Plautus : Menaechmi /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Klein, V. Sophie (Viviane Sophie), author.
Imprint:	London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. ©2022
Description:	x, 179 pages ; 22 cm
Language:	English
Series:	Bloomsbury ancient comedy companions Bloomsbury ancient comedy companions.
Subject:	Plautus, Titus Maccius. -- Menaechmi. Menaechmi (Plautus, Titus Maccius) Latin drama (Comedy) -- History and criticism. Latin drama (Comedy) Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12732048

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9781350092723 135009272X 9781350092730 1350092738 9781350092747 9781350092754
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:	"This new volume in the Bloomsbury Ancient Comedy Companions series is perfect for students coming to one of Plautus' most whimsical, provocative, and influential plays for the first time, and a useful first point of reference for scholars less familiar with Roman comedy. Menaechmi is a tale of identical twin brothers who are separated as young children and reconnect as adults following a series of misadventures due to mistaken identity. A gluttonous parasite, manipulative courtesan, shrewish wife, crotchety father-in-law, bumbling cook, saucy handmaid, quack doctor, and band of thugs comprise the colorful cast of characters. Each encounter with a misidentified twin destabilizes the status quo and provides valuable insight into Roman domestic and social relationships. The book analyzes the power dynamics at play in the various relationships, especially between master and slave and husband and wife, in order to explore the meaning of freedom and the status of slaves and women in Roman culture and Roman comedy. These fundamental societal concerns gave Plautus' Menaechmi an enduring role in the classical tradition, which is also examined here, including notable adaptations by William Shakespeare (The Comedy of Errors), Jean FrancÌʹois Regnard, Carlo Goldoni and Rodgers and Hart"--
Other form:	Online version: Klein, V. Sophie. Plautus 1. London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022 9781350092747

Table of Contents:

Preface
1. TWINtroduction to Menaechmi, Plautus and Roman Comedy
Menaechmi: A prologue
Plot summary
Plautus: Life and work
Greek new comic and Italian dramatic origins
Cultural context of performance: Ludi; actors; audience
Practicalities of performance
a. Music and dance
b. Masks
c. Costumes
d. Props
2. Persons (and Places) of TWINterest: Setting, Characters and Themes
A Tale of Two Cities: Rome vs Epidamnus
The characters
a. The Prologue
b. The young men
c. The slaves
d. The prostitute
e. The cook
f. The parasite
g. The wife
h. The old man
i. The doctor
3. TWINterplay of Comic Language and Stage Business: Bits, Banter and Buffoonery
The Mistaken Identity Bit
Metatheatrical devices
a. Prologue and epilogue
b. Monologue / soliloquy
c. Asides; role-playing
d. Eavesdropping scenes
Plautine language
Visual gags and physical comedy
A happy ending?
4. TWINfluence on the Classical Tradition
Early transmission and revival
Plautus, Menaechmi, translated perhaps by Duke Ercole I of Ferrara (1486)
William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors (1594)
Jean-François Regnard, Les Menechmes, ou Les Jumeaux (1705)
Carlo Goldoni, The Venetian Twins (I Due Gemelli Veneziani) (1748)
Richard Rodgers (music), Lorenz Hart (lyrics), and George Abbott (book), The Boys From Syracuse (1938)
Conclusion
Appendix: Texts, translations and commentaries
Notes
References
TWINdex

Plautus : Menaechmi /

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