Roman Comedy

Roman Comedy PDF Author: David Konstan
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501731750
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book

Book Description
This book explores the social institutions, the prevailing social values, and the ideology of the ancient city-state as revealed in Roman Comedy. "The very essence of comedy is social," writes David Konstan, "and in the complex movement of its plots we may be able to discern the lineaments and contradictions of the reigning ideas of an age." David Konstan looks closely at eight plays: Plautus's Aulularia, Asinaria, Captivi, Rudens, Cistellaria, and Truculentus, and Terence's Phormio and Hecyra. Offering new interpretations of each, he develops a "typology of plot forms" by analyzing structural features and patterns of conventional behavior in the plays, and he relates the results of his literary analysis to contemporary social conditions. He argues that the plays address tensions that were potentially disruptive to the ancient city-state, and that they tended to resolve these tensions in ways that affirmed traditional values. Roman Comedy is an innovative and challenging book that will be welcomed by students of classical literature, ancient social history, the history of the theater, and comedy as a genre.

Roman Comedy

Roman Comedy PDF Author: David Konstan
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501731750
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book

Book Description
This book explores the social institutions, the prevailing social values, and the ideology of the ancient city-state as revealed in Roman Comedy. "The very essence of comedy is social," writes David Konstan, "and in the complex movement of its plots we may be able to discern the lineaments and contradictions of the reigning ideas of an age." David Konstan looks closely at eight plays: Plautus's Aulularia, Asinaria, Captivi, Rudens, Cistellaria, and Truculentus, and Terence's Phormio and Hecyra. Offering new interpretations of each, he develops a "typology of plot forms" by analyzing structural features and patterns of conventional behavior in the plays, and he relates the results of his literary analysis to contemporary social conditions. He argues that the plays address tensions that were potentially disruptive to the ancient city-state, and that they tended to resolve these tensions in ways that affirmed traditional values. Roman Comedy is an innovative and challenging book that will be welcomed by students of classical literature, ancient social history, the history of the theater, and comedy as a genre.

The Theater of Plautus

The Theater of Plautus PDF Author: Timothy J. Moore
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292788061
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Get Book

Book Description
The relationship between actors and spectators has been of perennial interest to playwrights. The Roman playwright Plautus (ca. 200 BCE) was particularly adept at manipulating this relationship. Plautus allowed his actors to acknowledge freely the illusion in which they were taking part, to elicit laughter through humorous asides and monologues, and simultaneously to flatter and tease the spectators. These metatheatrical techniques are the focus of Timothy J. Moore's innovative study of the comedies of Plautus. The first part of the book examines Plautus' techniques in detail, while the second part explores how he used them in the plays Pseudolus, Amphitruo, Curculio, Truculentus, Casina, and Captivi. Moore shows that Plautus employed these dramatic devices not only to entertain his audience but also to satirize aspects of Roman society, such as shady business practices and extravagant spending on prostitutes, and to challenge his spectators' preconceptions about such issues as marriage and slavery. These findings forge new links between Roman comedy and the social and historical context of its performance.

The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama

The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama PDF Author: John E. Thorburn
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 0816074984
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 689

Get Book

Book Description
Surveys important Greek and Roman authors, plays, characters, genres, historical figures and more.

Roman Drama and its Contexts

Roman Drama and its Contexts PDF Author: Stavros Frangoulidis
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110455587
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 637

Get Book

Book Description
Roman plays have been well studied individually (even including fragmentary or spurious ones more recently). However, they have not always been placed into their ‘context’, though plays (just like items in other literary genres) benefit from being seen in context. This edited collection aims to address this issue: it includes 33 contributions by an international team of scholars, discussing single plays or Roman dramatic genres (including comedy, tragedy and praetexta, from both the Republican and imperial periods) in contexts such as the literary tradition, the relationship to works in other literary genres, the historical and social situation, the intellectual background or the later reception. Overall, they offer a rich panorama of the role of Roman drama or individual plays in Roman society and literary history. The insights gained thereby will be of relevance to everyone interested in Roman drama or literature more generally, comparative literature or drama and theatre studies. This contextual approach has the potential of changing the way in which Roman drama is viewed.

The Cambridge History of Classical Literature

The Cambridge History of Classical Literature PDF Author: E. J. Kenney
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521210430
Category : Classical literature
Languages : en
Pages : 996

Get Book

Book Description
The Cambridge History of Classical Literature provides a comprehensive, critical survey of the literature of Greece and Rome from Homer till the Fall of Rome. This is the only modern work of this scope; it embodies the very considerable advances made by recent classical scholarship, and reflects too the increasing sophistication and vigour of critical work on ancient literature. The literature is presented throughout in the context of the culture and the social and hisotircal processes of which it is an integral part. The overall aim is to offer an authoritative work of reference and appraisal for one of the world's greatest continuous literary traditions. The work is divided into two volumes, each with a similar and broadly chronological structure. Among the special features are important introductory chapters by the General Editors on 'Books and Readers', discussing the conditions under which literature was written and read in antiquity. There are also extensive Appendices or Authors and Works giving detailed factual information in a convenient form. Technical annotation is otherwise kept to a minimum, and all quotations in foreign languages are translated.

Homosexuality in the Ancient World

Homosexuality in the Ancient World PDF Author: Wayne R. Dynes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9780815305460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 518

Get Book

Book Description
This book is a collection of essays focusing on homosexual behavior in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome.

Truculentus

Truculentus PDF Author: Plautus
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
ISBN: 1585107743
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 79

Get Book

Book Description
The play Truculentus provides an introduction to the world of Roman comedy from one of its best practitioners, Plautus. As with all Focus translations, the emphasis is on an inexpensive, readable edition that is close to the original, with an extensive introduction, notes and appendices.

Orders Iniomi and Lyomeri

Orders Iniomi and Lyomeri PDF Author: William W. Anderson
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 1933789158
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 664

Get Book

Book Description
Part Five in the Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series describes the lizardfishes, other iniomi, and deepsea gulpers. Specialist authorships of its sections include detailed species descriptions with keys, life history and general habits, abundance, range, and relation to human activity, such as economic and sporting importance. The text is written for an audience of amateur and professional ichthyologists, sportsmen, and fishermen, based on new revisions, original research, and critical reviews of existing information. Species are illustrated by exceptional black and white line drawings, accompanied by distribution maps and tables of meristic data.

The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600

The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600 PDF Author: J. N. Adams
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139468812
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 849

Get Book

Book Description
Classical Latin appears to be without regional dialects, yet Latin evolved in little more than a millennium into a variety of different languages. This book argues comprehensively that Latin in fact never lacked regional variations and examines the changing patterns and causes of this diversity throughout the Roman period.

Studies in the Characters of Plautine Comedy

Studies in the Characters of Plautine Comedy PDF Author: Edna Annie Baker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book

Book Description