of two sets of identical—and identically named—twins in his city, the Duke wonders if some sort of magic or supernatural phenomenon might explain these inexplicable events. Circe’s cup is imagined by the Duke as having the power to change the appearance of men, leading to the various misidentifications staged in the play.
