The Comedy of Errors, Act 4 Scene 2 runs 74 lines of dialogue, spoken by 3 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 178 lines. This scene is part of Act 4 of The Comedy of Errors.
Full Dialogue
Adriana ♀
Ah, Luciana, did he tempt thee so?
Mightst thou perceive austerely in his eye
That he did plead in earnest? yea or no?
Look'd he or red or pale, or sad or merrily?
What observation madest thou in this case
Of his heart's meteors tilting in his face?
Mightst thou perceive austerely in his eye
That he did plead in earnest? yea or no?
Look'd he or red or pale, or sad or merrily?
What observation madest thou in this case
Of his heart's meteors tilting in his face?
Luciana ♀
First he denied you had in him no right.
Adriana ♀
He meant he did me none; the more my spite.
Luciana ♀
Then swore he that he was a stranger here.
Adriana ♀
And true he swore, though yet forsworn he were.
Luciana ♀
Then pleaded I for you.
Adriana ♀
And what said he?
Luciana ♀
That love I begg'd for you he begg'd of me.
Adriana ♀
With what persuasion did he tempt thy love?
Luciana ♀
With words that in an honest suit might move.
First he did praise my beauty, then my speech.
First he did praise my beauty, then my speech.
Adriana ♀
Didst speak him fair?
Luciana ♀
Have patience, I beseech.
Adriana ♀
I cannot, nor I will not, hold me still;
My tongue, though not my heart, shall have his will.
He is deformed, crooked, old and sere,
Ill-faced, worse bodied, shapeless everywhere;
Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind;
Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.
My tongue, though not my heart, shall have his will.
He is deformed, crooked, old and sere,
Ill-faced, worse bodied, shapeless everywhere;
Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind;
Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.
Luciana ♀
Who would be jealous then of such a one?
No evil lost is wail'd when it is gone.
No evil lost is wail'd when it is gone.
Adriana ♀
Ah, but I think him better than I say,
And yet would herein others' eyes were worse.
Far from her nest the lapwing cries away:
My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse.
And yet would herein others' eyes were worse.
Far from her nest the lapwing cries away:
My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse.
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
Here! go; the desk, the purse! sweet, now, make haste.
Luciana ♀
How hast thou lost thy breath?
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
By running fast.
Adriana ♀
Where is thy master, Dromio? is he well?
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
No, he's in Tartar limbo, worse than hell.
A devil in an everlasting garment hath him;
One whose hard heart is button'd up with steel;
A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough;
A wolf, nay, worse, a fellow all in buff;
A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that
countermands
The passages of alleys, creeks and narrow lands;
A hound that runs counter and yet draws dryfoot well;
One that before the judgement carries poor souls to hell.
A devil in an everlasting garment hath him;
One whose hard heart is button'd up with steel;
A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough;
A wolf, nay, worse, a fellow all in buff;
A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that
countermands
The passages of alleys, creeks and narrow lands;
A hound that runs counter and yet draws dryfoot well;
One that before the judgement carries poor souls to hell.
Adriana ♀
Why, man, what is the matter?
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
I do not know the matter: he is 'rested on the case.
Adriana ♀
What, is he arrested? Tell me at whose suit.
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
I know not at whose suit he is arrested well;
But he's in a suit of buff which 'rested him, that can I tell.
Will you send him, mistress, redemption, the money in his desk?
But he's in a suit of buff which 'rested him, that can I tell.
Will you send him, mistress, redemption, the money in his desk?
Adriana ♀
Go fetch it, sister.
This I wonder at,
That he, unknown to me, should be in debt.
Tell me, was he arrested on a band?
This I wonder at,
That he, unknown to me, should be in debt.
Tell me, was he arrested on a band?
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
Not on a band, but on a stronger thing;
A chain, a chain! Do you not hear it ring?
A chain, a chain! Do you not hear it ring?
Adriana ♀
What, the chain?
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
No, no, the bell: 'tis time that I were gone:
It was two ere I left him, and now the clock
strikes one.
It was two ere I left him, and now the clock
strikes one.
Adriana ♀
The hours come back! that did I never hear.
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
O, yes; if any hour meet a sergeant, a' turns back for
very fear.
very fear.
Adriana ♀
As if Time were in debt! how fondly dost thou reason!
Dromio Of Syracuse ♂
Time is a very bankrupt, and owes more than he's
worth, to season.
Nay, he's a thief too: have you not heard men say
That Time comes stealing on by night and day?
If Time be in debt and theft, and a sergeant in the way,
Hath he not reason to turn back an hour in a day?
worth, to season.
Nay, he's a thief too: have you not heard men say
That Time comes stealing on by night and day?
If Time be in debt and theft, and a sergeant in the way,
Hath he not reason to turn back an hour in a day?
Adriana ♀
Go, Dromio; there's the money, bear it straight;
And bring thy master home immediately.
Come, sister: I am press'd down with conceit–
Conceit, my comfort and my injury.
And bring thy master home immediately.
Come, sister: I am press'd down with conceit–
Conceit, my comfort and my injury.
74 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Adriana | 35 | 47.3% |
| Dromio Of Syracuse | 29 | 39.2% |
| Luciana | 10 | 13.5% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 35 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 25 lines.
Total speakers on stage
3 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 4
This is Scene 2 of 4 in Act 4 of The Comedy of Errors.
Scene length vs. play average
At 74 lines, this scene is shorter than the The Comedy of Errors average scene in The Comedy of Errors (~178 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 4 Scene 1 · Next: Act 4 Scene 3
About Act 4 Scene 2 of The Comedy of Errors
Who carries Act 4 Scene 2 of The Comedy of Errors?
Adriana, with 35 lines — about 47% of the scene.
Is the scene a dialogue or a solo?
With 3 speakers and the lead holding 47% of the lines, this scene is a balanced multi-voice exchange.