Plautus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Plautus
18th-century portrait of Plautus
Born	c. 254 BC Sarsina, Umbria, Roman Republic
Died	184 BC Rome, Roman Republic
Occupation	playwright
Nationality	Roman
Period	Roman Republic, Ancient Rome
Genre	Comedy

Titus Maccius Plautus (born around 254 BC, died 184 BC) was a famous Roman playwright. He lived during the Old Latin period. His funny plays, called comedies, are the oldest complete Latin writings we still have today.

Plautus wrote a type of play called Palliata comoedia. This style was created by Livius Andronicus, another important Latin writer. When you hear the word Plautine, it means something similar to Plautus's own works or something influenced by him.

Who Was Plautus?

Not much is known about Plautus's early life. People believe he was born in Sarsina, a small town in northern Italy, around 254 BC.

Some say Plautus first worked building or moving things on stage. This might be where he fell in love with theater. He later became an actor. He chose the name "Maccius" (from a clown character) and "Plautus" (meaning "flat-footed").

Stories say he earned enough money to start a shipping business, but it failed. Then he worked as a laborer and studied Greek plays in his free time. These studies helped him write his own plays, which came out between 205 BC and 184 BC. Plautus became so popular that his name meant a play would be a hit!

Plautus's comedies were mostly based on Greek plays. He changed them to make them funny and interesting for Roman audiences. These plays are the oldest complete Latin works that have survived.

His epitaph (a short text on a tombstone) said: postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, Comoedia luget,
scaena deserta, dein risus, ludus iocusque
et numeri innumeri simul omnes conlacrimarunt. This means: Since Plautus is dead, Comedy mourns. The stage is empty; then Laughter, Jest, and Wit, And all Melody's countless numbers wept together.

What Plays Did Plautus Write?

Plautus wrote many plays, and here are some that have survived:

• Amphitruo (part of the end is missing)
• Asinaria
• Aulularia ("The Pot of Gold") (the ending is missing)
• Bacchides ("The Bacchis Sisters")
• Captivi ("The Captives")
• Casina
• Cistellaria ("The Little Casket") (large parts are missing)
• Curculio
• Epidicus
• Menaechmi
• Mercator ("The Merchant")
• Miles Gloriosus ("The Braggart Soldier")
• Mostellaria ("The Ghost")
• Persa ("The Persian")
• Poenulus ("The Little Carthaginian")
• Pseudolus
• Rudens ("The Rope")
• Stichus
• Trinummus ("The Three Coins")
• Truculentus ("The Churl")

How Did Wars Influence Plautus's Plays?

Plautus wrote his plays during a time when the Roman Republic was growing powerful. His plays sometimes hint at events happening around him.

The Second Punic War

The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was a huge event. Hannibal invaded Italy, and this war deeply affected Romans. Plautus's play Miles Gloriosus (The Braggart Soldier) might have comments about this war. One part of the play says, hostis tibi adesse, meaning "the foe is near at hand." This line might have been used to excite the audience.

The general Scipio Africanus wanted to fight Hannibal. Many common people supported this idea. Plautus seemed to encourage the Roman Senate to approve this plan. He wanted to stir up his audience with the idea of an enemy close by. Plautus's comedies often touched on sensitive topics for his audience.

The Macedonian War

After the war with Hannibal, Rome was getting ready for another fight, this time in Greece. They would eventually fight Philip V of Macedon in the Second Macedonian War. But many Romans were tired of fighting.

In his play Stichus, Plautus seemed to show the mood of the Roman audience. They were happy about winning the Second Punic War but faced a new conflict. Characters in Stichus talk about officium, which means doing what is right. They also use words like pietas (duty) and aequus (fair).

The character Gelasimus, a parasite, is always looking for work to survive. This might show the economic struggles many Romans faced because of the war. Plautus seemed to side with the average Roman citizen. He suggested that the government should help its own people before starting new wars.

What Influenced Plautus?

Plautus got many ideas from Greek plays, especially something called Greek New Comedy.

Greek New Comedy

Greek New Comedy was different from older Greek plays. It didn't focus on serious political or social issues. Instead, it focused on home and family life. This was something Romans, including Plautus, could easily understand and use in their own plays.

Father-Son Relationships

A big theme in Greek New Comedy was the relationship between fathers and sons. In Plautus's plays, this relationship is also important. However, Plautus sometimes showed betrayal between fathers and sons, which was less common in Greek plays. This shows how important proper behavior between family members was in Roman society.

Farce and Humor

Plautus's plays are often described as more like a "farce" than Greek plays. A farce is a comedy that uses silly situations and exaggerated characters to make people laugh. Plautus loved to use wordplay, puns, and funny names for his characters. For example, he would use words that sounded similar but had different meanings to create jokes.

Clever Characters

Plautus often used characters that came from Greek plays but added his own twist. These included slaves, soldiers, and old men. He could change these characters to fit his plays better.

The Clever Slave

One of Plautus's most famous characters is the "clever slave." This slave is not just funny; he often helps move the story forward. In Greek New Comedy, slaves were often just for laughs or to explain things. But Plautus made them much more important. He found it funny when slaves tricked their masters or compared themselves to heroes. This made the clever slave a unique and popular character in his plays.

Did Romans Understand Greek?

Many of the names in Plautus's plays are Greek. Some experts believe that Roman audiences understood basic Greek. Roman soldiers who had been in Greek areas might have learned some Greek. This allowed Plautus to use Greek words and references, adding to the humor. He might have even been teaching Romans a bit about Greek culture and language through his plays.

Some scholars also think Plautus used Greek comedy to show that Rome was better than Greece. Rome was becoming very powerful, and the plays might have suggested that Greek plots were "weak" compared to Roman strength.

Mixing Stories: Contaminatio

Plautus often used a technique called contaminatio. This means he mixed parts from two or more Greek plays to create a new story. For example, his play Bacchides was based on a Greek play called "The Man Deceiving Twice." But Plautus's version had three tricks, not two!

He changed the Greek stories to make them more exciting for Romans. He would simplify some parts, exaggerate others, and add his own funny actions and language. He didn't just copy; he transformed the plays into something truly Roman.

How Were Plautus's Plays Performed?

In Ancient Greece, there were permanent theaters. But in Rome, during Plautus's time, there were no permanent theaters until much later.

Temporary Stages

Plays were performed on temporary wooden stages built for special events called ludi (festival games). These festivals were often religious. The stages were usually set up near the temple of the god being honored.

The stages were shallow and long, with three openings. They were much smaller than Greek theaters. Since theater wasn't a top priority, these stages were built and taken down quickly, partly because they were a fire hazard.

Audience and Actors

Seating was often limited, so many people had to stand. Important people usually got to sit in front. Plays were public events, and everyone could watch.

Because the stages were small, actors couldn't move around much. They relied more on their voices than grand gestures. There was no chorus like in Greek plays. Instead, a character called the "prologue" often explained things to the audience.

Actors were very close to the audience. This meant they had to interact directly with them. Audiences loved it when actors spoke right to them, making the performance more thrilling.

Stock Characters and Humor

Plautus used "stock characters" a lot. These are types of characters that appear again and again, like the "braggart soldier" or the "desperate parasite." He used these characters because they were funny and easy for the audience to understand.

For example, in Miles Gloriosus, the soldier Pyrgopolynices is very vain. His parasite, Artotrogus, flatters him with wild claims. These characters are perfect examples of the stock types Plautus used. He focused on broad, simple humor that his audience enjoyed.

The Clever Slave (Again!)

The clever slave was a key character. He often gave long speeches (monologues) that provided humor and explained parts of the story. He also connected directly with the audience, making them feel part of the joke. This slave often used bossy language (imperative mood) to show his power over other characters, even his master! This created a funny role-reversal where the lowest member of society seemed to be in charge.

What Was Plautus's Writing Style Like?

Plautus wrote in a casual, everyday Latin, not the formal style you might find in later Roman writers. This made his plays feel very real and lively to his audience.

Old-Fashioned Words

Plautus used many old-fashioned words and grammar rules that were common in his time but changed later. For example, he might use "mavolo" instead of "malo" for "prefer." These old forms made his plays sound natural and sometimes added a special touch for the audience.

How He Expressed Himself

Plautus had unique ways of writing. He often used proverbs, which are short, wise sayings. These proverbs often appeared at the end of a speech to make a point stronger.

He also used Greek words, especially when describing things like food, oils, or perfumes. This was like how English uses French words today to add a certain flair. Often, slaves or lower-class characters spoke Greek, perhaps because many Roman slaves were from Greece.

Plautus even included prayers in the Punic language (from Carthage) in one play, Poenulus. He probably didn't speak Punic himself, and the audience wouldn't have understood it. But it made the Carthaginian character seem more real and foreign.

Poetic Tricks

Plautus used poetic tricks like alliteration (repeating sounds at the beginning of words). For example, in Miles Gloriosus, a character says "falsiloquom, falsicum, falsiiurium" (meaning "false-speaking, false, false-swearing"). This showed off his cleverness with words. He also used assonance (repeating similar-sounding syllables).

Jokes and Wordplay

Plautus's plays are full of puns and wordplay. He loved to make up words or change their meanings, much like Shakespeare did later. Many jokes were like riddles, with a "knock knock" style.

Rhythm of the Play

Plautus used different meters (rhythms) in his plays. He didn't just copy the Greek meters. He often used a rhythm called cantica, which made his plays feel lively and musical.

How Did Plautus Influence Others?

Even though some critics thought Plautus's plays were a bit rough, he had a huge impact on later writers, especially Shakespeare and Molière.

Playwrights for centuries have looked to Plautus for ideas about characters, plots, and humor. His understanding of human silliness and the funny (and sometimes sad) things that come from it inspired many.

The Middle Ages and Early Renaissance

People were reading Plautus in the 9th century. His play Amphitruo was very popular in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. It was even the first Plautus play translated into English.

In the early 1500s, Plautus's plays were performed in English universities and schools. For example, Miles Gloriosus was performed at Oxford in 1522.

Shakespeare's Connection to Plautus

Shakespeare was greatly influenced by Plautus, especially in his early comedies. Shakespeare borrowed ideas from Plautus, just as Plautus borrowed from the Greeks.

The two plays that are most alike are Plautus's Menaechmi and Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. Both plays are about mistaken identity involving twins. Plautus used one set of twin brothers, while Shakespeare used two sets of twins (masters and their servants). Shakespeare might have gotten the idea for two sets of twins from Plautus's Amphitruo.

However, there were differences. Shakespeare's audience was Christian, and his plays often ended with happy marriages. Plautus's plays didn't have a supernatural side, and characters wouldn't blame problems on witchcraft, which was common in Shakespeare.

The idea of a master and a clever servant was also common in Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare also used opening monologues, just like Plautus.

Plautus's stock characters, like the parasite, also influenced Shakespeare. Falstaff, Shakespeare's famous knight, shares many traits with Plautus's parasites, like being obsessed with food and using flattery.

Plautus's influence can be seen in other early English comedies too, like Ralph Roister Doister, which is similar to Miles Gloriosus.

Later Influence

Plautus's ideas about tricks and deceptions also inspired later playwrights like Molière. Molière's plays, like L'Avare, feature clever slaves who drive the plot and create funny schemes, just like Plautus's Palaestrio.

In the 20th century, Plautus's work inspired the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The British TV show Up Pompeii! also used situations and stock characters from Plautus's plays.

Images for kids

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  18th-century portrait of Plautus

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• History of theatre
• Menander
• Molière
• Second Punic War
• Shakespeare
• Terence
• Theatre of ancient Rome