The Comedy of Errors

by William Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors: Tone 1 key example

Read our modern English translation.

Definition of Tone

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:

The tone of The Comedy of Errors is lighthearted and frivolous. Shakespeare wastes little time in establishing that his goal is to elicit laughter rather than tears from his audience  (“comedy” is in the title, after all), and the play breezes quickly through a whirlwind of highly implausible scenarios and miraculous coincidences that would feel out of place in a more serious play. Characters rarely make reasonable decisions, nor do they behave with the deep psychic interiority for which Shakespearean theater is so well-known. In fact, there are no major examples in this play of the lengthy, reflective soliloquies that appear in plays like Hamlet or King Lear.