The Roman World of Plautus

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The Roman World of Plautus
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Plautus first writer of musical comedy

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
  opened in 1962 with Zero Mostel
• Many were surprised to learn it was a mixture of
  scenes from Plautine comedy
• Authors of musical were updating Plautus
  techniques, just as he had done with his
  sources
• Plautus fountainhead of modern comedy

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
ForumEverybody Ought to Have a Maid
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Life of Plautus

• Titus Maccius Plautus
• Born at Sarsina in Umbria, ca. 254 B.C.
• Recently conquered area
• Native speech probably Umbrian, NOT Latin!
• Perhaps educated in Rome?

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Life of Plautus contd

• Earned living in theatrical work - in the
  working of the scenes and sets.
• Invested his savings in an overseas trading
  venture, but lost everything.
• Probably traveled himself on this venture.
• Acquired knowledge of Greek language and culture?

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Life of Plautus contd

• Arrived back in Rome broke.
• Went to work in a flour-mill.
• While working here, he composed his first three
  plays, produced after 215 B.C.
• Success allowed him to devote the rest of his
  life to dramatic composition.
• Roman Citizen?

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Life of Plautus contd

• Over 130 plays were attributed to him, but Varro
  claims only 21 genuine we now have 20 plus
  fragmentary play.
• Wildly popular in his day.
• Died in 184 B.C.
• Epitaph
• Postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, comoedia
  luget,
• scaena est deserta, dein risus, ludus, iocusque
• Et numeri innumeri simul omnes conlacrimarunt.

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Roman World in 2nd Century
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Second Century Rome

• New, extra-Italian provinces to administer and
  tax.
• Proconsuls, propraetors, etc.
• Tax-farming
• In West, Spain provided metals and manpower
  (slaves) .
• In East, well-established and wealthy Hellenistic
  city-states and kingdoms brought increased
  contact with cultural achievements of Hellenism
  philosophy, science, and literature, including
  dramatic comedy.

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Hellenization of Rome

• Roman elites largely educated by Greek teachers,
  usually slaves.
• Influence of Stoicism and Epicureanism
• Greek language, arts, fashion, food, and
  entertainment predominate among elites.
• 1st Roman literary figures
• Fabius Pictor, fl. 216 history (in Greek)
• Livius Andronicus, fl. 240-207 comedy, tragedy,
  epic (trans. Odyssey into Latin).
• Ennius, fl. 204-184 comedy, tragedy,
  epic/history
• Naevius, fl. 235-204 comedy, tragedy,
  epic/history (Carmen belli Punici)
• Plautus comedy

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Roman Drama

• Greek Influence?
• Greek vs. Roman worldviews
• Natural vs. Man-made order

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Greek Theaters

• Preference for hillside-sites
• Spectacular natural vistas
• Originally, no stone seating, no permanent scene
  building(s).

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Theater at Epidaurus
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Theater of Dionysos, Athens
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Theater at Pergamon
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Roman Theaters

• Early wooden structures - temporary.
• Most often free-standing.
• Very elaborate scene buildings.
• Later, built of stone, sheathed with marble

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Theater of Pompeyfirst stone theatre in Rome, 55
B.C.
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Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens
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Theater District of Ancient Rome
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Greek Influence in Plautus Plays

• Greek New Comedy (Menander c. 342-293 B.C.) cf.
  Old Comedy
• Purposefully non-political/escapist
• Limited number of stock characters and
  plot-elements shuffled to produce new plays
• Characters the old man (father,
  grumpy/randy/drunken), the young man (son, angry,
  amorous, spendthrift), the young lady
  (prostitute/long-lost noblewoman), the slave
  (wily, greedy, self-interested)
• Plot elements love triangle, frustrated love,
  get the money, trick the father/uncle/authority
  figure, slave saves master, etc.

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Plautus use of Greek New Comedy

• Formerly thought that Plautus slavishly copied
  Greek plays.
• True that in some cases (e.g. The Rope, Casina,
  Mercator, etc.) we know his plays to have been
  based on Greek archetypes.
• But papyri suggest Plautus used considerable
  ingenuity to shape Greek plays for Roman audience.

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Plautus and New Comedy, contd

• Fragment of Greek archetype for Bacchides shows
  that Plautus felt free to cut and/or meld scenes
  for his Roman purposes and setting.
• Added new jokes, puns, often very specific to
  Roman culture - cf. Greek love of comic irony
• Role of stock character, The Parasite, is
  greatly expanded - fits Roman client system
• Character and Plot development less important
  than immediate comic effect.

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Plautus and New Comedy, contd

• Much more use of metatheatrical elements -
  bringing in the crowd.
• Dramatic illusion not maintained
• (before a long-winded speech) O.K., but hurry,
  the crowds getting thirsty.
• In general, much more focus on clever verbal
  effects like alliteration, word-play, unexpected
  personifications, and riddling phraseology.
• twist the neck of wrongdoing

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Plautus musical comedy

• Roman comedy composed in verse
• Plautus uses many different meters
• Songs may have made up as much as 40 of each
  play, some of dialogue also chanted or recited to
  flute
• Song and dance routines perhaps Italian influence

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The Magic of Plautus

• Why was he so popular?
• Secret lies in the context of ancient drama, i.e.
  religious festival days - official holidays spent
  drinking, feasting, watching athletic contests,
  and drama.
• Holidays as inversion of the normal Roman world.

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Roman Festivals and Comic Inversion

• Licentia and Libertas ruled on festival days, as
  opposed to the severitas and disciplina of daily
  routine.
• Likewise, comedy allows a temporary reversal of
  social norms what is not done and said in real
  life is done and said on the comic stage.
• The joy of release (laughter) is in direct
  proportion to the severity of the restraint.

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Festivals and Comic Inversion, contd

• The burden of mos maiorum and gravitas
• Patriapotestas - family obligations
• Munus - state/social obligations
• Frugalitas - money obligations
• Pietas - divine obligations
• Festivals as Holiday for the superego

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Plautus Comic Inversion

• So, in Plautus comedies, performed on festival
  days
• The action takes place in the Greek East
  (pergraecamini!)
• sons hate/trick/swindle their fathers and mothers
• Young aristocrats care nothing for money, only
  love
• Slaves have little real loyalty to or fear of
  masters, whom they often make ridiculous.
• The gods are humanized and humans approach
  godhead
• In sum, the characters are made to act as
  un-Roman as possible while making jokes that
  would only make sense in a Roman world.

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Mostellaria

• Date ???
• Model???
• Main Characters (note types)
• Philolaches love-smitten son of
• Theopropides foolish, grumpy old man
• Tranio wily slave
• Callidamates drunken friend of Philolaches

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Plot Summary

• Grumio and Tranio, slaves of absent Theopropides,
  argue about Tranios corruption of Philolaches
  and the household.
• Philolaches enters and reveals that he has spent
  his fathers wealth buying the freedom of his
  sweetie.
• Philolaches goes to meet his love, and on the way
  home they meet the very drunk Callidamates with
  his girlfriend.
• They go to Phils place to party.

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Plot Summary contd

• Tranio comes in and announces that dad has come
  back from out of town.
• Phil et al. freak out, but Tranio tells them to
  keep cool and shuts them inside
• Tranio meets Theopropides outside the house and
  tells him that its haunted.
• The old man is persuaded and departs.

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Plot Summary contd

• Banker comes to collect Phil borrowed to buy
  his lovers freedom.
• Dad comes back, having found out that the house
  is not haunted. He hears the banker, and asks
  why Phil owes money.
• Tranio lies and says that he has bought the
  neighbors (very nice) house.
• Tranio and Dad go see the new purchase.

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Plot Summary contd

• Tranio smooth-talks his way inside the neighbors
  house with Dad, who is happy with his sons
  investment.
• Theopropides sends Tranio to fetch Phil.
• Theopropides runs into a servant of Callidamates,
  who spills the beans.
• The old man confronts slaves and son, but
  forgives all.