Mistaked identity in Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night and As You Like ItThe mistaken identity ploy in as a plot device in comedy writing dates back at least to the times of the Greeks and Romans in the writings of Menander and Plautus. Shakespeare borrowed the device they introduced and developed it into an art as a means of expressing theme and enhancing comic relief in his works. Shakespeare's artistic development is clearly demonstrated in the four comedies The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth Night and Measure for Measure, where he manages to take the germinal idea of ​​mistaken identity and turn it into extending to heights that its authors had never fathomed. first comedy, The Comedy of Errors, the mistaken identity is the sole driving force of the action, as it had been with its original sources. The germinal idea of ​​wondering how we really know who we are is introduced, but the conflicts that arise between appearance and reality are not fully considered. This will be accomplished by Shakespeare's maturing comic style as he begins to recognize all the different aspects presented by the ploy of mistaken identity. In its simplest form, mistaken identity is shown in Twelfth Night where the twins are confused, thus reinforcing the comic confusion of the plot. This basic concept is deepened, however, when it is recognized that a twin is actually a girl who would not normally be confused with her brother. This only happens because she resorted to disguise. Viola impersonating Cessario opens the door to many double meanings in the dialogue through numerous puns. When his twin brother Sebastian arrives, comedic elements reign as his gentle nature...... middle of paper ...... speaks to everyone. These are just a few of the ways Shakespeare altered mistaken identity by expanding the concept. to include disguise, self-deception and theme. It is impossible to fully develop all of the uses and extensions that this basic comic device received in the hands of Shakespeare, even considering the limited scope of the plays we examine in this question. It is also impossible to isolate one aspect of this development from the others, for Shakespeare intertwined them in such a way that, in his growth as a comic writer, he took on the ploy of mistaken identity and used it in its full meaning. Ultimately, mistaken identity is a subtle thread that underlies virtually every comic action explored in these four works. Through the development of this simple comic device, we clearly see one aspect of the whole that constitutes Shakespeare's creative genius..