In this physical/​situation comedy the stock character types of the servant, buffoon, young lover, meddling father, and pompous peasant are all maintained in their traditional costumes (as is done in the Commedia dell’arte) but their masks have been eliminated. The plot’s basic theme of “mistaken identity” takes on an aura of gaiety so that the viewer is advised to forget reality and surrender to the comic spirit of the play. José Ferrer provides a critical introduction and afterword.