lates earlys sitcoms of the Republican Roman world,
Toga Night Court Perfect Strangers / Full House Originally read for university, Amphitryon/The Comedy of Asses/The Pot of Gold/The Two Bacchises/The Captives
Plautus Titus Maccius, born aboutBCE at Sarsina in Umbria, went to Rome, engaged in work connected with the stage, lost his money in commerce, then turned to writing comedies.
Twentyone plays by Plautus have survived one is incomplete, The basis of all is a free translation from comedies by such writers as Menander, Diphilus, and Philemon, So we have Greek manners of Athens aboutBCE transferred to the Roman stage of about, with Greek places, people, and customs, for popular amusement in a Latin city whose own culture was not yet developed and whose manners were more severe.
To make his plays live for his audience, Plautus included many Roman details, especially concerning slavery, military affairs, and law, with some invention of his own, notably in management of metres.
The resulting mixture is lively, genial and humorous, with good dialogue and vivid style, There are plays of intrigue "Two Bacchises, The Haunted House, Pseudolus" of intrigue with a recognition theme "The Captives, The Carthaginian, Curculio" plays which develop character "The Pot of Gold, Miles Gloriosus" others which turn on mistaken identity accidental as in the "Menaechmi" caused on purpose as in" Amphitryon" plays of domestic life "The Merchant, Casina, " both unpleasant "Trinummus, Stichus, " both pleasant.
Loeb Classical Library's edition of Plautus is in five volumes, I finished reading this last year and somehow never updated my Goodreads! I love Plautus one of these days, I should really try to teach some Plautus in school.
. . Titus Maccius Plautus c.BC, commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of
the Old Latin period, His comedies are the earliest works in Latin literature to have survived in their entirety, He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus, The word Plautine refers to both Plautuss own works and works similar to or influenced by his, Titus Maccius Plautus c.BC, commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period, His comedies are the earliest works in Latin literature to have survived in their entirety, He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus, The word Plautine refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced by his, sitelink.