Plautus

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Titus Maccius Plautus (254 BC – 184 BC, born at Sarsina, Roman Umbria, today in Romagna, near Forlì) was a comic playwright in the time of the Roman Republic.

Little is known of Plautus' life; even his birth and death dates are uncertain. The traditional belief is that he went to Rome when he was very young and became a stage assistant. Eventually his talent as an actor was discovered, and he took the names of Maccius, a clown character in popular farces, and Plautus, a term meaning "flat-footed." Tradition also says that he eventually made enough money to go into the shipping business, but the venture collapsed. He then is said to have worked as a manual laborer and studied Greek drama in his spare time. His studies eventually resulted in his plays, which were first produced between c.205 BC and 184 BC. He wrote approximately 130 plays, of which 21 survive.

Plautus' comedies, which are among the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature, are mostly adaptations of Greek models for a Roman audience and are often based on the works of the Greek playwright Menander. Plautus' most typical character is the clever slave, who manipulates his master, reversing the master-slave dynamic expected of such relationships in the Roman world. Most characters in Plautus' plays are stock characters, such as Senex (the old man). His work reflects the popular Roman taste for broad and bustling comedy, rather than introspection or careful character development. As a result, his critical reputation has fluctuated over the centuries, though he may have greater appeal to many readers today than more high-toned classical authors.

Plautus' work inspired many playwrights afterwards, including William Shakespeare, Molière, and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. His comedies Miles Gloriosus and Pseudolus were also the basis for the 1962 musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and he appears as a fictional character in Up Pompeii.

Bibliography

Amphitryon Addictus Asinaria Aulularia Bacchides	Captivi Casina Curculio Epidicius Menaechmi	Mercator Miles Gloriosus Mostellaria Persa Poenulus	Pseudolus Rudens Saturio Stichus Trinummus

External links

Project Gutenberg has some English translations of [plays by Plautus].
[A good introductory biography of Plautus.]
Perseus Project contains some Latin texts and English translations of Plautus' works.

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