'A Companion to Plautus' is a collection of original essays on the celebrated Old Latin period playwright. A brilliant comic poet, Plautus moved beyond writing Latin versions of Greek plays to create a uniquely Roman cultural experience worthy of contemporary scholarship. Contributions by a team of international scholars explore the theatrical background of Roman comedy, the theory and practice of Plautus’ dramatic composition, the relation of Plautus’ works to Roman social history, and his influence on later dramatists through the centuries.
Responding to renewed modern interest in Plautine studies, the 'Companion' reassesses Plautus’ works — plays that are meant to be viewed and experienced — to reveal new meaning and contemporary relevance. Chapters organized thematically offer multiple perspectives on individual plays and enable readers to gain a deeper understanding of Plautus’ reflection of, and influence on Roman society. Topics include metatheater and improvisation in Plautus, the textual tradition of Plautus, trends in Plautus Translation, and modern reception in theater and movies.
Author(s): George Fredric Franko, Dorota Dutsch (eds.)
Series: Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 512
City: Hoboken
Notes on Contributors x
Acknowledgement xv
Introduction: A 2020 Vision of Plautus / George Fredric Franko and Dorota Dutsch 1
1. The State of Roman Theater, c. 200 BCE / Timothy J. Moore 17
2. Plautus and Greek Drama / Sebastiana Nervegna 31
3. Stages and Stagecraft / Anne H. Groton 47
4. Actors and Audience / Isabella Tardin Cardoso 61
5. 'Nouo Modo Nouom Aliquid Inuentum': Plautine Priorities / David Christenson 77
6. Plays of Mistaken Identity / Costas Panayotakis 93
7. Plautus and the Marriage Plot / Sharon L. James 109
8. Stock Characters and Stereotypes / Shawn O’Bryhim 123
9. The 'Servus Callidus' in Charge: Plays of Deception / Ferdinand Stürner 135
10. To Hell and Back: Comedy, Cult, and the House of the 'Meretrix' / Catherine Connors 151
11. The Wife in Charge, the Husband Humiliated: Stock Characters in Evolution / Barbara K. Gold 165
12. Archetypal Character Studies: Masculinity and Power / Anne Feltovich 179
13. Plotting the Romance: Plautus’ 'Rudens', 'Cistellaria', and 'Poenulus' / Stavros Frangoulidis 193
14. Tragicomedy and Paratragedy: Plautus’s 'Amphitruo', 'Captivi', and 'Rudens' / Walter Stockert 207
15. The Language of Plautus / Peter Barrios‐Lech 221
16. Metatheater and Improvisation in Plautus / Christopher Bungard 237
17. Music and Meter in Plautus / T. H. M. Gellar‐Goad 251
18. Comic Technique in Plautus’s 'Asinaria' and 'Casina' / Martin T. Dinter 269
19. Plautus and the Topography of His World / Sophia Papaioannou 287
20. Warfare and Imperialism in and Around Plautus / Paul J. Burton 301
21. Religion in and Around Plautus / Seth A. Jeppesen 317
22. Gender and Sexuality in Plautus / Serena S. Witzke 331
23. Owners and Slaves in and Around Plautus / Amy Richlin 347
24. Slave Labor in Plautus / Roberta Stewart 361
25. Plautus and His Dramatic Successors in the Republican Period / Gesine Manuwald 379
26. Alii Rhetorica Tongent: Plautus and Public Speech / Emilia A. Barbiero 393
27. The Textual Tradition of Plautus / Rolando Ferri 407
28. The Medieval Reception of Plautus’s 'Aulularia': 'Querolus' and Vitalis Blesensis / Antony Augoustakis 419
29. From Ferrara to Venice: Plautus in Vernacular and Early Italian Comedy (1486–1530) / Gianni Guastella 429
30. Plautus in Early Modern England / George Fredric Franko 445
31. Reception Today: Theater and Movies / Rodrigo T. Gonçalves 461
32. Trends in Plautus Translation / James Tatum 473
Index 489
Index Locorum Plautinorum 495
