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Although we cannot verify much about Plautus’ early life, we have certain ideas. It is believed that Titus Macchius Plautus was born in Sarsina (a city in Umbria) around 254 B.C. According to Morris Marples, in the early years of Plautus’ life he worked as a stage-carpenter or scene-shifter. This might have been where his love of the theater originated. After having worked in the theater, his talent as an actor was eventually discovered, and he adopted the names 'Macchius' (a clownish stock-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 that the venture collapsed. He then is said to have worked as a manual laborer and studied Greek drama – particularly the New Comedy of Menander – in his spare time. His studies led to the production of his plays, which were first produced between c.205 BC and 184 BC. Plautus attained such popularity, that solely his name was a guarantee of theatrical success. 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 directly based on the works of the Greek playwrights. (Some might more properly be called 'adaptations') His works include Stichus, Pseudolus, Amphitruo, Asinaria, Aulularia, Bacchides, Captivi, Casina, Cistellaria, Curculio, Epidicus, Menaechmi, Mercator, Miles Gloriosus, Mostellaria, Persa, Poenulus, Rudens, Trinummus, Truculentus, and Vidularia.

=Historical Context=

The historical context within which Plautus wrote to some extent dictated the nature of his plays, in that there are certain ways in which Plautus comments on contemporary events and people. Plautus was a popular comedic playwright while Roman theater was still in its infancy, still feeling the birth pangs of theatrical evolution. Simultaneously, the Roman Republic was expanding its sphere of influence and control.

Plautus and the Gods of Roman Society
Hazel M. Tolliver discusses the state gods of Rome and their importance as seen in the Plautine Theater. These gods were an important part of everyday life to the Romans of Plautus’ time and a citizen had a duty to his state to worship them. Tolliver tells us that the gods were not exactly like our contemporary gods. They were worshipped but also stood as a national symbol, somewhat like our flag of today. State religion also served as a political tool. If the gods supported a corrupt leader, then the people should too. Plautus is sometimes accused of teaching the public indifference and mockery of the gods. Any character in his plays could be compared to a god. Whether to honor a character or to mock him, these references were demeaning to the gods. These references to the gods include characters comparing a mortal woman to a god or saying he would rather be loved by a woman than the gods. Pyrgopolynices from Miles Gloriosus (vs. 1265) to brag about his long life says he was born one day later than Jupiter. In Pseudolus Jupiter is compared to the Ballio the pimp. It is not uncommon too for a character to scorn the gods as seen in Poenulus and Rudens. However, when a character scorns a god, it is usually a character of low standing such as a pimp. Plautus perhaps does this to further demoralize the characters. The audience is not supposed to love the pimp, so by making the pimp do sometime against the proper conventions of society, the audience will dislike the character even more. Tolliver also relates the ways in which the gods are referenced to by the stock characters. Soldiers often bring ridicule among the gods. The young men, meant to represent the upper social class, often belittle the gods in their remarks. The parasites, pimps, and courtesans often praise the gods with scant ceremony. Tolliver goes on to argue that drama both reflects and foreshadows social change. There was most likely already much skepticism about the gods during Plautus’ era. Plautus did not make up or encourage irreverence to the gods, but reflected ideas of his time. Some of Plautus’ often religious beliefs may have come out in his works, but the state controlled stage productions, and Plautus’ plays would have been banned had they been too risqué.

Gnaeus Naevius
Gnaeus Naevius, another Roman playwright of the late third century B.C.E., wrote tragedies and even founded the fabula praetexta (history plays), in which he dramatized historical events. He is known to have fought in the First Punic War and his birth, therefore, is placed around the year 280 B.C.E.  His first tragedy took place in 235 B.C.E.  Plautus would have been living at the exact time as Naevius, but began writing later. Naevius is most famous for having been imprisoned by the Metelli and the Scipios – two powerful families of the late third century. The Metelli and Scipios were bitter rivals of Naevius’ patron, Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Marcellus was the head of the family, the Marcelli, who were also one of the most powerful families in Rome. Naevius was caught between this rivalry and was “the victim of punishment (including incarceration) inflicted by the chief men of the state (principes civitatis, nobiles) for his attacks upon them.”  According to A.J. Boyle, there is a reference in Plautus’ Miles Gloriosus to a “foreign poet,” showing that poets might have been “imprisoned for unbridled speech.” Naevius’ imprisonment and eventual exile is a case of state censorship that may have been a factor in Plautus’ writing. Naevius was being exiled when Plautus was writing and this must have had an effect on what Plautus chose to speak about in his plays.

The Second Punic War, The Macedonian War and their Infuence on Plautus’ Plays
The Second Punic War, which occurred from 218-202 B.C.E. was the second engagement that Rome had with Carthaginian forces, especially Hannibal. M. Leigh has devoted an extensive chapter about Plautus and Hannibal in his recent book, Comedy and the Rise of Rome. He says that, “the plays themselves contain occasional references to the fact that the state is at arms...”  One good example is a piece of verse from the Miles Gloriosus, the composition date of which is not clear but often placed in the last decade of the 3rd century B.C.  A. F. West believes that this is inserted commentary on the Second Punic War. In his article, “On a Patriotic Passage in the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus,” he states that the war “engrossed the Romans more than all other public interests combined.”  The passage seems intended to rile up the audience, beginning with hostis tibi adesse or, “the foe is near at hand.”   At the time, the general Scipio Africanus was requesting to go out against Hannibal, a plan “strongly favored by the plebs.”   Plautus apparently pushes for the plan to be approved by the senate, working his audience up with the thought of an enemy in close proximity and a call to outmaneuver him. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that Plautus, according to P.B. Harvey, was “willing to insert [into his plays] highly specific allusions comprehensible to the audience.” M. Leigh writes in his chapter on Plautus and Hannibal that, “the Plautus who emerges from this investigation is one whose comedies persistently touch the rawest nerves in the audience for whom he writes.” Later, coming of the heels of the conflict with Hannibal, Rome was preparing to embark on another military mission, this time in Greece. While they would eventually move on Philip V in the Second Macedonian War, there was considerable debate beforehand about the course Rome should take in this conflict. In the article “Bellum Philippicum: Some Roman and Greek Views Concerning the Causes of the Second Macedonian War,” Elias Bickerman writes that “the causes of the fateful war…were vividly debated among both Greeks and Romans.”  Under the guise of protecting allies, Bickerman tells us, Rome was actually looking to expand its power and control eastward now that the Second Punic War was ended. But starting this war would not be an easy task considering those recent struggles with Carthage – many Romans were tired of conflict to think of embarking on another campaign. As William M. Owens writes in his article, “Plautus’ ‘Stichus’ and the Political Crisis of 200 B.C.,” “there is evidence that antiwar feeling ran deep and persisted even after the war was approved." 	Owens contends that Plautus was attempting to match the complex mood of the Roman audience riding the victory of the Second Punic War but facing the beginning of a new conflict.  For instance, the characters of the dutiful daughters and their father seem obsessed over the idea of “officium,” the duty one has to do what is right.  Their speech is littered with words such as “pietas” and “aequus,” and they struggle to make their father fulfill his proper role.   The stock parasite in this play, Gelasimus, has a patron client relationship with this family and offers to do any job in order to make ends meat;  Owens puts forward that Plautus is portraying the economic hardship many Roman citizens were experiencing as a result of the cost of war. With the repetition of responsibility to the desperation of the lower class, Plautus establishes himself firmly on the side of the average Roman citizen. While he makes no specific reference to the possible war with Greece or the previous war (that might be too dangerous), he does seem to push the message that the government should take care of its own people before attempting any other military actions. Plautus was notably influenced by the political events of his time and thus gives modern readers a greater insight into the politics of the ancient world and how an average Roman citizen living during his time might have viewed those events and the attitudes they might have possessed as a result.

=Greek Influence=

The influence of Greek playwrights is obvious when looking at the texts of the plays of Plautus. In the delayed prologue of the Miles Gloriosus, Palaestrio quite clearly states that, “Alazon Graece huic nomen est comoediae, / id nos Latine ‘gloriosum’ dicimus. hoc oppidum Ephesust.” So, from the outset, though the opening is delayed a bit, the audience, if they were not already aware, find out that the play’s origin and setting are Greek. Added to this, and just as telling, is the overt use of Greek names and language. Though the Greek influence is quite evident, Plautus’ plays are in no way Greek plays. Greek influence only penetrates the texts of Plautus’ plays superficially, i.e., names, language, setting, and plot outline. Everything that comes in between these things is Roman.

Greek Old Comedy
In order to understand the Greek New Comedy of Menander and its’ similarities to Plautus, it is necessary to discuss, in juxtaposition with it, the idea of Greek Old Comedy and its’ evolution into New Comedy. The ancient Greek playwright that best embodies Old Comedy is Aristophanes. Aristophanes, a playwright of 5th century Athens, wrote such plays as The Wasps, The Birds and The Clouds. Each of these plays and the others that Aristophanes wrote are known for their critical political and societal commentary. This is the main component of Old Comedy. It is extremely conscious of the world in which it functions and analyzes that world accordingly. Comedy and theater were the political commentary of the time – the public conscience. In Aristophanes’ The Wasps, the playwright’s commentary is unexpectedly blunt and forward. For example, he names his two main characters “Philocleon” and “Bdelycleon,” which mean “pro-Cleon” and “anti-Cleon,” respectively. Simply the names of the characters in this particular play of Aristophanes make a political statement. Cleon was a major political figure of the time and through the actions of the characters about which he writes Aristophanes is able to freely criticize the actions of this prominent politician in public and through his comedy.

Greek New Comedy
Greek New Comedy differs greatly from those plays of Aristophanes. The most notable difference, according to Dana F. Sutton is that New Comedy, in comparison to Old Comedy, is “devoid of an serious political, social or intellectual content” and “could be performed in any number of social and political settings without risk of giving offense.”  The risk-taking for which Aristophanes is known is noticeably lacking in the New Comedy plays of Menander. Instead, there is much more of a focus on the home and the family unit – something that the Romans, including Plautus, could easily understand and adopt for themselves later in history.

Father-Son Relationships in Greek New Comedy and Plautus
One main theme of Greek New Comedy is the father-son relationship. For example, in Menander’s Dis Exapaton there is a focus on the betrayal between age groups and friends. The father-son relationship is very strong and the son remains loyal to the father. The relationship is always a focus, even if it’s not the focus of every action taken by the main characters. In Plautus, on the other hand, the focus is still on the relationship between father and son, but we see betrayal between the two men that wasn’t seen in Menander. There is a focus on the proper conduct between a father and son that, apparently, was so important to Roman society at the time of Plautus.

This becomes the main difference and, also, similarity between Menander and Plautus. They both address “situations that tend to develop in the bosom of the family.” Both authors, through their plays, reflect a patriarchal society in which the father-son relationship is essential to proper function and development of the household. It is no longer a political statement, as in Old Comedy, but a statement about household relations and proper behavior between a father and his son. But the attitudes on these relationships seem much different – a reflection of how the worlds of Menander and Plautus differed.

Farce
There are differences not just in how the father-son relationship is presented, but also in the way in which Menander and Plautus write their poetry. William S. Anderson discusses the believability of Menander versus the believability of Plautus and, in essence, says that Plautus’ plays are much less believable than those plays of Menander because they seem to be such a farce in comparison. He addresses them as a reflection of Menander with some of Plautus’ own contributions. Anderson claims that there is unevenness in the poetry of Plautus that results in “incredulity and refusal of sympathy of the audience.”  This might be a reflection of an idea that the Romans were less sensitive to catering to the audience’s artistic sensibilities and more to their hunger for pure entertainment.

Prologues
The poetry of Menander and Plautus is best juxtaposed within the context of the prologues. Robert B. Lloyd makes the point that “albeit the two prologues introduce plays whose plots are of essentially different types, they are almost identical in form…”  He goes on to address the specific style of Plautus that differs so greatly from Menander. He says that the “verbosity of the Plautine prologues has often been commented upon and generally excused by the necessity of the Roman playwright to win his audience.” However, in both Menander and Plautus, word play is essential to their comedy. Plautus might seem more verbose, but where he lacks in physical comedy he makes up for it with words, alliteration and paronomasia (punning).

Plautus is well known for his devotion to puns, especially when it comes to the names of his characters. In Miles Gloriosus, for instance, the female concubine’s name, Philocomasium, translates to “lover of a good party” – which is quite apt when we learn about the tricks and wild ways of this prostitute.

Character
Plautus’ characters – many of which seem to crop up in quite a few of his plays – also came from Greek stock, though they too received some Plautine innovations. Indeed, since Plautus was adapting these plays it would be difficult not to have the same kinds of characters – roles such as slaves, concubines, soldiers, and old men. By working with the characters that were already there but injecting his own creativity, as J.C.B. Lowe wrote in his article “Aspects of Plautus’ Originality in the Asinaria,” “Plautus could substantially modify the characterization, and thus the whole emphasis of a play”

The Clever Slave
One of the best examples of this method is the Plautine slave, a form that plays a major role in quite a few of Plautus’ works. The “clever slave” in particular is a very strong character; he not only provides exposition and humor, but also often drives the plot in Plautus’ plays. C. Stace argues that Plautus took the stock slave character from New Comedy in Greece and altered it for his own purposes. What Stace argues gives us both evidence of Plautus’ creativity and his Greek source material. In New Comedy, he writes, “the slave is often not much more than a comedic turn, with the added purpose, perhaps, of exposition.”  This shows that there was precedent for this slave archetype, and obviously some of its old role continues in Plautus (the expository monologues, for instance). However, because Plautus found humor in slaves tricking their masters or comparing themselves to great heroes, he took the character a step further and created something very distinct.

Understanding of Greek By Plautus’ Audience
Plilocomacium’s name is not the only character of Plautus’ whose name has Greek origins. In fact, of the approximate 270 proper names in the surviving plays of Plautus, about 250 names, are Greek.”  William M. Seaman proposes that these Greek names would have delivered a comic punch to the audience because of their already basic understanding of the Greek language. This previous understanding of Greek language, Seaman suggests, comes from the “experience of Roman soldiers during the first and second Punic wars. Not only did men billeted in Greek areas have opportunity to learn sufficient Greek for the purpose of everyday conversation, but they were also able to see plays in the foreign tongue.”  Having an audience with knowledge of the Greek language, whether a limited knowledge or a more expanded one, allowed Plautus more freedom to use Greek references and words. Also, by using his many Greek references and showing that his plays were originally Greek, “It is possible that Plautus was in a way a teacher of Greek literature, myth, art and philosophy; so too was he teaching something of the nature of Greek words to people, who, like himself, had recently come into closer contact with that foreign tongue and all its riches.”

These superficially Greek, yet Roman plays make a great deal of sense. At the time of the plays Rome is expanding, and having much success in Greece. W.S. Anderson has commented that Plautus, “is using and abusing Greek comedy to imply the superiority of Rome, in all its crude vitality, over the Greek world, which was now the political dependent of Rome, whose effete comic plots helped explain why the Greeks proved inadequate in the real world of the third and second centuries, in which the Romans exercised mastery. They are in fact colonizing the region, which is a shadow of what it once was. Plautus was known for his adaptations of Greek originals but, his plays are much more authentic than just adaptations. Plautus was not merely imitating his Greek forefathers he was distorting the plays that he had in mind.

Plautus: Copycat or Creative Playwright?
Plautus was known for the use of Greek style in his plays. However, this has been a point of contention among modern scholars. One argument states that Plautus writes with originality and creativity – the other, that Plautus is a copycat of Greek New Comedy and that he makes no original contribution to playwriting. However, the reality lies in the middle of these two arguments. Plautus writes with a remarkable amount of creativity. However, he was influenced greatly by the Greek New Comedy playwrights of the past – particularly Menander.

A single reading of the Miles Gloriosus leaves the reader with the notion that the names, place, and play is Greek, but one must look beyond these superficial interpretations. Then again, W.S. Anderson would steer any reader away from the idea that Plautus’ plays are somehow not his own or at least only his interpretation. Anderson says that, “Plautus homogenizes all the plays as vehicles for his special exploitation. Against the spirit of the Greek original, he engineers events at the end... or alter[s] the situation to fit his expectations.” Anderson’s vehement reaction to the co-opting of Greek plays by Plautus seems to suggest that they are in no way like their originals were. It seems more likely that Plautus was just experimenting putting Roman ideas in Greek forms.

Greece and Rome, although always put into the same category, were entirely different worlds with entirely differently paradigms and ways-of-life. W. Geoffrey Arnott says that “we see that a set of formulae [used in the plays] concerned with characterization, motif, and situation has been applied to two dramatic situations which posess in themselves just as many difference as they do similarities.” It is important to compare the two authors and the remarkable similarities between them because it is essential in understanding Plautus. He writes about Greeks like a Greek. However, it is also important to note that Plautus and the writers of Greek New Comedy, such as Menander, were writing in two completely different contexts.

Contaminatio
One idea that is important to recognize is that of contaminatio, which refers to the mixing of elements of two or more source plays. Plautus, it seems, is quite open to this method of adaptation, and quite a few of his plots seem stitched together from different stories. One excellent example is his Bacchides and its supposed Greek predecessor, Menander’s Dis Exapaton. The original Greek title translates as “The Man Deceiving Twice,” yet the Plautine version has three tricks. However Plautus might have expanded himself upon the original plot in order to make a statement about Roman culture versus Greek culture – the possibility of another Greek play which happens to fit the space left by Dis Exapaton seems too improbable. V. Castellani commented that:

Plautus’ attack on the genre whose material he pirated was, as already stated, fourfold. He deconstructed many of the Greek plays’ finely constructed plots; he reduced some, exaggerated others of the nicely drawn characters of Menander and of Menander’s contemporaries and followers into caricatures; he substituted for or superimposed upon the elegant humor of his models his own more vigorous, more simply ridiculous foolery in action, in statement, even in language.

By exploring ideas about Roman loyalty, Greek deceit, and differences in ethnicity, “Plautus in a sense surpassed his model.”  He was not content to rest solely on a loyal adaptation that, while amusing, was not new or engaging for Rome. Plautus took what he found but again made sure to expand, subtract, and modify. In “Criteria of Originality in Plautus,” Henry Prescott writes that many of the allusions to the Greek culture “come, not from the Greek originals, but from the mind and fancy of the Roman Poet himself.”  While Plautus changes much of what he found in the older comedies, he didn’t throw all Greek aspects out the window – he, and his audience, were familiar enough with Greek culture that they could appreciate such jokes. He clearly saw something in those plays that made him leave such a strong Greek air in his adaptations. It seems to be the consensus of at least some scholars that Plautus is influenced by the Greeks only insofar as he needed to when devising his plays during the infancy of Roman comedy. He seems to have followed the same path that Horace did, though Horace is much later, in that he is putting Roman ideas in Greek forms. He is not only imitating the Greeks, but he is in fact distorting, cutting up, and transforming the plays into something entirely Roman. In essence it is Greek theater colonized by Rome and its playwrights.

=Stagecraft= In Ancient Greece during the time of New Comedy, from which Plautus drew so much of his inspiration, there were permanent theaters that catered to the audience as well as the actor. The greatest playwrights of the day had quality facilities in which to present their work and, in a general sense, there was always enough public support to keep the theater running and successful. However, this was not the case in Rome during the time of the Republic when Plautus would have been writing his plays. Though the debate about this topic has sometimes been hindered by a lack of evidence, scholars have illuminated parts this field, and thus facilitated further research of the subject. What they have found is that while there was public support for theater and people came to enjoy tragedy and comedy alike, there was a notable lack of governmental support. The result was that there was not a permanent theater until Pompey dedicated the first one in 55 B.C.E in the Campus Martius. The lack of a permanent space was extremely influential, and it gives us great insight if we are exploring the history of Roman theater and its ramifications on Plautine stagecraft.

The question of why there were no permanent theaters in Rome until 55 B.C.E. is a puzzling question for contemporary scholars of Roman drama. In their introduction to the Miles Gloriosus, Hammond, Mack and Moskalew say that, “the Romans were acquainted with the Greek stone theater, but, because they believed drama to be a demoralizing influence, they had a strong aversion to the erection of permanent theaters.”  This worry rings true when considering the subject matter of Plautus’ plays. The unreal becomes reality on stage in his work. T.J. Moore notes that, “all distinction between the play, production, and ‘real life’ has been obliterated [Plautus’ play Curculio]”. This must have been a concern for any upstanding citizen, and so a place where social norms were upended could not become an institution lest bad, or at least inappropriate, behavior be reinforced. Obviously the aristocracy was afraid of the power of the theater. They wished to assert control over the medium and went about doing so by making it impermanent. It would have been merely by their good graces and unlimited resources that a temporary stage would have been built during specific festivals.

The Importance of the Ludi
Roman drama, specifically Plautine comedy, was acted out on stage during the ludi or festival games. These plays were acted out during the day on wooden stages. Some were more important to drama - for instance, in his discussion of the importance of the ludi Megalenses in early Roman theater, John Arthur Hanson says that this particular festival “provided more days for dramatic representations than any of the other regular festivals, and it is in connection with these ludi that the most definite and secure literary evidence for the site of scenic games has come down to us.”  Because the ludi were religious in nature, it was appropriate for the Romans to set up this temporary stage close to the temple of the deity being celebrated. S.M. Goldberg notes that, “ludi were generally held within the precinct of the particular god being honored”. But that information only tells us the where and the when. While there has been much debate about for whom these plays were performed, it is clear that certain members of the audience had their own special realms around the stage. T.J. Moore notes that, “seating in the temporary theaters where Plautus’ plays were first performed was often insufficient for all those who wished to see the play, that the primary criterion for determining who was to stand and who could sit was social status”. This is not to say that the lower classes did not see the plays, but simply means that they probably had to stand while watching it. So these plays were performed in public for the public with the most prominent members of the society in the forefront.

As noted above, in the place of these familiar permanent theaters of the late Republic and Roman Empire, Plautus used temporary wooden stages, set up by the aristocracy that provided a performance space for the actors. These wooden structures were shallow and long with three openings in respect to the scene-house - because of the time-constraint on the building process, the stages were significantly smaller than any Greek structure that is familiar to modern scholars. The time limits existed because while the plays were performed during these festivals many other events took place that needed their own space as well. Because theater was not seen as the priority, the structures were built and dismantled within a day. Even more practically, they were dismantled quickly because of the fire-hazard in ancient Rome.

Geography of the Stage
Often the geography of the stage and more importantly the play matched the geography of the city so that the audience would be well oriented to the locale of the play. Moore says that, “references to Roman locales must have been stunning for they are not merely references to things Roman, but the most blatant possible reminders that the production occurs in the city of Rome.”  So, Plautus seems to have choreographed his plays somewhat true-to-life. To do this, he needed his characters to exit and enter to or from whatever area their social standing would befit.

Character and social standing are of the utmost importance when trying to figure out the puzzle that is Plautine stagecraft and stage-space. Two scholars, V.J. Rosivach and N.E. Andrews, have made interesting observations about stagecraft in Plautus: V.J. Rosivach writes about identifying the side of the stage with both social status and geography. He says that, for example, “the house of the medicus lies offstage to the right. It would be in the forum or thereabouts that one would expect to find a medicus.”  Moreover, he says that characters that oppose one another always have to exit in opposite directions. In a slightly different vein, N.E. Andrews discusses the spatial semantics of Plautus; he has observed that even the different spaces of the stage are thematically charged. He states: Plautus’ Casina employs these conventional tragic correlations between male/outside and female/inside, but then inverts them in order to establish an even more complex relationship among genre, gender and dramatic space. In the Casina, the struggle for control between men and women... is articulated by characters’ efforts to control stage movement into and out of the house. So while it seems that there is a place for everyone in the plays of Plautus, no one stays in their place. And what clues us in to these specified realms is the way that the spaces are transgressed.

Andrews makes note of the fact that power struggle in the Casina is evident in the verbal comings and goings. In fact the words of action and the way that they are said are quite important to stagecraft. The words denoting direction or action such as abeo (“I go off”), transeo (“I go over”), fores crepuerunt (“the doors creak”), or intus (“inside”), which signal any character’s departure or entrance, are standard in the dialogue of Plautus’ plays. These verbs of motion or phrases can be taken as Plautine stage direction since no overt stage directions are apparent. Often, though, in these interchanges of characters, in Plautine adaptations of Greek originals, there occurs the need to move on to the next act. Plautus then might use what is known as a “cover monologue”. About this S.M. Goldberg notes that, “it marks the passage of time less by its length than by its direct and immediate address to the audience and by its switch from senarii in the dialogue to iambic septenarii. The resulting shift of mood distracts and distorts our sense of passing time.”  And so one method Plautus used to stage the play within the text was to change the meter and type of speech, which clued in the audience to the coming of the next act.

Relationship with the Audience
The small stages had a significant effect on the stagecraft of ancient Roman theater. Because of this limited space, there was also limited movement. Greek theater allowed for grand gestures and extensive action to reach the audience members who were in the very back of the theater. However the Romans would have had to depend more on their voices than large physicality. There was not an orchestra available like there was for the Greeks and this is reflected in the notable lack of a chorus in Roman drama. The replacement character that acts as the chorus would in Greek drama is often called the “prologue.”

Goldberg says that, “these changes fostered a different relationship between actors and the space in which they performed and also between them and their audiences.”  Actors were thrust into much closer audience interaction. Because of this, a certain acting style became required that is more familiar to modern audiences. Because they would have been in such close proximity to the actors, ancient Roman audiences would have wanted attention and direct acknowledgement form the actors.

That relationship between the actor and his audience was a very important one. Not only was the job of the actor in relation to the audience closer than it had ever been, but the relation of the audience to the stage was much closer. Because there was no orchestra, there was no space separating the audience from the stage. The audience could stand directly in front of the elevated wooden platform. This gave them the opportunity to look at the actors from a much different perspective. They would have seen every detail of the actor and hear every word he said. The audience member would have wanted that actor to speak directly to them. It was a part of the thrill, and, to this day, is still a thrill for audiences enjoying comedy or any type of theater.

Plautine stagecraft is a lot more than just stage directions, theater mechanisms and costumes. Most of what we consider traditional stagecraft is still slightly mysterious with respect to Roman drama. The impermanence of early Roman theater undoubtedly affected what theater meant to Plautus’ society - it was something that had not reached the mainstream in the way that we think of mainstream today. That temporary nature was, in a way, done to control the threat posed by depictions of subverted order, even in comedy, maintained by the upper class. However, it’s affect on contemporary and future theater is unmistakable and the significance of audience-actor interaction that is so essential to Renaissance theater during the time of Shakespeare is first seen in these temporary theaters. Despite its limitation, therefore, Early Roman theater was another important step in the evolution of stagecraft.

Stock Characters
Plautus’ range of characters was created through his use of various techniques, but probably the most important is his use of stock characters and situations in his various plays. He incorporates the same stock characters constantly, especially when the character type is amusing to the audience. His devotion to comedy led him to creating characters that were as humorous as possible despite the repetition or shifts in personality. As Walter Juniper wrote, “Everything, including artistic characterization and consistency of characterization, were sacrificed to humor, and character portrayal remained only where it was necessary for the success of the plot and humor to have a persona who stayed in character, and where the persona by his portrayal contributed to humor.”  By sacrificing the characterization for humor’s sake, Plautus’ characters are not terribly deep, only showing the traits for their stock character type.

For example, in  Miles Gloriosus, the titular “braggart soldier” Pyrgopolynices only shows his vain and immodest side in the first act, while the parasite Artotrogus exaggerates Pyrgopolynices’ achievements, creating more and more ludicrous claims that Pyrgopolynices agrees to without question. These two are perfect examples of the stock characters of the pompous soldier and the desperate parasite that appeared in Plautine comedies. In disposing of highly complex individuals, Plautus was supplying his audience with what it wanted, since “the audience to whose tastes Plautus catered was not interested in the character play,” but instead, wanted the broad and accessible humor offered by stock set-ups. The humor Plautus offered, such as “puns, word plays, distortions of meaning, or other forms of verbal humor he usually puts them in the mouths of characters belonging to the lower social ranks, to whose language and position these varieties of humorous technique are most suitable,” matched well with the stable of characters.

The Clever Slave
In his article "The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy," Philip Harsh gives evidence to show that the clever slave is not an invention of Plautus. While previous critics such as A.W. Gomme believed that the slave was “ [a] truly comic character, the devisor of ingenious schemes, the controller of events, the commanding officer of his young master and friends, is a creation of Latin comedy,” and that Greek dramatists Menander did not use slaves in such a way that Plautus later did, Harsh refutes these beliefs by giving concrete examples of instances where a clever slave appeared in Greek comedy. For instance, ion the works of Athenaeus, Alciphron, and Lucian there are deceptions that involve the aid of a slave, and in Menander’s Dis Exapaton there was an elaborate deception executed by a clever slave that Plautus mirrors in his Bacchides. Evidence of clever slaves also appears in Menander’s Thalis, Hypobolimaios, and from the papyrus fragment of his Perinthia. Harsh acknowledges that Gomme’s statement was probably made before the discovery of many of the papyri that we now have. While it was not necessarily a Roman invention, Plautus did his own style of depicting the clever slave. With larger, more active roles, more verbal exaggeration and exuberance, the slave was moved my Plautus further into the front of the action. Because of the inversion of order created by a devious or witty slave, this stock character was perfect for achieving a humorous response and the traits of the character worked well for driving the plot forward.

The Lusty Old Man
Another important Plautine stock character, discussed by K.C. Ryder, is the senex amator. A senex amator is classified as an old man who for some reason contracts a passion for a young girl and who, in varying degrees, attempts to satisfy this passion. In Plautus these men are Demaenetus (Asinaria), Philoxenus and Nicobulus (Bacchides), Demipho (Cistellaria), Lysidamus (Casina), Demipho (Mercator), and Antipho (Stichus). Periplectomenos (Miles Gloriosus) and Daemones (Rudens) are regarded as senes lepidi because they usually keep their feelings within a respectable limit. All of these characters have the same goal, to be with a younger woman, but all go about it in different ways as Plautus could not be too redundant with his characters despite their already obvious similarities. What they have in common is the ridicule with which their attempts are viewed, the imagery that suggests that they are motivated largely by animal passion, the childish behavior, and the reversion to the love-language of their youth. This is a type, like the clever slave, which is fertile ground for comedy simply because of the nature of the character, and that is exactly why Plautus returned to it so many times.

Female Characters
There is often an inconsistency when it comes to the role designations given to female characters in Plautus’ plays. To examine this it is important to understand where these role designations come from. The original manuscripts contained no prefaced list of character names as most new editions now have. Instead, the manuscripts sometimes have character names in the headings, or at other times we learn the role designation of the character through the play itself - a character will be described before entering the stage or another character will address him by name.

In examining the female role designations of Plautus, Z.M. Packman found that they are not as stable as their male counterparts: a senex will usually remain a senex for the duration of the play but designations like matrona, mulier, or uxor at times seem interchangeable. Most free adult women, married or widowed, appear in scene headings as mulier, simply translated as “woman”. But in Plautus’ Stichus the two young women are referred to as sorores, later mulieres, and then matrona, all of which have different meanings and connotations. Although there are these discrepancies, Packman tries to give a pattern to the female role designations of Plautus. Mulier is typically given to a woman of citizen class and of marriageable age or who has already been married. Unmarried citizen-class girls, regardless of sexual experience, were designated virgo. Aniclla was the term used for female household slaves, with Anus reserved for the elderly household slaves. A young woman that is unwed due to social status is usually referred to as meretrix or “courtesan.” A lena or adoptive mother maybe a woman own these girls.

Unnamed Characters
Like Packman, George Duckworth uses the scene headings in the manuscripts to support his theory about unnamed Plautine characters. There are approximately 220 characters in the 20 plays of Plautus. 30 are unnamed in both the scene headings and the text and there are about 9 characters who are named in the ancient text but not in any modern one. This means that about 18% of the total number of characters in Plautus is nameless. Most of the very important characters have names while most of the number of unnamed characters are of less importance. However there are some abnormalities -  the main character in Casina is not mentioned by name anywhere in the text. In other instances, meanwhile, Plautus will give a name to a character that only has a few words or lines. One explanation is that some of the names have been lost over the years and for the most part, major characters do have names.

=The Language and Style of Plautus=

Overview
The language and style of Plautus is not easy or simple. He wrote in a colloquial style far from the codified form of Latin that is found in Ovid or Virgil. This colloquial style is the everyday speech that Plautus would’ve been familiar with, yet that means that most students of Latin are unfamiliar with it. Adding to the unfamiliarity of Plautine language is the inconsistency of the irregularities that occur in the texts. In one of his prolific word-studies, A.W. Hodgman noted that:

the statements that one meets with, that this or that form is‘common,’or ‘regular,’ in  Plautus, are frequently misleading, or even incorrect, and are usually unsatisfying.... I have gained an increasing respect for the manuscript tradition, a growing belief that the irregularities are, after all, in a certain sense regular. The whole system of inflexion- and, I suspect, of syntax also and of versification- was less fixed and stable in Plautus’ time than it became later.

So, it is quite clear that the difficulty of the language and style of Plautus is an old issue, one that fit the bill to be in the first ever issue of The Classical Quarterly. The issue of language and style in the plays of Plautus covers an enormous amount of ground, and it is far too expansive to go into enough detail to do it justice. This glance at Plautine language and style shall briefly try to cover the areas of archaisms, diction, syntax, poetic devices, meter, and the manifestations of the sum of these parts on stage. The purpose of such a task is to inform a first time reader of Plautus of what they should expect in the text. And in turn, this will better the understanding of the material in the collection.

Archaisms
The best place to start then, would be quickly looking at the words that come together to form the plays of Plautus. The most shocking and immediate thing one notices about Plautine diction is the use of archaic Latin forms. Some might find these difficult to understand, but there are a great many possibilities for why we find them in the plays of Plautus. It is important to note, though, that Plautus did not set out to write a play in archaic Latin, using the term “archaic” only comes from our contemporary interpretation of the text. Most scholars seem to note that the plays language is written in a colloquial, everyday speech. M. Hammond, A.H. Mack, and W. Moskalew have noted in their introduction to the text of the Miles Gloriosus that Plautus was, “free from convention... [and that] he sought to reproduce the easy tone of daily speech rather than the formal regularity of oratory or poetry. Hence, many of the irregularities which have troubled scribes and scholars perhaps merely reflect the everyday usages of the careless and untrained tongues which Plautus heard about him”. Looking at the overall use of archaisms within Plautus, one will notice that they commonly occur in promises, agreements, threats, prologues, or speeches. Plautus uses archaic forms, though sometimes for metrical convenience, but more often for stylistic effect. There are many manifestations of these archaic forms in the texts of Plautus’ plays, in fact too many to completely include them in this article. Here now, the most regular of irregularities, i.e., archaisms, will be delineated:


 * the use of uncontracted forms of some verbs like malo


 * the emendation of the final -e of singular imperatives


 * the use of -o in some verb stems where it would normally be -e


 * the is the use of the -ier ending for the present passive and deponent infinitive


 * often the forms of sum are joined to the preceding word


 * the deletion of deletion of the final -s and final -e when ne is added to a second singular verb


 * the replacement of -u with -o in noun endings


 * the use of qu instead of c, as in quom instead of cum


 * the use of the -ai genitive singular ending


 * the addition of a final -d onto personal pronouns in the accusative or ablative


 * there is sometimes the addition of a final -pte, -te, or -met to pronouns


 * the use of -is as the nominative plural ending

These peculiarities are the most common in the plays of Plautus, and their notation should make initial readings a bit easier. Archaic word forms in Plautus reflect the way that his contemporaries interacted. Plautus’ use of colloquial dialogue helps us understand, to a certain extent, how Roman’s would have greeted each other and consequentially responded. For example, there are certain formulaic greetings such as “hello” and “how are you?” that illicit a certain formulaic response such as a returning hello, or answer as to your state of being well. Quid agis here would mean, “How are you?” Other responses are factual and have a less fixed answer. Overall though, archaic forms present the reader with a richer understanding of the Latin language.

Means of Expression
There are certain ways in which Plautus expressed himself in his plays, and these individual means of expression give a certain flair to his style of writing. The means of expression are not always specific to the writer, i.e., idiosyncratic, yet they are characteristic of the writer. The two examples of these characteristic means of expression are the use of proverbs and the use of Greek language in the plays of Plautus. Plautus employs the use of proverbs in many of his plays. G.L. Beede defines proverbs as sayings currently among the folk. They are fundamentally of popular appeal, employed to drive home a point, to sum up a situation, and to characterize. Many times proverbs will addresses a certain genre such as law, religion, medicine, trades, crafts, and seafaring. Plautus’ proverbs and proverbial expressions number into the hundreds. They sometimes appear alone or interwoven within a speech. The most common appearance of proverbs in Plautus appears to be at the end of a soliloquy. Plautus does this for dramatic effect to emphasize a point. Further interwoven into the plays of Plautus and just as common as the use of proverbs is the use of Greek within the texts of the plays. J.N. Hough suggests that Plautus’ use of Greek is for artistic purposes and not simply because a Latin phrase will not fit the meter. Greek words are used when describing foods, oils, perfumes, etc. This is similar to our use of other languages in the English language such as the words garcon or rendezvous. These words give us a French flair just as the Greek would to the Romans. Slaves or characters of low standing speak much of the Greek. One possible explanation for this is that many Roman slaves would have been foreigners perhaps even speaking Greek.

Poetic Devices
Plautus also used more technical means of expression in his plays. One tool that Plautus used for the expression of his servus callidus stock character was alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of sounds in a sentence or clause; those sounds usually come at the beginning of words. In the Miles Gloriosus, the servus callidus is Palaestrio. As he speaks with the character, Periplectomenus, he uses a significant amount of alliteration in order to assert his cleverness and, therefore, his authority. Plautus uses phrases such as “falsiloquom, falsicum,falsiiurium” (MG l. 191). These words express the deep and respectable knowledge that Palaestriohas of the Latin language. Alliteration can also happen at the endings of words as well. For example, Palaestrio says, “ linguam, perfidiam, malitiam atque audaciam, confidentiam, confirmitatem, fraudulentiam” (MG ll. 188-9). Also used, as seen above, is the technique of assonance, which is the repetition of similar sounding syllables. Word play is also a technique quite obvious in the plays of Plautus. There are various manifestations of word play in Plautus, but one instance in the Miles Gloriosus is Sceledre, scelus. This example is one of the punning of names in Plautus. Word play figures as an important technique in Plautus because it is fitting for certain characters, especially the clever slave. These poetic devices stand in the text in order to accentuate and emphasize whatever is being said in the text, and it also elevates the artistry of the language.

Meter
Further emphasizing and elevating the artistry of the language of the plays of Plautus is the use of meter, which simply put is the rhythm of the play. There seems to be great debate over whether Plautus found favor in strong word accent or verse ictus, stress. Plautus did not follow the meter of the Greek originals that he adapted for the Roman audience. Plautus used a great number of meters, but most frequently he used the trochaic septenarius. Iambic words, though common in Latin, are difficult to fit in this meter, and naturally occur at the end of verses. G.B. Conte has noted that Plautus favors the use of cantica instead of Greek meters. This vacillation between meter and word stress highlights the fact that Latin literature was still in its infancy, and that there was not yet a standard way to write verse.

Language on Stage
Meter is not the only way in which the poet expressed what he wanted to say. The poet also gave each character a certain way to speak, or perhaps society expected certain stock characters to voice their opinions in certain ways. The servus callidus functioned as the exposition in many of Plautus' plays. According to C. Stace, "slaves in Plautus account for almost twice as much monologue as any other character... [and] this is a significant statistic; most of the monologues being, as they are, for purposes of humor, moralizing, or exposition of some kind, we can now begin to see the true nature of the slave's importance". Because humor, vulgarity, and "incongruity" are so much a part of the Plautine comedies, the slave becomes the essential tool to connect the audience to the joke through his monologue and direct connection to the audience. He is, then, not only a source for exposition and understanding, but connection - specifically, connection to the humor of the play, the playfulness of the play. The servus callidus is a character that, as McCarthy says, "draws the complete attention of the audience, and, according to C. Stace, 'despite his lies and abuse, claims our complete sympathy'". He does this, according to some scholarship, using monologue, the imperative mood and alliteration - all of which are specific and effective linguistic tools in both writing and speaking. The specific type of monologue (or soliloquy) in which a Plautine slave engages is the prologue. As opposed to simple exposition, according to N.W. Slater, “these…prologues…have a far more important function than merely to provide information”. Another way in which the servus callidus asserts his power over the play – specifically the other characters in the play – is through his use of the imperative mood. This is a mood in the Latin language that includes direct statement. In English, sentences such as, “Go!” or “Stay” are in the imperative mood. This type of language is used in order for, according to E. Segal, “the forceful inversion, the reduction of the master to an abject position of supplication…the master-as-suppliant is thus an extremely important feature of the Plautine comic finale”. The language, the imperative mood is therefore used in the complete role-reversal of the normal relationship between slave and master and “those who enjoy authority and respect in the ordinary Roman world are unseated, ridiculed, while the lowliest members of society mount to their pedestals…the humble are in face exalted”. This is not only an essential tool for the stock character of the servus callidus but also an essential tool for laughter.

Mscottknight 05:37, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

=The Influence and Reception of Plautus=

Despite Plautus being long dead, his influence lives on in such literary giants as Moliere and Shakespeare. The critical reception of Plautus has been much different than his influence on later literature. On one hand, scholarly reception of Plautus has come from viewing the Plautine corpus as crude to something a bit warmer and more complex. On the other hand, Plautus’ influence on later literature is impressive since it has been an influence on two literary giants, Shakespeare and Moliere. When one puts scholarly approach and the literary influence of Plautus together, you can still find pretentiousness and snobbery thwarting contemporary success of the playwright. The downright denigration of Plautus and his influence on two literary giants seems not to fit together. Plautus lived over 2,000 years ago and his memory and imprint on society still lives on. Playwrights throughout history have looked to Plautus for character, plot, humor, and other elements of comedy. His influence ranges from similarities in idea to full literal translations woven into the play. Plautus’ plays, though farcical in nature, are incredibly penetrating in their exploration of character, even if there are few obvious changes between Plautus’ stock characters from play to play. The playwright’s apparent familiarity with the absurdity of humanity and both the comedy and tragedy that stem from this absurdity have inspired his succeeding fellow playwrights centuries after his death. The most famous of these successors is Shakespeare – on whom Plautus had a tremendous amount of influence when it came to the Bard’s earlier comedies.

Plautus and Shakespeare
Shakespeare does much the same thing as Plautus. Shakespeare takes from Plautus like Plautus took from his Greek models. He has taken someone else’s plot for his own uses. C.L. Barber says that, “Shakespeare feeds Elizabethan life into the mill of Roman farce, life realized with his distinctively generous creativity, very different from Plautus’ tough, narrow, resinous genius”. So, there seems to have been a growing inclination to use Plautus as time went on, but there has always remained a resistance to him as a playwright. Perhaps one of the most famous plays that Plautine comedy influenced was William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. Some argue that the Comedy of Errors was a failed attempt to imitate Plautus’ Menaechmi, but H.A. Watt argues otherwise. In his article “Plautus and Shakespeare: Further Comments on Menaechmi and the Comedy of Errors,” Watt shows that while Comedy of Errors was not Shakespeare’s best work, its failure was not due to his departure from the Menaechmi as some have suggested, but due to insufficient skill in character development as it was one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays. The Shakespearean comedy most studied for its’ Plautine influence and parallels has been The Comedy of Errors. The Plautus and Shakespeare plays that most parallel each other, according to some modern scholarship, are, respectively, The Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors. In fact, according to Marples, Shakespeare drew directly from Plautus, “parallels in plot, in incident, and in character” and is undeniably influenced by the classical playwright’s work. Marples even uses the word, “borrower” in reference to not only how Plautus borrowed plots and characters from Menander, but how Shakespeare borrowed plots and characters from Plautus – especially Plautus’ Menaechmi. However, Shakespeare didn’t just “borrow,” but he also amplified some key aspects of Plautus’ play in order to make it more relevant for and more influential over his contemporary audience.

In fact, before one explores the connections between the two plays, H.A. Watt stresses the importance of recognizing the fact that the “two plays were written under conditions entirely different and served audience as remote as the poles”. The worlds of Plautus and Shakespeare were entirely different and it is important to keep this in mind when comparing and contrasting their work, but despite such different worlds, their work was remarkably similar and equally relevant for their respective audiences as some things are eternally funny, such as the clever slave outwitting the boorish master.

The nature of the differences between The Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors is undeniable. In The Menaechmi, Plautus uses only one set of twins – twin servants. Shakespeare, on the other hand, uses two sets of twins, which, according to William Connolly, “dilutes the force of [Shakespeare’s] situations”. This speaks to the idea that Shakespeare took his play “to a new level” in many different aspects. The number of twins is the most prominent. As a result of such modifications of Plautine comedy, Shakespeare succeeds in creating a comedy that is not only Plautine but also Shakespearean.

As a way to show that Shakespeare has a comedic category of fusion between Elizabethan and Plautine techniques, T.W. Baldwin writes, “…Errors does not have the miniature unity of Menaechmi, which is characteristic of classic structure for comedy”. Baldwin discusses the importance in noting that Shakespeare covers a much greater area in the structure of the actual play than Plautus ever does. This is also a result of Shakespeare’s audience because he was writing for an audience whose minds weren’t necessarily focused on house and home but also on the greater world around them and the role that they might have played in that world. Another characteristic of Shakespeare’s audience that is certainly different from the audience of Plautus is that Shakespeare’s audience was dominantly Christian. It was important for Shakespeare to acknowledge this in his writing. So, at the end of Errors, the world of the play is returned to normal when a Christian abbess interferes with the feuding. Menaechmi, on the other hand according to Niall Rudd, “is almost completely lacking in a supernatural dimension”. Rudd says that a character in Plautus’ play would never blame an inconvenient situation on witchcraft – something that is quite common in Shakespeare.

However, regardless of the differences between the two plays, Shakespeare was clearly influenced by Plautus’ work. He used many of the same elements. He used the same type of characters as well as the ever important Plautine idea of the slave versus his master. He used the same type of humor (adjusted for the time) and pushed boundaries in the way that Plautus did, an example of which being the clever slave managing to undo all the chaos created by farcical plot situations, most often a mistaken identity. It is, in the end, an acknowledgement of the brilliance and timelessness of Plautus’ work. Shakespeare, although his play is significantly different from Plautus’ Menaechmi, is a continuation of the playwrighting tradition in general. He in no way tried discredit the work of Plautus, but simply built on what had existed before him. Although he did rely heavily on Plautus’ work for his first comedy, Shakespeare eventually departed from a form of translation to a combination of Plautine devices and facets of Elizabethan drama.

Watt argues that Shakespeare’s departure from the Menaechmi is because Shakespeare takes his influence not only from Plautus, but also from Elizabethan drama. The Menaechmi already has one set of twins, and Shakespeare adds the servant twins as well. One suggestion is that Shakespeare got this idea from Plautus’ Amphitruo, in which both twin masters and twin slaves appear. Another is that the doubling is just a stock situation of Elizabethan comedy (not just Shakespeare). The relationship between a master and a clever slave is also a common element in Elizabethan comedy. Again looking to Elizabethan comedy, Shakespeare often includes foils for his characters to have one set off the other. Another Shakespearian theme stems from Elizabethan romantic comedy. In this genre it is common for the plays to end with many marriages and couplings of pairs. This is something that is not seen in Plautine comedy. In the Comedy of Errors Aegeon and Aemilia are separated, Antipholus and Luciana are at outs, and Antipholus and Luciana have not yet met. At the end of the day, all the couples are happily together. These couplings are something that Plautus would not have dealt with. By writing his comedies in a combination of Elizabethan and Plautine styles, Shakespeare helps to create his own brand of comedy, one that uses both styles. Watt concludes that Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors is not his best and this is due to lack of characterization. Here Plautus succeeds, as he has much more characterization in his comedy. The Comedy of Errors should not be looked at as a failed copy of the Menaechmi, but as a Shakespearian hybrid of Plautine and Elizabethan comedy.

Early Productions of Plautine Comedies
Although a great influence on Shakespeare, Plautine comedies were translated and performed before Shakespeare’s time. W.B. Sedgwick gives us a record, as we know it, of the Amphitruo, perhaps one of Plautus’ most famous works throughout history. It was the most popular Plautine play in the Middle Ages, publicly performed at the Renaissance, and the first Plautine play to be translated into English. As well as having renaissance versions of Plautus’ work, the Elizabethans also knew of Plautus. There is evidence of imitation in Edwardes’ Damon and Pythias, Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, and Heywood’s Silver Age. Heywood sometimes even translated whole passages of Plautus. By being translated as well as imitated, Plautus is a major influence on comedy of the Elizabethan era and the Middle Ages, as can be seen in the Stonyhurst Pageants.

By looking to the Middle Ages and the entertainment typical of its day, H.W. Cole discusses the influence of Plautus and Terence on the Stonyhurst Pageants. The Stonyhurst Pageants are manuscripts of Old Testament plays that were probably composed after 1609 in Lancashire. Cole focuses on Plautus’ influence on the particular Pageant of Naaman. The playwright of this pageant breaks away from the traditional style of religious medieval drama and relies heavily on the works of Plautus. Overall, the playwright cross-references eighteen of the twenty surviving plays of Plautus and five of the six Terence ones. It is clear that the author of the Stonyhurst Pageant of Naaman had a great knowledge of Plautus and was significantly influenced by this. As well as being performed in the early 1600’s, Plautus’ plays and their influence goes back to even the early 1500’s.

Even though few records of the plays of the 1500’s exist, Bradner discusses the first known university production of Plautus in England. Although uncertain, through the limited records we can guess that this first production was of Miles Gloriosus at Oxford in 1522. The earliest recorded performance of a Plautine play comes from the magnum jornale of Queens College which contains a reference to a comoedia Plauti in either 1522 or 1523. This fits directly with comments made in the poems of Leland about the date of the production. The next production of Miles Gloriosus that we know of from limited records, was given by the Westminster School in 1564. Other records also tell us about performances of the Menaechmi. From our knowledge, performances were given in the house of Cardinal Wolsey by boys of St. Paul’s School as early as 1527. From this we can determine that Plautus had a lasting influence on comedy throughout history. His influence ranges from little known plays such as the Stonyhurst Pageants to greats such as Shakespeare. By having such a wide range of influenced writers, Plautus lives on in others’ works.

Echoes of Plautine Stock Characters and Plot Devices
As well as passing on his plots, Plautus passed on stock characters and plot devices. Not that Plautus created the stock characters, such as the clever slave and the parasite, not that he created the pun or wordplays, but with the similar plots, it is easy to see where later authors got their inspiration for plots and stock characters and plot devices.

One of the most important echoes of Plautus is the stock character of the parasite, which appears in many of Plautus’ plays and goes on to achieve fame in the work of better known literary giants. Certainly the best example of this is Falstaff, the portly and cowardly knight who appears in three different Shakespeare plays. As J.W. Draper notes, the gluttonous Falstaff shares many characteristics with a parasite such as Artotrogus from Miles Gloriosus. Both characters seem fixated on food and where their next meal is coming from – Falstaff’s great girth and his constant call for food, for instance, echo the pleasure Artotrogus takes in a certain kind of olive spread. But they also rely on flattery in order to gain these gifts, and both characters are willing to bury their patrons in empty praise. Of course, Draper notes that Falstaff is also something of a boastful military man, but notes, “Falstaff is so complex a character that he may well be, in effect, a combination of interlocking types”. And while Shakespeare obviously had a knowledge of Latin literature, the parasite was so common in European drama at the time that he could have, in fact, not have been influenced directly by Plautus but instead received this stock character third-hand.

As well as appearing in Shakespearean comedy, the Plautine parasite appears in one of the first English comedies, Ralph Roister Doister. In Ralph Roister Doister, the character of Matthew Merrygreeke follows in the tradition of both Plautine Parasite and Plautine slave, as he both searches and grovels for food and also attempts to achieve his master’s desires. Indeed, the play itself is often seen as borrowing heavily from or even being based on the Plautine comedy Miles Gloriosus. Plautus obviously became the same kind of representative of earlier comedy that he himself found in Menander; as one of the most proficient examples of an older style of comedy who became a kind of gold mine for newer writers.

In terms of plot, or perhaps more accurately plot device, the method of conveying his plot, Plautus served as a source of inspiration and also provided the possibility of adaptation for later playwrights. The many deceits that Plautus layered his plays with, giving the audience the feeling of a genre bordering on farce, appear in much of the comedy written by Shakespeare and Moliere. For instance, the clever slave, which is also a Plautine stock character, has important roles in both L’Avare and L’Etoudri, two plays by Moliere, and in both drives the plot and creates the rouse just like Palaestrio in Miles Gloriosus. These similar characters set up the same kind of deceptions in which many of Plautus’ plays find their driving force, and it is not a simple coincidence.

Beyond this, Shakespeare has many other Plautine elements appear in his work: he uses the same kind of opening monologue so common in Plautus’ plays and includes many Greek names and places, to mention a few of such Plautine elements. He even uses a “villain” in The Comedy of Errors of the same type as the one in Menaechmi, switching the character from a doctor to a teacher but keeping the character a shrewd, educated man. While Watt also notes that this is one of Shakespeare’s least successful plays, it is clear that some of these elements appear in many of his works, such as Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and had a deep impact on Shakespeare’s writing. Even though Plautus’ influence did not make the first Shakespearean comedy a success, Plautine stock characters do make later Shakespearean comedies successful.

It is in many ways fitting that Plautus became such a source for writers of any age to look at for inspiration, considering his own reference to the New Comedy works of Greece. Many of his tropes have become so commonplace, or so frequently used, that most people wouldn’t even realize the true source of the technique. His popularity in Elizabethan England clearly had a hand in this, as one of the greatest writers of that or any time, Shakespeare found it fit to borrow from Plautus’ writing for his own plays. Like Plautus, he was able to take certain elements, work with them, and create something very original and very fitting for his own time. It is to Plautus’ great credit that his work has remained so influential and accessible in a future that is so different from his own time. It is clear that Plautus was a poet who had many direct influences, such as the Greek author Menander and various other writers of New Comedy. In fact many have written off Plautus as simply a talented translator, but Plautus imbued his work with his own original genius and he himself went on to influence writers hundreds of years in the future. His use of stock character, deceptions, and farce all trickled down from playwright to playwright, appearing in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and 17th Century France.

=Footnotes=

=Works Cited=


 * Anderson, W. S. Barbarian Play: Plautus’ Roman Comedy (Toronto, 1993).
 * Anderson, W.S. "The Roman Transformation of Greek Domestic Comedy," The Classical World 88.3 (1995), pp. 171-180.
 * Andrews, N.E. “Tragic Re-Presentation and the Semantics of Space in Plautus,” Mnemosyne 57.4 (2004), pp. 445-464.
 * Arnott, W. G. "A Note on the Parallels between Menander’s ‘Dyskolos’ and Plautus’ ‘Aulularia," Phoenix 18.3 (1964), pp. 232-237.
 * Baldwin, T.W. The Compositional Genetics of The Comedy of Errors. (Urbana 1965), pp. 200-209.
 * Barber, C.L. “Shakespearian Comedy in the Comedy of Errors,” College English 25.7(1964), pp. 493-497.
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ed. Cbahlman; SKIDCL310 15:16, 19 December 2006 (UTC)