Roman Comedy

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Why and how did Roman literature develop? The earliest Latin literary texts surviving intact are the comedies of Plautus (late 3rd- early 2nd centuries BCE). In this course, we will become familiar with the unique style and diction of early Latin by reading Plautus’ Mostellaria, in which a wayward son takes advantage of his father’s absence to throw a monumental house party, and Amphitruo, a send-up of the gods and romantic jealousies that Plautus referred to as a “tragicomedy.” We will consider issues of meter and performance, as well as the engagement of Roman comic playwrights with their Greek predecessors.