Exploring the Historical and Linguistic Context of 'The Comedy of Errors'

In this episode, we explore the concept of a successful succession. During the early 1590s, France was divided by a bitter conflict over the succession of Henry of Navarre to the French throne. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare wrote a couple of plays that appear to make reference to the events in France. He also composed other plays that dealt with the theme of succession. And his plays also indicate that the pronunciation of words like “succession” were changing during the 1500s as several consonants experienced sound changes during that period. Works discussed in this episode include:
The Comedy of Errors – William Shakespeare
Richard III – William Shakespeare
Love’s Labour’s Lost – William Shakespeare
Titus Andronicus – William Shakespeare

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 172