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This is the first edition of Platus' Amphitruo to appear in English for approximately forty years. It contains introductory essays, Latin text and a line-by-line commentary. Students will find this an indispensable tool in reading and translating the play, which was enormously popular in antiquity and has inspired modern adaptations by Molière, Giraudoux and Harold Pinter, among others. Dr. Christenson makes use of both current critical approaches to theater and traditional classical scholarship to offer many new insights into this delightful comedy. ... Read more

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Menaechmi' is a broad farce that makes use of the comic possibilities of mistaken identity. Shakespeare adapted the plot for his 'Comedy of Errors', but his is not the only adaptation made since the Renaissance. Its neat plot and witty, fast-moving dialogue often speak for themselves: Frances Muecke's Companion to E. F. Watling's translation concentrates on the finer points of detail and is particularly useful in its discussion of the dramatic an dliterary characteristics of Plautine comedy. ... Read more

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This book documents the origins of modern comedy by examining the evolution of "New Comedy," the Greek genre of which the works of Menander are the only surviving example. It looks at the quiet domestic dramas of Menander, the farces of Plautus, and the comedies of Terence. An authoritative Introduction sets the papers, which are by leading experts in their field, in context and explores connections between them thus examining the legacy for modern comedies. All Latin and Greek is translated. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This is a book worthy of high praise...All versions are exceedingly witty and versatile, in verse that ripples from one's lips, pulling all the punches of Plautus, the knockabout king of farce, and proving that the more polished Terence can be just as funny. Accuracy to the original has been thoroughly respected, but look at the humour in rendering Diphilius' play called "Synapothnescontes as Three's a Shroud"...Students in schools and colleges will benefit from short introductions to each play, to Roman stage conventions, to different types of Greek and Roman comedy, and there is a note on staging, with a diagram illustrating a typical Roman stage and further diagrams of the basic set for each play. The translators have paid more attention to stage directions than is usually given in translations, because they aim to show how these plays worked. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not literal, but entertaining
If you are looking for a literal translation, or at least one that conveys the original word choice/style, look elsewhere. If you can read the Latin yourselfbut want something that better conveys the spirit and humor of the comedies, this is a good choice. I used this in tandem with the original Latin for a 300 level Latin class, and it was useful in that it contrasted well with our own rather stilted and unfunny translations.

Old Time Comedy
Although it's been forty years since I have read any Roman comedy in the Latin, I can still enjoy what Plautus and Terence wrote over two thousand years ago. As for the translations, the rhyme scemes used for the different characters and parts of the plot make the play come to life. While laughing at the unfolding story I marveled at the ryhmes and the alliterations. It also didn't hurt that Dr. Douglass Parker was my advisor at the University of California at Riverside, lo those many years ago.

Too colloquial but otherwise good
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. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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"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.

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Prefaces to Terence's Comedies and Plautus's Comedies (1694)
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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / General; ... Read more

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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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rome and the Mysterious Orient: Three Plays by Plautus
I bought this textbook for school.It truly is an outstanding reference textbook.I recommend it for all students of the classics and Ancient History. ... Read more

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Plautus' Casina is a lively and well composed farce. The plot, which concerns the competition of a father and his son for the same girl and the various scurrilous tricks employed in the process, gives full scope to Plautus' inventiveness and richly comic language. The editors' aim is to establish the play as one of the liveliest of ancient comedies, and in their introduction and notes to make the reader continually aware of the conditions of an actual stage performance. They discuss the background and conventions of Roman comedy and by offering a complete metrical analysis they help the reader to appreciate the original musical structure of the play. The edition is intended primarily for use by students at school and university but will be of value to anyone interested in reading the play in the original. ... Read more

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The ideal single-volume introduction to the greatest masterpieces of ancient comedy

From the fifth to the second century B.C., theatrical comedy flourished in Greece and Rome. This new anthology brings together four essential masterworks of the genre: Aristophanes’ bold, imaginative The Birds; Menander’s The Girl from Samos, which explores popular contemporary themes of mistaken identity and sexual misbehavior; and two later Roman comic plays—Plautus’s The Brothers Menaechmus, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors; and Terence’s bawdy yet sophisticated double love plot, The Eunuch. Together, these four plays capture the genius of classical comedy for students, theatergoers, actors, lovers of satire, and anyone interested in the ancient world. ... Read more

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Classic Roman Comedy play. According to Wikipedia, "Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254–184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are among the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature.Plautus wrote around 52 plays, which were released between c. 205 and 184 BCE, of which 20 have survived, making him the most prolific ancient dramatist in terms of surviving work. He attained such a popularity that his name alone became a hallmark of theatrical success. Plautus' comedies are mostly adapted from Greek models for a Roman audience, and are often based directly on the works of the Greek playwrights. He reworked the Greek texts to give them a flavour that would appeal to the local Roman audiences...Shakespeare borrowed from Plautus as Plautus borrowed from his Greek models...The Plautine and Shakespearean plays that most parallel each other are, respectively, The Menaechmi and The Comedy of Errors."
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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

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Eduard Fraenkel was one of the most influential classicists of the twentieth century. His Plautine Elements in Plautus (originally published in German in 1922) revolutionized the study of Roman comedy. It is still essential reading for students and scholars of Plautus. This translation makes it accessible to an English-speaking readership for the first time. All Latin and Greek is translated, thus making the work available to a wider audience consisting of all those interested in Roman drama. The book includes a translation of the Addenda to the Italian translation published in 1960. The English translation is prefaced by an essay which gives an introduction to developments in Plautine scholarship since 1960. ... Read more

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Considered to be Plautus's greatest play, "Menaechmi; Or, The Twin-Brothers" is the story of two twin brothers, Menaechmus and Sosicles, who are separated at age seven when their father takes Menaechmus on a business trip. This classic play, which provided the inspiration for Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors", draws heavily on the theme of mistaken identity. ... Read more

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DescriptionDavid Christenson brings both his scholarly background and years of teaching to these five new translations of Rome's finest comic playwrights. These five plays, Menaechmi, Rudens, Truculentus, Adelphoe, and Eunuchus provide an introduction to the world of Roman comedy by two of its best practitioners. As with all Focus translations, the emphasis is on a handsomely produced, inexpensive, readable edition that is close to the original, with notes and an extensive introduction, notes and appendices.Features- Complete, close translations of 5 classic Roman plays- Only edition that combines Plautus & Terence- List of Olympian Deities and currency mentioned in the five plays- Correspondence list between the scene numbers used in the plays and the Renaissance Act & Scene Numbers.MarketCourses in Comedy, Roman Comedy, Roman Theatre, Classical Theatre, Roman Thought, as taught in departments of Classics. Also, courses in comedy, as taught in departments of English. Also, courses in Classical theater, ancient theatre, Comedy, or history of theater as taught in departments of theatre. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more