Plautus

Four Comedies : The Braggart Soldier, The Brothers Menaechmus, The Haunted House, The Pot of Gold (Oxford World's Classics)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Interesting...
  • Four Comedies...
 Four Comedies : The Braggart Soldier, The Brothers Menaechmus, The Haunted House, The Pot of Gold (Oxford World's Classics)
Plautus
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192838962

Book Description

Plautus was the single greatest influence on Western comedy. Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors and Moliere's The Miser are two subsequent classics directly based on Plautine originals. Plautus himself borrowed from the Greeks, but his jokes, rapid dialogue, bawdy humour, and irreverent characterizations are the original work of an undisputed genius. The comedies printed here show him at his best, and professor Segal's translations keep their fast, rollicking pace intact, making these the most readable and actable versions available. His introduction considers Plautus' place in ancient comedy, examines his continuing influence, and celebrates his power to entertain.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Interesting..........2003-06-27

This book makes for a good read, though it is not all that funny in today's context. I would recommend this book if you are interested in gaining a deeper understanding the minds of ancient peoples.

3 out of 5 stars Four Comedies..........2000-04-24

a worthwhile read for anyone. but look into it if your taking a college course on roman comedy especially though. it's not a quick read but a good one. the "brothers Menaechmus" stays the truest to roman comedy forn with the five staple characters all in there. not for those wiht short attention spans.
Plautus: Menaechmi (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • A generally good source
  • Plautus: Menaechmi
 Plautus: Menaechmi (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
Plautus
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. Terence: Adelphoe (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
  2. Plautus: Amphitruo (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
  3. Sallust's Bellum Catilinae
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  5. Juvenal: Satires Book I (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)

ASIN: 0521349702

Book Description

Plautus' comedy Menaechmi was the main inspiration for Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. In this edition Dr. Gratwick provides a newly constituted text, a commentary for students giving help with language and context, and an introduction that sheds new light on the interpretation of the play and on Plautus' place in the development of European comedy. Central to Dr. Gratwick's treatment is an analysis of the various meters employed by Plautus, which challenges many conventional views but also offers the student practical assistance with the technical problems involved.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A generally good source.......2007-03-13

Having just completed teaching this text in a course, I'd say there is one main difficulty. This looks like an old typescript done in courier font that's been put into book form. It would benefit from a reset of the font and a more readable design. Other than that, maybe an update with more recent articles on the play would be in order. I'll use it again, but hope Bolchazy Carducci will do a remake. Otherwise a very usable book.

4 out of 5 stars Plautus: Menaechmi.......2006-11-03

This is a first class commentary and a must for anyone interested in the history of Roman comedy. The introduction is clear; the explanation of meter is advanced but insightful; the discussion of the Greek origins of the comedy of errors is useful; and the commentary is tailored to the mid- to upper-level Latin student. I used this text for an advanced Latin course and found it quite good. The single drawback is the play itself - its crafting, structure, and sense of humor can appear clumsy and foreign to the tastes of modern students.
Amphitryon. The Comedy of Asses. The Pot of Gold. The Two Bacchises. The Captives (Loeb Classical Library)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • great resource
  • Timeless
 Amphitryon. The Comedy of Asses. The Pot of Gold. The Two Bacchises. The Captives (Loeb Classical Library)
Plautus
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  3. Terence, Volume I. The Woman of Andros. The Self-Tormentor. The Eunuch (Loeb Classical Library No. 22)
  4. Casina. The Casket Comedy. Curculio. Epidicus. The Two Menaechmuses (Loeb Classical Library)
  5. Euripides: Children of Heracles. Hippolytus. Andromache. Hecuba (Loeb Classical Library No. 484)

ASIN: 0674990676

Book Description

Plautus (Titus Maccius), born about 254 BC at Sarsina in Umbria, went to Rome, engaged in work connected with the stage, lost his money in commerce, then turned to writing comedies.</p>

Twenty-one plays by Plautus have survived (one is incomplete). The basis of all is a free translation from comedies by such writers as Menander, Diphilus, and Philemon. So we have Greek manners of Athens about 300-250 BC transferred to the Roman stage of about 225-185, with Greek places, people, and customs, for popular amusement in a Latin city whose own culture was not yet developed and whose manners were more severe. To make his plays live for his audience, Plautus included many Roman details, especially concerning slavery, military affairs, and law, with some invention of his own, notably in management of metres. The resulting mixture is lively, genial and humorous, with good dialogue and vivid style. There are plays of intrigue (Two Bacchises, The Haunted House, Pseudolus); of intrigue with a recognition theme (The Captives, The Carthaginian, Curculio); plays which develop character (The Pot of Gold, Miles Gloriosus); others which turn on mistaken identity (accidental as in the Menaechmi; caused on purpose as in Amphitryon); plays of domestic life (The Merchant, Casina, both unpleasant; Trinummus, Stichus, both pleasant).</p>

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Plautus is in five volumes.</p>

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars great resource.......2006-03-17

I got this to help in my class on Plautus (reading the Amphitruo and Casina) and it has become my constant companion. Plautus is full of colloquial Latin which can be difficult to understand, and the Loeb gives a fantastic translation. Also it is great for the part in the Amphitruo's prologue when Mercury uses legal speak, which is probably the toughest section of the entire play.

5 out of 5 stars Timeless.......2002-08-27

This play, along with another of Plautus' works "Captivii" were combined by Stephen Sondheim to give us the musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"
Rome and the Mysterious Orient: Three Plays by Plautus
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Rome and the Mysterious Orient: Three Plays by Plautus
    Plautus
    Manufacturer: University of California Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    5. Plautus: The Darker Comedies. Bacchides, Casina, and Truculentus

    ASIN: 0520242750

    Book Description

    Still funny after two thousand years, the Roman playwright Plautus wrote around 200 B.C.E., a period when Rome was fighting neighbors on all fronts, including North Africa and the Near East. These three plays--originally written for a wartime audience of refugees, POWs, soldiers and veterans, exiles, immigrants, people newly enslaved in the wars, and citizens--tap into the mix of fear, loathing, and curiosity with which cultures, particularly Western and Eastern cultures, often view each other, always a productive source of comedy. These current, accessible, and accurate translations have replaced terms meaningful only to their original audience, such as references to Roman gods, with a hilarious, inspired sampling of American popular culture--from songs to movie stars to slang. Matching the original Latin line for line, this volume captures the full exuberance of Plautus's street language, bursting with puns, learned allusions, ethnic slurs, dirty jokes, and profanities, as it brings three rarely translated works--Weevil (Curculio), Iran Man (Persa), and Towelheads (Poenulus)--to a wide contemporary audience.
    Richlin's erudite introduction sets these plays within the context of the long history of East-West conflict and illuminates the role played by comedy and performance in imperialism and colonialism. She has also provided detailed and wide-ranging contextual introductions to the individual plays, as well as extensive notes, which, together with these superb and provocative translations, will bring Plautus alive for a new generation of readers and actors.
    Plautus: The Comedies (Complete Roman Drama in Translation)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Plautus: The Original Comic Genius
    		 Plautus: The Comedies (Complete Roman Drama in Translation)

    Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0801850738

    Book Description

    "The works of Plautus," writes Palmer Bovie, "mark the real beginning of Roman literature." Now Bovie and David Slavitt have brought together a distinguished group of translators for the final two volumes of a four-volume set containing all twenty-one surviving comedies of one of Western literature's greatest dramatists.

    Born in Sarsina, Umbria, in 254 B.C., Plautus is said to have worked in Rome as a stage carpenter and later as a miller's helper. Whether authentic or not, these few details about the playwright's life are consistent with the image of him one might infer from his plays. Plautus was not "literary" but rather an energetic and resourceful man of the world who spoke the language of the people. His dramatic works were his way of describing and portraying that world in a language the people understood.

    Since Plautus's career unfolded against the background of the Second Punic War, it is not surprising that his prologues often end with a wish for the audience's "good luck against your enemies" or that the plays have their share of arrogant generals, boastful military captains, and mercenary adventurers. But other unforgettable characters are here as well -- among them Euclio, in the Aulularia, the model for Molière's miser. In these lively new translations, which effectively communicate the vitality and verve of the originals, the plays of Plautus are accessible to a new generation.

    Plays and translators:

    Volume 4: Persa, Palmer Bovie. Menaechmi, Palmer Bovie. Cistellaria, R. H. W. Dillard. Pseudolus, Richard Beacham. Stichus, Carol Poster. Vidularia, John Wright.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Plautus: The Original Comic Genius.......2000-05-15

    This is definitely worth the purchase if you are at all a fan of European Theatre. The plays of Plautus inspired many others, including Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. Thus, any fan of the theatrical world would be missing out if they did not check out this book of the wildly irreverent, slapstick style writing of Plautus.
    The Pot of Gold and Other Plays (Classics)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Wonderful Plays!
    • Slice-of-life ancient history
    • A History Lesson in Funny
    • book was fine
    • Latin not Greek
    		 The Pot of Gold and Other Plays (Classics)
    Plautus
    Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0140441492

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Wonderful Plays!.......2007-06-02

    Plautus was an extraordinary Roman comic playwright. He adapted Greek comedy to Roman tastes and the Latin language. Like Shakespeare, who borrowed greatly from him, Plautus writes on both a pratfall/slapstick level and on a witty wordplay level. This author is guaranteed entertainment, and this is a very good translation. Still don't believe me? Just remember that Plautus' work was the basis for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

    5 out of 5 stars Slice-of-life ancient history.......2006-09-22

    I agree with another reviewer that this collection of plays makes a good history lesson, but for me the lesson went beyond the development of people's sense of humor over time. Plautus avoids philosophy and politics, skipping right to slice-of-life stories about ordinary people, stories that today would be considered situation comedies. (Several of the plays in this book were amalgamated into the modern-day musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.") Reading this book gave me a sense of what life on the streets of ancient Rome was like.

    A final comment about whether Plautus should be considered Greek or Roman. Plautus wrote in Rome more than 200 years after the classical Greek playrights Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes and more than 100 years after the "new comedy" of the Greek Menander. He borrowed Greek plots and set his own plays in Greece, but I regard this as a convention (much as 20th century playwrights habitually set theirs in New York City) and to me the attitudes of Plautus' characters seem Roman more than Greek.

    5 out of 5 stars A History Lesson in Funny.......2006-03-01

    Plautus is an important Roman comedian, because he preserves Greek works (The Swaggering Soldier is a re-telling of a lost Greek play, Alazon, or The Braggart), and he shows us some of the similarities between ancient Greek and Roman senses of humor, which are not far from contemporary Western senses of humor. Plautus also influenced other great playwrights. For example, The Brothers Menaechmus is generally considered a simpler template for Shakespeare's richer The Comedy of Errors.

    In this selection, one will encounter some of Western society's earliest slapstick comedies and humorous, moral critiques of undesirable human behaviors. Plautus' penchant for wordplay is also showcased in this text. Plautus' plays are very easy and quick to read, and this 1965 translation definitely has a modern sensibility to it. For example, you will find that Plautus' characters like to cuss a lot, generally at the expense of women.

    I recommend this book to readers of ancient Rome and readers interested in the history of the stage.

    4 out of 5 stars book was fine.......2006-02-04

    The product was exactly as advertised, nothing wrong at all. Trustworthy seller.

    5 out of 5 stars Latin not Greek.......2000-09-19

    Plautus was a roman dramatist, although he borrowed much of his material from the Greek new comedy. He however brilliantly and emotionally sets up his plays in a timeless manner which ensures he will retain his place as one of the great comedy geniuses.
    Five Comedies: Miles Gloriosus, Menaechmi, Bacchides, Hecyra and Adelphoe (Hackett Publishing Co.)
    Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    • Too colloquial but otherwise good
    • The translation isn't great
    		 Five Comedies: Miles Gloriosus, Menaechmi, Bacchides, Hecyra and Adelphoe (Hackett Publishing Co.)

    Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 087220362X

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars Too colloquial but otherwise good.......2003-05-02

    The translations are a bit too colloquial for my taste. In some plays for instance the names are changes, or a character is said to have a Bronx accent! The translators goal was to have lively and performable versions, and they do, so this may not bother everyone.

    Each play has a simple stage diagram, and some notes on what the stage should be like (eg, the first house should be grand and imposing, but the neighboring house is small and unimpressive). The stage directions are good. Short helpful introduction.

    The book physically is splendid, with nice easy to read type, and the speakers names in full, offset to make them clear.

    3 out of 5 stars The translation isn't great.......2000-05-29

    I enjoyed the plays but would have liked a better translation. The many liberties that were taken in the translation of the text doesn't do the language justice. It made the translation more comprehensive for the modern reader, but the beauty and poetry of the writing was lost. The repetition of sounds and synonyms was profuse and often became annoying. Otherwise, the plays themselves were great fun and a delight to read. This anthology provides a good sampling of Roman comedy as well as good examples of the continuing themes in the genre. I would recommend it for someone new to the field.
    The Menaechmus Twins, and Two Other Plays (The Norton Library, N602)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		The Menaechmus Twins, and Two Other Plays (The Norton Library, N602)
      Titus Maccius Plautus
      Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      ASIN: 0393006026
      Three Comedies: Miles Gloriosus/Pseudolus/Rudens (Masters of Latin Literature)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Three Comedies: Miles Gloriosus/Pseudolus/Rudens (Masters of Latin Literature)
        Plautus
        Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

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        ASIN: 0801495946
        Plautus: Three Comedies (The Braggart Soldier/ the Brothers Menaechmus/ the Haunted House
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          		Plautus: Three Comedies (The Braggart Soldier/ the Brothers Menaechmus/ the Haunted House
          Plautus
          Manufacturer: Harper Torchbooks
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000EH8QKA

          Authors:

          1. Plimpton, George
          2. Pliny The Younger
          3. Plotinus
          4. Plumly, Stanley
          5. Plutarch
          6. Poe, Edgar Allan
          7. Polidori, John William
          8. Polybius
          9. Ponge, Francis
          10. Pope, Alexander

          Authors

          Authors