The Roman World of Plautus

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

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

“Everybody Ought to Have a Maid”

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?

Life of Plautus cont’d

• 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?

Life of Plautus cont’d

• 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?

Life of Plautus cont’d

• 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.

Roman World in 2nd Century

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.

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

Roman Drama

• Greek Influence?– Greek vs. Roman worldviews

– Natural vs. Man-made order

Greek Theaters

• Preference for hillside-sites

• Spectacular natural vistas

• Originally, no stone seating, no permanent scene building(s).

Theater at Epidaurus

Theater of Dionysos, Athens

Theater at Pergamon

Roman Theaters

• Early wooden structures - temporary.

• Most often free-standing.

• Very elaborate scene buildings.

• Later, built of stone, sheathed with marble

Theater of Pompeyfirst stone theatre in Rome,

55 B.C.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens

“Theater District” of Ancient Rome

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.

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.

Plautus and “New Comedy,” cont’d

• 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.

Plautus and “New Comedy,” cont’d

• Much more use of “metatheatrical” elements - bringing in the crowd.

• Dramatic illusion not maintained– (before a long-winded speech) “ O.K., but hurry, the crowd’s 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…”

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

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.

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.”

Festivals and Comic Inversion, cont’d

• 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”

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.

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

Plot Summary

• Grumio and Tranio, slaves of absent Theopropides, argue about Tranio’s corruption of Philolaches and the household.

• Philolaches enters and reveals that he has spent his father’s 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 Phil’s place to party.

Plot Summary cont’d

• 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 it’s haunted.

• The old man is persuaded and departs.

Plot Summary cont’d

• Banker comes to collect $ Phil borrowed to buy his lover’s 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 neighbor’s (very nice) house.

• Tranio and Dad go see the “new purchase.”

Plot Summary cont’d

• Tranio smooth-talks his way inside the neighbor’s house with Dad, who is happy with his son’s “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.