Original: And thereof came it that the man was mad:
Modern: And that’s how the man became crazy:

Original: The venom clamours of a jealous woman
Modern: The poisonous screaming of a jealous woman

Original: Poison more deadly than a mad dog’s tooth.
Modern: Is more deadly poison than a rabid dog’s bite.

Original: It seems, his sleeps were hinder’d by thy railing,
Modern: It seems his sleep was ruined by your constant complaining,

Original: And thereof comes it that his head is light.
Modern: And that’s why his mind became confused.

Original: Thou say’st his meat was sauc’d with thy up-braidings:
Modern: You say his meals were seasoned with your scolding:

Original: Unquiet meals make ill digestions;
Modern: Stressful meals cause poor digestion;

Original: Thereof the raging fire of fever bred:
Modern: From that, a burning fever developed:

Original: And what’s a fever but a fit of madness?
Modern: And what is a fever except a kind of madness?

Original: Thou say’st his sports were hinder’d by thy brawls:
Modern: You say his entertainment was ruined by your fights:

Original: Sweet recreation barr’d, what doth ensue
Modern: When pleasant relaxation is blocked, what follows

Original: But moody moping, and dull melancholy,
Modern: But gloomy brooding and deep sadness,

Original: Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair,
Modern: Which is related to dark and hopeless despair,

Original: And at her heels a huge infectious troop
Modern: And following close behind, a huge contagious army

Original: Of pale distemperatures and foes to life?
Modern: Of sickly disorders and enemies of life?

Original: In food, in sport, and life-preserving rest
Modern: In eating, in fun, and in life-giving sleep

Original: To be disturb’d, would mad or man or beast:
Modern: To be constantly interrupted would drive any person or animal insane:

Original: The consequence is then, thy jealous fits
Modern: The result is that your jealous outbursts

Original: Have scar’d thy husband from the use of wits.
Modern: Have frightened your husband out of his sanity.

In Act V, Scene 1 of “The Comedy of Errors,” the resolution of the play’s mistaken identity plot unfolds at the priory. The scene begins with the Duke of Ephesus arriving to oversee the execution of Aegeon, the Syracusan merchant condemned to death for illegally entering Ephesus. Adriana pleads with the Duke for justice against her husband Antipholus, whom she believes has gone mad, while the Abbess (later revealed to be Emilia) refuses to surrender the man she has given sanctuary to in the priory. The confusion escalates when the “wrong” Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse appear, causing further bewilderment among the assembled characters who thought these men were already inside the priory.

The scene reaches its climax with a series of revelations that untangle the comedy’s central confusion. The Abbess emerges from the priory with Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus, leading to the shocking recognition that there are indeed two sets of identical twins. Most remarkably, Aegeon recognizes the Abbess as his long-lost wife Emilia, whom he believed had perished in the shipwreck that separated their family years earlier. The Duke pardons Aegeon’s death sentence, the two Antipholus brothers are reunited with their respective Dromios, and the fractured family is finally restored. The play concludes with the characters preparing to celebrate this miraculous reunion and the resolution of all the mistaken identities that have driven the comedy’s plot.

The Comedy of Errors centers on two sets of identical twins separated in infancy during a shipwreck. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio of Syracuse arrive in Ephesus, unknowing that Antipholus’s twin brother (Antipholus of Ephesus) and his servant (Dromio of Ephesus) live there. The Syracuse visitors are unaware of local laws that condemn Syracusans to death unless they pay a heavy fine, though the Duke grants Antipholus of Syracuse until evening to find the money.

The confusion begins immediately when the wrong Dromio approaches Antipholus of Syracuse, speaking of dinner and a wife waiting at home. Meanwhile, Antipholus of Ephesus’s wife Adriana and her sister Luciana encounter what they believe is Adriana’s husband (actually his twin), leading Adriana to drag the bewildered Syracuse twin home for dinner. The errors multiply as both masters beat the wrong servants, money and gold chains are given to and demanded from the wrong people, and Antipholus of Syracuse finds himself locked out of his own home while his twin dines inside with his wife.

The chaos escalates when a goldsmith demands payment from Antipholus of Syracuse for a chain delivered to his twin, leading to an arrest. Adriana, believing her husband has gone mad, calls for Dr. Pinch to exorcise him, while both Dromios suffer beatings and confusion from their mistaken identities. The resolution comes when old Egeon, condemned to die at sunset for being a Syracusan in Ephesus, recognizes both Antipholus twins as his sons. The Abbess of the local priory reveals herself to be Emilia, Egeon’s long-lost wife and the twins’ mother, reuniting the family and resolving all the mistaken identities. The Duke pardons Egeon, the twins are reconciled with their respective lives, and order is restored to Ephesus.