Plautus Stock Characters

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Yes, I know I copied this page from enWP. I have so far simplified it up to (and including) Greek New Comedy. More to come. --Eptalon 06:08, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

The Pot of Gold Characters Plautus. Homework Help. Characters Discussed. Is using stock characters from ancient Greek comedy in his presentation.

Hi,Cool, I am doing a project at school. Cheers for the adviceANON 17:09, 1 March 2008 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.25.158.242 (talk • contribs)


  • 1Plautus’ Influences: Greek Comedy, Menander, and Aristophanes
    • 1.6Character
  • 2Stagecraft
    • 2.4Stock Characters
  • 3The Influence of Plautus

Plautus’ Influences: Greek Comedy, Menander, and Aristophanes[change source]

Greek Old Comedy[change source]

It is necessary to compare the Greek Old comedy with the Greek New Comedy of Menander. This needs to be done to discover their similarities to Plautus' works. The ancient Greek playwright that best embodies Old Comedy is Aristophanes. Aristophanes, a playwright of 5th century Athens, wrote plays of political satire such as The Wasps, The Birds and The Clouds. Each of these plays and the others that Aristophanes wrote are known for their critical commentary about politics and society.[1] This is the main component of Old Comedy. It has a very good idea about the world in which it functions and analyzes that world accordingly. Comedy and theater were the political commentary of the time – the public conscience.In Aristophanes’ The Wasps, the playwright’s commentary is unexpectedly blunt and forward. For example, he names his two main characters “Philocleon” and “Bdelycleon,” which mean “pro-Cleon” and “anti-Cleon,” respectively. Simply the names of the characters in this particular play of Aristophanes make a political statement. Cleon was a major political figure of the time and through the actions of the characters about which he writes Aristophanes is able to freely criticize the actions of this prominent politician in public and through his comedy.

Greek New Comedy[change source]

Greek New Comedy differs greatly from those plays of Aristophanes. The most notable difference, according to Dana F. Sutton is that New Comedy, in comparison to Old Comedy, is “devoid of a serious political, social or intellectual content” and “could be performed in any number of social and political settings without risk of giving offense.”[2] The risk-taking for which Aristophanes is known is noticeably lacking in the New Comedy plays of Menander. Instead, there is much more of a focus on the home and the family unit – something that the Romans, including Plautus, could easily understand and adopt for themselves later in history.

Father-Son Relationships in Greek New Comedy and Plautus[change source]

Unlike Aristophanes, Plautus avoided to talk about current political affairs in his comedies.[3]

An important theme of Greek New Comedy is the relationship between father and son. Menander’s Dis Exapaton focuses on the betrayal between age groups and friends. The father-son relationship is very strong and the son remains loyal to the father. The relationship is always a focus, even if it’s not the focus of every action taken by the main characters. In Plautus, on the other hand, the focus is still on the relationship between father and son, but betrayal can be seen between the two men. This wasn’t seen in Menander. Plautus focuses on how father and son should behave towards each other. This seems to have been very important to Roman society at the time of Plautus.

This becomes the main difference and, also, similarity between Menander and Plautus. They both address “situations that tend to develop in the bosom of the family.”[2] Both authors show a patriarchal society in which the father-son relationship is essential, so that the household can develop and work as it should.[4] In Old Comedy, it was a political statement. In New Comedy it is no longer. Rather, it is a statement about household relations and proper behavior between a father and his son. But the attitudes on these relationships seem much different – a reflection of how the worlds of Menander and Plautus differed.

Farce[change source]

The differences between Menander and Plautus are not just how the authors look at the relationship between father and son. Plautus and Menander also write poetry differently. William S. Anderson discusses how believle Menander is and compares it to how bleievable Plautus is. He basically says that Plautus’ plays are much less believable than those of Menander because they seem to be such a farce in comparison. He addresses them as a reflection of Menander with some of Plautus’ own contributions. Anderson claims that there is unevenness in the poetry of Plautus that results in “incredulity and refusal of sympathy of the audience.”[5] This might be a reflection of an idea that the Romans were less sensitive to catering to the audience’s artistic sensibilities and more to their hunger for pure entertainment.

Prologues[change source]

It is perhaps easiest to compare the poetry of Menander to that of Plautus by looking at the prologues of their plays. Robert B. Lloyd makes the point that “albeit the two prologues introduce plays whose plots are of essentially different types, they are almost identical in form…”[6] He goes on to address the specific style of Plautus that differs so greatly from Menander. He says that the “verbosity of the Plautine prologues has often been commented upon and generally excused by the necessity of the Roman playwright to win his audience.”[6] However, in both Menander and Plautus, word play is essential to their comedy. Plautus might seem more verbose, but where he lacks in physical comedy he makes up for it with words, alliteration and paronomasia (punning).[7]

Plautus is well known for his devotion to puns, especially when it comes to the names of his characters. In Miles Gloriosus, for instance, the female concubine’s name, Philocomasium, translates to “lover of a good party” — which is quite apt when we learn about the tricks and wild ways of this prostitute.

Character[change source]

Plautus’ characters — many of which seem to crop up in quite a few of his plays — also came from Greek stock, though they too received some Plautine innovations. Indeed, since Plautus was adapting these plays it would be difficult not to have the same kinds of characters — roles such as slaves, concubines, soldiers, and old men. By working with the characters that were already there but injecting his own creativity, as J.C.B. Lowe wrote in his article “Aspects of Plautus’ Originality in the Asinaria,” “Plautus could substantially modify the characterization, and thus the whole emphasis of a play.”[8]

The Clever Slave[change source]

One of the best examples of this method is the Plautine slave, a form that plays a major role in quite a few of Plautus’ works. The “clever slave” in particular is a very strong character; he not only provides exposition and humor, but also often drives the plot in Plautus’ plays. C. Stace argues that Plautus took the stock slave character from New Comedy in Greece and altered it for his own purposes. In New Comedy, he writes, “the slave is often not much more than a comedic turn, with the added purpose, perhaps, of exposition.”[9] This shows that there was precedent for this slave archetype, and obviously some of its old role continues in Plautus (the expository monologues, for instance). However, because Plautus found humor in slaves tricking their masters or comparing themselves to great heroes, he took the character a step further and created something distinct.[10]

Understanding of Greek By Plautus’ Audience[change source]

Of the approximate 270 proper names in the surviving plays of Plautus, about 250 names, are Greek.[11] William M. Seaman proposes that these Greek names would have delivered a comic punch to the audience because of their already basic understanding of the Greek language.[12] This previous understanding of Greek language, Seaman suggests, comes from the “experience of Roman soldiers during the first and second Punic wars. Not only did men billeted in Greek areas have opportunity to learn sufficient Greek for the purpose of everyday conversation, but they were also able to see plays in the foreign tongue.”[13] Having an audience with knowledge of the Greek language, whether a limited knowledge or a more expanded one, allowed Plautus more freedom to use Greek references and words. Also, by using his many Greek references and showing that his plays were originally Greek, “It is possible that Plautus was in a way a teacher of Greek literature, myth, art and philosophy; so too was he teaching something of the nature of Greek words to people, who, like himself, had recently come into closer contact with that foreign tongue and all its riches.”[14]

At the time of Plautus, Rome is expanding, and having much success in Greece. W.S. Anderson has commented that Plautus, “is using and abusing Greek comedy to imply the superiority of Rome, in all its crude vitality, over the Greek world, which was now the political dependent of Rome, whose effete comic plots helped explain why the Greeks proved inadequate in the real world of the third and second centuries, in which the Romans exercised mastery.[15]

Plautus: Copycat or Creative Playwright?[change source]

Plautus was known for the use of Greek style in his plays. This has been a point of contention among modern scholars. One argument states that Plautus writes with originality and creativity — the other, that Plautus is a copycat of Greek New Comedy and that he makes no original contribution to playwriting. The reality lies in the middle of these two arguments.

A single reading of the Miles Gloriosus leaves the reader with the notion that the names, place, and play is Greek, but one must look beyond these superficial interpretations. W.S. Anderson would steer any reader away from the idea that Plautus’ plays are somehow not his own or at least only his interpretation. Anderson says that, “Plautus homogenizes all the plays as vehicles for his special exploitation. Against the spirit of the Greek original, he engineers events at the end... or alter[s] the situation to fit his expectations.”[16] Anderson’s vehement reaction to the co-opting of Greek plays by Plautus seems to suggest that they are in no way like their originals were. It seems more likely that Plautus was just experimenting putting Roman ideas in Greek forms.

Greece and Rome, although always put into the same category, were different societies with different paradigms and ways-of-life. W. Geoffrey Arnott says that “we see that a set of formulae [used in the plays] concerned with characterization, motif, and situation has been applied to two dramatic situations which possess in themselves just as many difference as they do similarities.”[17] It is important to compare the two authors and the remarkable similarities between them because it is essential in understanding Plautus. He writes about Greeks like a Greek. However, it is also important to note that Plautus and the writers of Greek New Comedy, such as Menander, were writing in two completely different contexts.

Contaminatio[change source]

One idea that is important to recognize is that of contaminatio, which refers to the mixing of elements of two or more source plays. Plautus, it seems, is quite open to this method of adaptation, and quite a few of his plots seem stitched together from different stories. One excellent example is his Bacchides and its supposed Greek predecessor, Menander’s Dis Exapaton. The original Greek title translates as “The Man Deceiving Twice,” yet the Plautine version has three tricks.[18] V. Castellani commented that:

Plautus’ attack on the genre whose material he pirated was, as already stated, fourfold. He deconstructed many of the Greek plays’ finely constructed plots; he reduced some, exaggerated others of the nicely drawn characters of Menander and of Menander’s contemporaries and followers into caricatures; he substituted for or superimposed upon the elegant humor of his models his own more vigorous, more simply ridiculous foolery in action, in statement, even in language.[19]

By exploring ideas about Roman loyalty, Greek deceit, and differences in ethnicity, “Plautus in a sense surpassed his model.”[20] He was not content to rest solely on a loyal adaptation that, while amusing, was not new or engaging for Rome. Plautus took what he found but again made sure to expand, subtract, and modify. He seems to have followed the same path that Horace did, though Horace is much later, in that he is putting Roman ideas in Greek forms. He is not only imitating the Greeks, but he is in fact distorting, cutting up, and transforming the plays into something entirely Roman. In essence it is Greek theater colonized by Rome and its playwrights.

Stagecraft[change source]

In Ancient Greece during the time of New Comedy, from which Plautus drew so much of his inspiration, there were permanent theaters that catered to the audience as well as the actor. The greatest playwrights of the day had quality facilities in which to present their work and, in a general sense, there was always enough public support to keep the theater running and successful. However, this was not the case in Rome during the time of the Republic, when Plautus wrote his plays. While there was public support for theater and people came to enjoy tragedy and comedy alike, there was also a notable lack of governmental support. No permanent theater existed in Rome till Pompey dedicated one in 55 B.C. in the Campus Martius.[21] The lack of a permanent space was a key factor in Roman theater and Plautine stagecraft.

This lack of permanent theaters in Rome until 55 B.C. has puzzled contemporary scholars of Roman drama. In their introduction to the Miles Gloriosus, Hammond, Mack and Moskalew say that “the Romans were acquainted with the Greek stone theater, but, because they believed drama to be a demoralizing influence, they had a strong aversion to the erection of permanent theaters.”[22] This worry rings true when considering the subject matter of Plautus’ plays. The unreal becomes reality on stage in his work. T. J. Moore notes that, “all distinction between the play, production, and ‘real life’ has been obliterated [Plautus’ play Curculio]”.[23] A place where social norms were upended was inherently suspect. The aristocracy was afraid of the power of the theater. It was merely by their good graces and unlimited resources that a temporary stage would have been built during specific festivals.

The Importance of the Ludi[change source]

Roman drama, specifically Plautine comedy, was acted out on stage during the ludi or festival games. In his discussion of the importance of the ludi Megalenses in early Roman theater, John Arthur Hanson says that this particular festival “provided more days for dramatic representations than any of the other regular festivals, and it is in connection with these ludi that the most definite and secure literary evidence for the site of scenic games has come down to us.”[24] Because the ludi were religious in nature, it was appropriate for the Romans to set up this temporary stage close to the temple of the deity being celebrated. S.M. Goldberg notes that, “ludi were generally held within the precinct of the particular god being honored”.[25]

T. J. Moore notes that “seating in the temporary theaters where Plautus’ plays were first performed was often insufficient for all those who wished to see the play, that the primary criterion for determining who was to stand and who could sit was social status.”[26] This is not to say that the lower classes did not see the plays; but they probably had to stand while watching. Plays were performed in public, for the public, with the most prominent members of the society in the forefront.

The wooden stages on which Plautus's plays appeared were shallow and long with three openings in respect to the scene-house. The stages were significantly smaller than any Greek structure familiar to modern scholars. Because theater was not seen as the priority, the structures were built and dismantled within a day. Even more practically, they were dismantled quickly because of the fire-hazard in ancient Rome.[27]

Geography of the Stage[change source]

Often the geography of the stage and more importantly the play matched the geography of the city so that the audience would be well oriented to the locale of the play. Moore says that, “references to Roman locales must have been stunning for they are not merely references to things Roman, but the most blatant possible reminders that the production occurs in the city of Rome.”[28] So, Plautus seems to have choreographed his plays somewhat true-to-life. To do this, he needed his characters to exit and enter to or from whatever area their social standing would befit.

Two scholars, V. J. Rosivach and N. E. Andrews, have made interesting observations about stagecraft in Plautus: V. J. Rosivach writes about identifying the side of the stage with both social status and geography. He says that, for example, “the house of the medicus lies offstage to the right. It would be in the forum or thereabouts that one would expect to find a medicus.”[29] Moreover, he says that characters that oppose one another always have to exit in opposite directions. In a slightly different vein, N.E. Andrews discusses the spatial semantics of Plautus; he has observed that even the different spaces of the stage are thematically charged. He states:

Plautus’ Casina employs these conventional tragic correlations betweenmale/outside and female/inside, but then inverts them in order to establish an even more complex relationship among genre, gender and dramatic space. In the Casina, the struggle for control between men and women... is articulated by characters’ efforts to control stage movement into and out of the house.

Andrews makes note of the fact that power struggle in the Casina is evident in the verbal comings and goings. The words of action and the way that they are said are important to stagecraft. The words denoting direction or action such as abeo (“I go off”), transeo (“I go over”), fores crepuerunt (“the doors creak”), or intus (“inside”), which signal any character’s departure or entrance, are standard in the dialogue of Plautus’ plays. These verbs of motion or phrases can be taken as Plautine stage directions since no overt stage directions are apparent. Often, though, in these interchanges of characters, there occurs the need to move on to the next act. Plautus then might use what is known as a “cover monologue”. About this S.M. Goldberg notes that, “it marks the passage of time less by its length than by its direct and immediate address to the audience and by its switch from senarii in the dialogue to iambic septenarii. The resulting shift of mood distracts and distorts our sense of passing time.”[31]

Relationship with the Audience[change source]

The small stages had a significant effect on the stagecraft of ancient Roman theater. Because of this limited space, there was also limited movement. Greek theater allowed for grand gestures and extensive action to reach the audience members who were in the very back of the theater. However the Romans would have had to depend more on their voices than large physicality. There was not an orchestra available like there was for the Greeks and this is reflected in the notable lack of a chorus in Roman drama. The replacement character that acts as the chorus would in Greek drama is often called the “prologue.”[32]

Goldberg says that, “these changes fostered a different relationship between actors and the space in which they performed and also between them and their audiences.”[33] Actors were thrust into much closer audience interaction. Because of this, a certain acting style became required that is more familiar to modern audiences. Because they would have been in such close proximity to the actors, ancient Roman audiences would have wanted attention and direct acknowledgement form the actors.[34]

Because there was no orchestra, there was no space separating the audience from the stage. The audience could stand directly in front of the elevated wooden platform. This gave them the opportunity to look at the actors from a much different perspective. They would have seen every detail of the actor and hear every word he said. The audience member would have wanted that actor to speak directly to them. It was a part of the thrill of the performance, as it is to this day.[35]

Stock Characters[change source]

Plautus’ range of characters was created through his use of various techniques, but probably the most important is his use of stock characters and situations in his various plays. He incorporates the same stock characters constantly, especially when the character type is amusing to the audience. As Walter Juniper wrote, “Everything, including artistic characterization and consistency of characterization, were sacrificed to humor, and character portrayal remained only where it was necessary for the success of the plot and humor to have a persona who stayed in character, and where the persona by his portrayal contributed to humor.”[36]

For example, in Miles Gloriosus, the titular “braggart soldier” Pyrgopolynices only shows his vain and immodest side in the first act, while the parasite Artotrogus exaggerates Pyrgopolynices’ achievements, creating more and more ludicrous claims that Pyrgopolynices agrees to without question. These two are perfect examples of the stock characters of the pompous soldier and the desperate parasite that appeared in Plautine comedies. In disposing of highly complex individuals, Plautus was supplying his audience with what it wanted, since “the audience to whose tastes Plautus catered was not interested in the character play,”[37] but instead wanted the broad and accessible humor offered by stock set-ups. The humor Plautus offered, such as “puns, word plays, distortions of meaning, or other forms of verbal humor he usually puts them in the mouths of characters belonging to the lower social ranks, to whose language and position these varieties of humorous technique are most suitable,”[38] matched well with the stable of characters.

The Clever Slave[change source]

In his article 'The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy,' Philip Harsh gives evidence to show that the clever slave is not an invention of Plautus. While previous critics such as A.W. Gomme believed that the slave was “[a] truly comic character, the devisor of ingenious schemes, the controller of events, the commanding officer of his young master and friends, is a creation of Latin comedy,” and that Greek dramatists such as Menander did not use slaves in such a way that Plautus later did, Harsh refutes these beliefs by giving concrete examples of instances where a clever slave appeared in Greek comedy.[39] For instance, in the works of Athenaeus, Alciphron, and Lucian there are deceptions that involve the aid of a slave, and in Menander’s Dis Exapaton there was an elaborate deception executed by a clever slave that Plautus mirrors in his Bacchides. Evidence of clever slaves also appears in Menander’s Thalis, Hypobolimaios, and from the papyrus fragment of his Perinthia. Harsh acknowledges that Gomme’s statement was probably made before the discovery of many of the papyri that we now have. While it was not necessarily a Roman invention, Plautus did develop his own style of depicting the clever slave. With larger, more active roles, more verbal exaggeration and exuberance, the slave was moved my Plautus further into the front of the action.[40] Because of the inversion of order created by a devious or witty slave, this stock character was perfect for achieving a humorous response and the traits of the character worked well for driving the plot forward.

The Lusty Old Man[change source]

Another important Plautine stock character, discussed by K.C. Ryder, is the senex amator. A senex amator is classified as an old man who contracts a passion for a young girl and who, in varying degrees, attempts to satisfy this passion. In Plautus these men are Demaenetus (Asinaria), Philoxenus and Nicobulus (Bacchides), Demipho (Cistellaria), Lysidamus (Casina), Demipho (Mercator), and Antipho (Stichus). Periplectomenos (Miles Gloriosus) and Daemones (Rudens) are regarded as senes lepidi because they usually keep their feelings within a respectable limit. All of these characters have the same goal, to be with a younger woman, but all go about it in different ways, as Plautus could not be too redundant with his characters despite their already obvious similarities. What they have in common is the ridicule with which their attempts are viewed, the imagery that suggests that they are motivated largely by animal passion, the childish behavior, and the reversion to the love-language of their youth.[41]

Female Characters[change source]

In examining the female role designations of Plautus's plays, Z.M. Packman found that they are not as stable as their male counterparts: a senex will usually remain a senex for the duration of the play but designations like matrona, mulier, or uxor at times seem interchangeable. Most free adult women, married or widowed, appear in scene headings as mulier, simply translated as “woman”. But in Plautus’ Stichus the two young women are referred to as sorores, later mulieres, and then matrona, all of which have different meanings and connotations. Although there are these discrepancies, Packman tries to give a pattern to the female role designations of Plautus. Mulier is typically given to a woman of citizen class and of marriageable age or who has already been married. Unmarried citizen-class girls, regardless of sexual experience, were designated virgo. Ancilla was the term used for female household slaves, with Anus reserved for the elderly household slaves. A young woman who is unwed due to social status is usually referred to as meretrix or “courtesan.” A lena, or adoptive mother, may be a woman who owns these girls.[42]

Unnamed Characters[change source]

Like Packman, George Duckworth uses the scene headings in the manuscripts to support his theory about unnamed Plautine characters. There are approximately 220 characters in the 20 plays of Plautus. 30 are unnamed in both the scene headings and the text and there are about 9 characters who are named in the ancient text but not in any modern one. This means that about 18% of the total number of characters in Plautus are nameless. Most of the very important characters have names while most of the number of unnamed characters are of less importance. However there are some abnormalities — the main character in Casina is not mentioned by name anywhere in the text. In other instances, Plautus will give a name to a character that only has a few words or lines. One explanation is that some of the names have been lost over the years; and for the most part, major characters do have names.[43]

Plautus

The Influence of Plautus[change source]

Intellectual and academic critics have often judged Plautus's work as crude; yet his influence on later literature is impressive — especially on two literary giants, Shakespeare and Molière.

Playwrights throughout history have looked to Plautus for character, plot, humor, and other elements of comedy. His influence ranges from similarities in idea to full literal translations woven into plays. The playwright’s apparent familiarity with the absurdity of humanity and both the comedy and tragedy that stem from this absurdity have inspired succeeding playwrights centuries after his death. The most famous of these successors is Shakespeare — Plautus had a major influence on the Bard’s early comedies.

The Middle Ages and early Renaissance[change source]

W.B. Sedgwick has provided a record of the Amphitruo, perennially one of Plautus’ most famous works. It was the most popular Plautine play in the Middle Ages, and publicly performed at the Renaissance; it was the first Plautine play to be translated into English.

The influence of Plautus's plays was felt in the early 1500s. Limited records suggest that the first known university production of Plautus in England was of Miles Gloriosus at Oxford in 1522-3. The magnum jornale of Queens College contains a reference to a comoedia Plauti in either 1522 or 1523. This fits directly with comments made in the poems of Leland about the date of the production. The next production of Miles Gloriosus that is known from limited records was given by the Westminster School in 1564.[44] Other records also tell us about performances of the Menaechmi. From our knowledge, performances were given in the house of Cardinal Wolsey by boys of St. Paul’s School as early as 1527.[45]

Plautus and Shakespeare[change source]

Shakespeare borrowed from Plautus as Plautus borrowed from his Greek models. C.L. Barber says that “Shakespeare feeds Elizabethan life into the mill of Roman farce, life realized with his distinctively generous creativity, very different from Plautus’ tough, narrow, resinous genius.”[46]

The Plautine and Shakespearean plays that most parallel each other are, respectively, The Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors. According to Marples, Shakespeare drew directly from Plautus “parallels in plot, in incident, and in character,”[47] and was undeniably influenced by the classical playwright’s work. H. A. Watt stresses the importance of recognizing the fact that the “two plays were written under conditions entirely different and served audience as remote as the poles.”[48]

The differences between The Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors are clear. In The Menaechmi, Plautus uses only one set of twins — twin servants. Shakespeare, on the other hand, uses two sets of twins, which, according to William Connolly, “dilutes the force of [Shakespeare’s] situations.”[48] One suggestion is that Shakespeare got this idea from Plautus’ Amphitruo, in which both twin masters and twin slaves appear.

It can be noted that the doubling is a stock situation of Elizabethan comedy. On the fusion between Elizabethan and Plautine techniques, T. W. Baldwin writes, “…Errors does not have the miniature unity of Menaechmi, which is characteristic of classic structure for comedy.”[49] Baldwin notes that Shakespeare covers a much greater area in the structure of the play than Plautus does. Shakespeare was writing for an audience whose minds weren’t restricted to house and home, but looked toward the greater world beyond and the role that they might play in that world.

Another difference between the audiences of Shakespeare and Plautus is that Shakespeare’s audience was Christian. At the end of Errors, the world of the play is returned to normal when a Christian abbess interferes with the feuding. Menaechmi, on the other hand, “is almost completely lacking in a supernatural dimension.”[50] A character in Plautus’ play would never blame an inconvenient situation on witchcraft — something that is quite common in Shakespeare.

The relationship between a master and a clever servant is also a common element in Elizabethan comedy. Shakespeare often includes foils for his characters to have one set off the other. In Elizabethan romantic comedy, it is common for the plays to end with multiple marriages and couplings of pairs. This is something that is not seen in Plautine comedy. In the Comedy of Errors, Aegeon and Aemilia are separated, Antipholus and Luciana are at outs, and Antipholus and Luciana have not yet met. At the end, all the couples are happily together. By writing his comedies in a combination of Elizabethan and Plautine styles, Shakespeare helps to create his own brand of comedy, one that uses both styles.[48]

Also, Shakespeare he uses the same kind of opening monologue so common in Plautus’s plays. He even uses a “villain” in The Comedy of Errors of the same type as the one in Menaechmi, switching the character from a doctor to a teacher but keeping the character a shrewd, educated man.[48] Watt also notes that some of these elements appear in many of his works, such as Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and had a deep impact on Shakespeare’s writing.[48]

Later playwrights also borrowed Plautus's stock characters. One of the most important echoes of Plautus is the stock character of the parasite. Certainly the best example of this is Falstaff, Shakespeare's portly and cowardly knight. As J. W. Draper notes, the gluttonous Falstaff shares many characteristics with a parasite such as Artotrogus from Miles Gloriosus. Both characters seem fixated on food and where their next meal is coming from. But they also rely on flattery in order to gain these gifts, and both characters are willing to bury their patrons in empty praise.[51] Of course, Draper notes that Falstaff is also something of a boastful military man, but notes, “Falstaff is so complex a character that he may well be, in effect, a combination of interlocking types.”[51]

As well as appearing in Shakespearean comedy, the Plautine parasite appears in one of the first English comedies. In Ralph Roister Doister, the character of Matthew Merrygreeke follows in the tradition of both Plautine Parasite and Plautine slave, as he both searches and grovels for food and also attempts to achieve his master’s desires.[51] Indeed, the play itself is often seen as borrowing heavily from or even being based on the Plautine comedy Miles Gloriosus.[52]

H. W. Cole discusses the influence of Plautus and Terence on the Stonyhurst Pageants. The Stonyhurst Pageants are manuscripts of Old Testament plays that were probably composed after 1609 in Lancashire. Cole focuses on Plautus’ influence on the particular Pageant of Naaman. The playwright of this pageant breaks away from the traditional style of religious medieval drama and relies heavily on the works of Plautus. Overall, the playwright cross-references eighteen of the twenty surviving plays of Plautus and five of the six extant plays by Terence. It is clear that the author of the Stonyhurst Pageant of Naaman had a great knowledge of Plautus and was significantly influenced by this.[52]

There is evidence of Plautine imitation in Edwardes’ Damon and Pythias and Heywood’sSilver Age as well as in Shakespeare's Errors. Heywood sometimes translated whole passages of Plautus. By being translated as well as imitated, Plautus was a major influence on comedy of the Elizabethan era.

In terms of plot, or perhaps more accurately plot device, Plautus served as a source of inspiration and also provided the possibility of adaptation for later playwrights. The many deceits that Plautus layered his plays with, giving the audience the feeling of a genre bordering on farce, appear in much of the comedy written by Shakespeare and Moliere. For instance, the clever slave has important roles in both L’Avare and L’Etoudri, two plays by Moliere, and in both drives the plot and creates the ruse just like Palaestrio in Miles Gloriosus.[53] These similar characters set up the same kind of deceptions in which many of Plautus’ plays find their driving force, which is not a simple coincidence.

  1. ↑Sutton, D. F., Ancient Comedy: The War of the Generations (New York, 1993), p.56.
  2. ↑ 2.02.1Sutton 1993, p. 57.
  3. ↑Writings and career of Plautus in The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 2. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 159-165.
  4. ↑Sutton 1993, p. 59.
  5. ↑Lloyd, R. F., 'Two Prologues: Menander and Plautus,' The American Journal of Philology 84.2 (1963, April), p. 141.
  6. ↑ 6.06.1Lloyd 1963, p. 149.
  7. ↑Lloyd 1963, p. 150.
  8. ↑Lowe, J.C.B., 'Aspects of Plautus’ Originality in the Asinaria,' The Classical Quarterly 42 (1992), p. 155.
  9. ↑Stace, C., 'The Slaves of Plautus,' Greece & Rome 15 (1968), p. 75.
  10. ↑Stace 1968, pp. 73-74.
  11. ↑Seaman, W.M., 'The Understanding of Greek by Plautus’ Audience,' Classical Journal 50 (1954), p. 115.
  12. ↑Seaman 1954, p. 116.
  13. ↑Seaman 1954, p. 115.
  14. ↑Seaman 1954, p. 119.
  15. ↑W.S. Anderson, “The Roman Transformation of Greek Domestic Comedy,” The Classical World 88.3 (1995), pp. 171-180.
  16. ↑Anderson 1995, p. 178.
  17. ↑Arnott, W. G., 'A Note on the Parallels between Menander’s ‘Dyskolos’ and Plautus’ ‘Aulularia,' Phoenix 18.3 (1964), p. 236.
  18. ↑Owens, W. M., 'The Third Deception in Bacchides: Fides and Plautus' Originality,' The American Journal of Philology 115 (1994), pp. 381-382.
  19. ↑V. Castellani. “Plautus versus Komoidia: popular farce at Rome,” in Farce, ed. 5 J.Redmond (Cambridge and New York, 1988), pp. 53-82.
  20. ↑Owens 1994, p. 404.
  21. ↑S. M. Goldberg. “Plautus on the Palatine,” The Journal of Roman Studies 88 (1998), p. 2.
  22. ↑M. Hammond, A.M. Mack, W. Moskalew. “Introduction: The Stage and Production,” in Miles Gloriosus. Ed. M. Hammond, A. Mack, W. Moskalew. London and Cambridge, 1997 repr., pp. 15-29.
  23. ↑T. J. Moore. “Palliata Togata: Plautus, Curculio 462-86,” The American Journal of Philology 112.3 (1991), pp. 343-362.
  24. ↑J. A. Hanson, Roman Theater — Temples, (Princeton, NJ, 1959), p. 13.
  25. ↑Goldberg, 1998, pp. 1-20.
  26. ↑T.J. Moore, “Seats and Social Status in the Plautine Theater,” The Classical Journal 90.2 (1995), pp. 113-123.
  27. ↑M. Bieber, The History of the Greek and Roman Theater, (Princeton, NJ, 1961.), p. 168.
  28. ↑Moore, 1991, p. 347.
  29. ↑V. J. Rosivach, “Plautine Stage Settings,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 101 (1970), pp. 445-461.
  30. ↑N. E. Amdrews, “Tragic Re-Presentation and the Semantics of Space in Plautus,” Mnemosyne 57.4 (2004), pp. 445-464.
  31. ↑S.M. Goldberg, “Act to Action in Plautus’ Bacchides,” Classical Philology 85.3 (1990), pp. 191-201.
  32. ↑Goldberg, 1998, p.19.
  33. ↑Goldberg, 1998, p.16.
  34. ↑P.G. Brown, “Actors and Actor – Managers at Rome in the Time of Plautus and Terence,” in Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession, Ed. P. Easterling and E. Hall. (Cambridge, 2002.), p. 228.
  35. ↑Goldberg, 1998, p. 19.
  36. ↑W.H. Juniper, “Character Portrayals in Plautus.” The Classical Journal 31 (1936), p. 279.
  37. ↑Juniper, 1936, p. 278.
  38. ↑J.N. Hough, “The Reverse Comic Foil in Plautus.” The American Philological Association 73 (1942), p. 108.
  39. ↑P.W. Harsh, “The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 86 (1955), pp.135-142.
  40. ↑Harsh, 1955, p. 135-142.
  41. ↑K.C. Ryder, “The ‘Senex Amator’ in Plautus,” Greece & Rome 31.2. (Oct., 1984), pp.181-189.
  42. ↑Z.M. Packman, “Feminine Role Designations in the Comedies of Plautus,” The American Journal of Philology 120.2. (1999), pp. 245-258.
  43. ↑G.E. Duckworth, “The Unnamed Characters in the Plays of Plautus,” Classical Philology 33.2. (1938), pp. 167-282.
  44. ↑L. Bradner. “The First Cambridge Production of Miles Gloriosus.' Modern Language Notes, 70.6 (1955), pp. 400-403.
  45. ↑H.W. Cole. “The Influence of Plautus and Terence Upon the Stonyhurst Pageants.” Modern Language Notes 38 (1923) 393-399.
  46. ↑C.L. Barber, “Shakespearian Comedy in the Comedy of Errors,” College English 25.7 (1964), p. 493.
  47. ↑M. Marples, “Plautus.” Greece & Rome 8.22 (1938), p. 2.
  48. ↑ 48.048.148.248.348.4H. A. Watt. “Plautus and Shakespeare: Further Comments on Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors.” The Classical Journal 20 (1925), pp. 401-407.
  49. ↑T.W. Baldwin. On the Compositional Genetics of The Comedy of Errors. (Urbana 1965), pp. 200-209.
  50. ↑N. Rudd. The Classical Tradition in Operation. (Toronto 1994), pp. 32-60.
  51. ↑ 51.051.151.2J. W. Draper. “Falstaff and the Plautine Parasite.” The Classical Journal 33(1938), pp. 390-401.
  52. ↑ 52.052.1 H. W. Cole. “The Influence of Plautus and Terence Upon the Stonyhurst Pageants,” Modern Language Notes 38 (1923), pp. 393-399.
  53. ↑ S. V. Cole. “Plautus Up-to-Date.” The Classical Journal 16 (1921), pp. 399-409.
Retrieved from 'https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Plautus&oldid=1122481'

Titus Macchius Plautuswrote plays in Ancient Rome. Many people just call him Plautus. He was probably born in Sarsina (a city in Romagna) around 254 BC. His comedies are among the earliest works of Latin literature that has not been lost. He is also one of the earliest writers of musical theater.

  • 1Biography

Biography[changechange source]

Little is known about Plautus' early life. When Plautus was young, he built stages for plays.[1] He also helped change the scenes.[1] This might be when he started to love the theatre. People noticed that he was a talented actor. He called himself 'Macchius' (a clownish character in popular farces), and 'Plautus' (a term meaning 'flat-footed'). Tradition also says that after some time, he made enough money to start working in the shipping business. He started something, but he was not successful. He then is said to have worked as someone who worked with his hands. He learned about Greek drama – particularly the New Comedy of Menander – in his free time. His studies led to his plays being shown. The plays were first shown between c. 205 BC and 184 BC. Plautus' comedies are mostly adaptations of Greek plays for Roman people. They are usually based on the works of the Greek playwrights.[2]

Com Media Dell'arte Stock Characters

Plautus and the Gods of Roman Society[changechange source]

H. M. Tolliver talks about the state gods of Rome and what their importance was in the Theatre of Plautus. These gods were an important part of the Romans' lives in Plautus’ time - people were supposed to worship them. Tolliver tells us that the gods were not exactly like the gods worshipped today. They were worshipped but also stood as a national symbol. State religion also served as a political tool. If the gods supported a bad leader, the people should too.

Plautus is sometimes accused of teaching the public indifference and mockery of the gods. Any character in his plays could be compared to a god. Whether to honour a character or to mock him, these references were demeaning to the gods. These references to the gods include a character comparing a mortal woman to a god, or saying he would rather be loved by a woman than by the gods. Pyrgopolynices from Miles Gloriosus (vs. 1265), in bragging about his long life, says he was born one day later than Jupiter. In Pseudolus, Jupiter is compared to Ballio the pimp. It is not uncommon, either, for a character to scorn the gods. This can be seen in Poenulus and Rudens.

Usually the only characters that scorn a god are those of low standing, like a pimp. Plautus perhaps does this to further demoralize the characters. Soldiers often bring ridicule among the gods. Young men, meant to represent the upper social class, often make fun of the gods in their remarks. Parasites, pimps, and courtesans often praise the gods with little ceremony. Tolliver argues that drama both reflects and foreshadows social change. It is likely that there was already much skepticism about the gods in Plautus’ time. Plautus did not make up or encourage irreverence to the gods, but used the ideas of his time. The state controlled stage productions, and Plautus’ plays would have been banned, had they been too risky.[3]

Gnaeus Naevius[changechange source]

Gnaeus Naevius was another Roman playwright of the late third century BC. He wrote tragedies and even founded the fabula praetexta (history plays), in which he dramatized historical events. He fought in the First Punic War and his birth, therefore, is placed around the year 280 B.C.E.[4] His first tragedy took place in 235 B.C.E. Plautus would have been living at the exact time as Naevius, but began writing later.[5] Naevius is most famous for having been imprisoned by the Metelli and the Scipiones – two powerful families of the late third century. Naevius’ imprisonment and eventual exile is a case of state censorship. This fear of censorship may have influenced Plautus’ choice of what he wrote about and how he wrote about it.

Typical characters[changechange source]

While hundreds of plays have been attributed to Plautus' name, the canon consists of 20 surviving plays. To be able to use a more diverse set of characters, he developed what is called a stock character. He sometimes used typical situations where these characters could be used as well. He always used the same kinds of stock characters, especially if he could amuse the audience. As Walter Juniper wrote, “Everything, including artistic characterization and consistency of characterization, were sacrificed to humor, and character portrayal remained only where it was necessary for the success of the plot and humor to have a persona who stayed in character, and where the persona by his portrayal contributed to humor.”[6]

Use

For example, in Miles Gloriosus, the titular “braggart soldier” Pyrgopolynices only shows his vain and immodest side in the first act, while the parasite Artotrogus exaggerates Pyrgopolynices’ achievements. Artotrogus creates more and more ludicrous claims that Pyrgopolynices agrees to without question. These two are perfect examples of the stock characters of the pompous soldier and the desperate parasite that appeared in Plautine comedies.

In this way, Plautus could greatly simplify complex characters and give the audience what it wanted. “The audience to whose tastes Plautus catered was not interested in the character play,”[7] instead it wanted humor that was easy to understand by many people. Stock setups offered such humor. Plautus used puns, he played with words, or he gave the words another meaning. Usually, the humorous characters in Plautine plays are of low social standing. This helps the comedy overall, because lower-class characters were often taken less seriously, and had to be less careful what they said.[8]

Related pages[changechange source]

Footnotes[changechange source]

  1. ↑ 1.01.1M. Marples. “Plautus,” Greece & Rome 8.22(1938), p. 1.
  2. ↑(Some might more properly be called 'adaptations'
  3. ↑H.M. Tolliver. 'Plautus and the State Gods of Rome', The Classical Journal 48.2(1952), pp. 49-57.
  4. ↑A.J. Boyle An Introduction to Roman Tragedy. New York, NY: Routledge, 2006. p. 36.
  5. ↑Boyle, 37.
  6. ↑W.H. Juniper, “Character Portrayals in Plautus.” The Classical Journal 31 (1936), p. 279.
  7. ↑Juniper, 1936, p. 278.
  8. ↑J.N. Hough, “The Reverse Comic Foil in Plautus.” The American Philological Association 73 (1942), p. 108.

Works cited[changechange source]

  • Anderson, W. S. Barbarian Play: Plautus’ Roman Comedy (Toronto, 1993).
  • Anderson, W.S. 'The Roman Transformation of Greek Domestic Comedy,' The Classical World 88.3 (1995), pp. 171–180.
  • Andrews, N.E. “Tragic Re-Presentation and the Semantics of Space in Plautus,” Mnemosyne 57.4 (2004), pp. 445–464.
  • Arnott, W. G. 'A Note on the Parallels between Menander’s ‘Dyskolos’ and Plautus’ ‘Aulularia,' Phoenix 18.3 (1964), pp. 232–237.
  • Baldwin, T.W. The Compositional Genetics of The Comedy of Errors. (Urbana 1965), pp. 200–209.
  • Barber, C.L. “Shakespearian Comedy in the Comedy of Errors,” College English 25.7(1964), pp. 493–497.
  • Beede, G.L. “Proverbial Expressions in Plautus,” The Classical Journal 44.6(1949), pp. 357–362.
  • Bieber, M. The History of the Greek and Roman Theater. (Princeton 1961.).
  • Bradner, L. 'The First Cambridge Production of Miles Gloriosus,' Modern Language Notes 70.6 (1965), pp. 400–403.
  • Brown, PG. “Actors and Actor – Managers at Rome in the Time of Plautus and Terence,” in Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession. Ed. P. Easterling and E. Hall. (Cambridge 2002.).
  • Castellani, V. 'Plautus Versus Komoidia: Popular Farce at Rome,' in Farce, Ed. J. Redmond (Cambridge and New York, 1988), pp. 53–82.
  • Cole, H.W. “The Influence of Plautus and Terence Upon the Stonyhurst Pageants,” Modern Language Notes 38 (1923), pp. 393–399.
  • Cole, S.V. “Plautus Up-to-Date.” The Classical Journal 16 (1921), pp. 399–409.
  • Coleman, R.G.G. “Poetic Diction, Poetic Discourse and the Poetic Register,” in Aspects of the Language of Latin Poetry. Ed. J.N. Adams & R.G. Mayer. (Oxford and New York 1999), pp. 21–96.
  • Connors, C. 'Monkey Business: Imitation, Authenticity, and Identity from Pithekoussai to Plautus,' Classical Antiquity 23.2 (2004), pp. 179–207.
  • Conte, G.B. Latin Literature: A History. (Baltimore 1994).
  • Draper, J.W. “Falstaff and the Plautine Parasite,” The Classical Journal 33 (1938), pp. 390–401.
  • Duckworth, G.E. “The Unnamed Characters in the Plays of Plautus,” Classical Philology 33.2 (1938), pp. 167–282.
  • Echols, E.C. “The Quid-Greeting in Plautus and Terence,” The Classical Journal 45.4(1950), pp. 188–190.
  • Ed. Dorey, T.A. and Dudley, D.R. Roman Drama, (New York, 1965).
  • P. E. Easterling, Philip Hardie, Richard Hunter, E. J. Kenney Plautus' Casina 1976 Cambridge University Press ISBN0521290228
  • Fantham, E. 'The Curculio of Plautus: An Illustration of Plautine Methods in Adaptation,' The Classical Quarterly 15.1 (1965), pp. 84–100.
  • Goldberg, S.M. “Plautus on the Palatine,” The Journal of Roman Studies 88 (1998), pp. 1–20.
  • Goldberg, S.M. “Act to Action in Plautus’ Bacchides,” Classical Philology 85.3 (1990), pp. 191-201.
  • Halporn, J. 'Roman Comedy and Greek Models,' in Theater and Society in the Classical World, ed. Ruth Scodel (Ann Arbor, 1993), pp. 191–213.
  • Hammond, M., A.M. Mack, W. Moskalew. “Introduction: The Stage and Production,” in Miles Gloriosus. Ed. M. Hammond, A. Mack, W. Moskalew. (London and Cambridge 1997 repr.), pp. 15–29.
  • Hanson, J.A. Roman Theater – Temples (Princeton 1959).
  • Harsh, P.W. “Position of Archaic Forms in the Verse of Plautus,” Classical Philology 35.2(1940), pp. 126–142.
  • Harsh, P.W. “The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 86 (1955), pp. 135 –142.
  • Hodgman, A.W. “Adjectival Forms in Plautus,” The Classical Review 16.9(1902), pp. 446–452.
  • Hodgman, A.W. “Adverbial Forms in Plautus,” The Classical Review 17.6(1903), pp. 296–303.
  • Hodgman, A.W. “Noun Declension in Plautus,” The Classical Review 16.6(1902), pp. 294–305.
  • Hodgman, A.W. “Verb Forms in Plautus (continued),” The Classical Quarterly 1.2(1907), pp. 97–134.
  • Hodgman, A.W. “Verb Forms in Plautus,” The Classical Quarterly 1.1(1907), pp. 42–52.
  • Hoffmann, M.E. “Conversation Openings in the Comedies of Plautus,” in Latin Linguistics and Linguistic Theory: Proceedings of the First International Colloquium on Latin Linguistics. Ed. H. Pinkster. (Amsterdam 1981), pp. 217–226.
  • Hough, J.N. “The Development of Plautus’ Art,” Classical Philology 30.1(1935), pp. 43-57.
  • Hough, J.N. “The Reverse Comic Foil in Plautus,” The American Philological Association 73 (1942), pp. 108–118.
  • Jocelyn, H.D. “Gods, Cult, and Cultic Language in Plautus’ Epidicus,” in Studien zu Plautus’ Epidicus. Ed. U. Auhagen. (Tübingen 2001), pp. 261–296.
  • Juniper, W.H. “Character Portrayals in Plautus,” The Classical Journal 31 (1936), pp. 276–288.
  • Krauss, Amanda Neill Untaming the Shrew: Marriage, Morality and Plautine Comedy 2004
  • Lindsay, W.M. The Syntax of Plautus. (London 2002 repr.).
  • Lloyd, R. F. 'Two Prologues: Menander and Plautus,' The American Journal of Philology 84.2 (1963), pp. 146–161.
  • Lowe, J. C. B. “The Virgo Callida of Plautus, Persa,” The Classical Quarterly 39.2(1989), pp. 390–399
  • Lowe, J.C.B. 'Aspects of Plautus’ Originality in the Asinaria,' The Classical Quarterly 42 (1992), pp. 152-175.
  • Marples, M. 'Plautus,' Greece & Rome 8.22 (1938), pp. 1–7.
  • McCarthy, K. Slaves, Masters, and the Art of Authority in Plautine Comedy. (Princeton 2000).
  • Moore, T. J. Theater of Plautus: Playing to the Audience. (Austin 1998).
  • Moore, T.J. “Palliata Togata: Plautus, Curculio 462-86,” The American Journal of Philology 112.3 (1991), pp. 343–362.
  • Moore, T.J. “Seats and Social Status in the Plautine Theater,” The Classical Journal 90.2 (1995), pp. 113–123.
  • Nyman, M.A. “Where Does Latin Sum Come From?,” Language 53.1(1977), pp. 39–60.
  • Owens, W. M. 'The Third Deception in Bacchides: Fides and Plautus' Originality,' The American Journal of Philology 115 (1994), pp. 381–407.
  • Packman, Z.M. “Feminine Role Designations in the Comedies of Plautus,” The American Journal of Philology 120.2 (1999), pp. 245–258.
  • Prescott, H.W. 'Criteria of Originality in Plautus,' Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 63 (1932), pp. 103–125.
  • Rosivach, V.J. “Plautine Stage Settings,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 101 (1970), pp. 445–461.
  • Rudd, N. The Classical Tradition in Operation. (Toronto 1994), pp. 32–60.
  • Ryder, K.C. “The ‘Senex Amator’ in Plautus,” Greece & Rome 31.2 (1984), pp.181-189.
  • Seaman, W.M. 'The Understanding of Greek by Plautus’ Audience,' Classical Journal 50 (1954), pp. 115-119.
  • Sedgwick, W.B. “The History of a Latin Comedy,” The Review of English Studies 3.11 (1927), 346-349.
  • Segal, E. Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus. (Cambridge 1968).
  • Slater, N.W. Plautus In Performance: The Theatre of the Mind. (Princeton 1985).
  • Stace, C. 'The Slaves of Plautus,' Greece & Rome 15 (1968), pp. 64–77.
  • Sutton, D. F. Ancient Comedy: The War of the Generations (New York 1993).
  • Waite, S. “Word Position in Plautus: Interplay of Verse Ictus and Word Stress,” in The Computer in Literary and Linguistic Studies. Ed. A. Jones & R.F. Churchhouse. (Cardiff 1976), pp. 92–105.
  • Watt, H. A. “Plautus and Shakespeare: Further Comments on Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors.” The Classical Journal 20 (1925), pp. 401–407.
  • Wiles, D. “Recent Critical Approaches to Plautus,” in Farce. Ed. J. Redmond. (Cambridge 1988), pp. 261–272.
  • Wymer, R. “Shakespeare and the Mystery Cycles,” English Literary Renaissance 34.3 (2004), pp. 265–285.

Other websites[changechange source]

  • Works by Plautus at Project Gutenberg
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