Plays By Plautus
Amphitryon or Amphitruo is a Latin play for the early Roman theatre by playwright Titus Maccius Plautus.It is Plautus’ only play on a mythological subject; he refers to it as a tragicomoedia (tragic comedy) in the prologue. About The Rope and Other Plays. Brilliantly adapting Greek New Comedy for Roman audiences, the sublime comedies of Plautus (c. 254-184 BC) are the earliest surviving complete works of Latin literature.
This is the original bedroom farce -- a classic switcheroo plot in which a character pretends to be another man in order to sleep with the other man’s wife. In this case, the Lothario in question is actually the god Jupiter.
Of course, this plot was old even in Plautus’s time, but the comedy still moves at a brisk pace and is generally funny. It’s unfortunate that the climax is lost (the very point at which the husband and wife realize they have been duped), but my edition translated 3.5 stars. This is the original bedroom farce -- a classic switcheroo plot in which a character pretends to be another man in order to sleep with the other man’s wife. In this case, the Lothario in question is actually the god Jupiter. Of course, this plot was old even in Plautus’s time, but the comedy still moves at a brisk pace and is generally funny.
Plays By Plautus
It’s unfortunate that the climax is lost (the very point at which the husband and wife realize they have been duped), but my edition translated by E.F Watling includes a reconstruction of that scene by Watling that is, quite frankly, better than the rest of the original surviving text by Plautus. The Amphitruo is truly a gem among Roman comedy. It is the first and only use of the word tragicomedy in Classical Latin, and it is not just a pun as it first appears.
Titus Maccius Plautus
Plautus really does blur the two genres together in this text, and we have tragic figures and scenarios arising amidst an awfully farcical tragedy. The wit and rich literally tradition Plautus is operating within rise the work from what I once thought was a ‘lowly’ state, and intricate Latin verse and incorporation of both epic an The Amphitruo is truly a gem among Roman comedy. It is the first and only use of the word tragicomedy in Classical Latin, and it is not just a pun as it first appears. Plautus really does blur the two genres together in this text, and we have tragic figures and scenarios arising amidst an awfully farcical tragedy. The wit and rich literally tradition Plautus is operating within rise the work from what I once thought was a ‘lowly’ state, and intricate Latin verse and incorporation of both epic and tragic dialogue add beauty to the work. It is definitely archaic and may not be as refined and smooth as Vergilian and Ovidian Latin, but it does not in any capacity diminished by this.
If anything, this play has helped me to actually appreciate comedy as an art form, which of course makes me mourn the loss of its Greek predecessor all the more. The play is actually hilarious and one can see exactly where Shakespeare drew his comic influence. It's a light reading although the main character's weakness gets on my nerves. So he didn't mind to be deceived by Jupiter (it was sort of 'what is mine is yours') just because his wife's 'lover' was a god! I pity the poor wife whose innocence is at plain sight throughout the play, and the only character who had the right to be truly mad with not only her husband but Jupiter as well and still there's nothing written about her reaction when she eventually found out of Jupiter's deception. Th It's a light reading although the main character's weakness gets on my nerves. So he didn't mind to be deceived by Jupiter (it was sort of 'what is mine is yours') just because his wife's 'lover' was a god!
I pity the poor wife whose innocence is at plain sight throughout the play, and the only character who had the right to be truly mad with not only her husband but Jupiter as well and still there's nothing written about her reaction when she eventually found out of Jupiter's deception. This lack of depth is the reason why I give it only three stars.
I hate to say anything bad about Prof. Mahoney's work, but this is. Not a good edition of this play. It's a great idea: Latin notes facing the Latin text, with further English notes + Latin-English glossary in the back. The Latin notes facing the text however are nowhere near sufficient for an intermediate student, as is made evident by the fact that most of them are repeated in English at the back (which thus obviates the reading of the Latin notes).
Plautine forms are often left unexplained I hate to say anything bad about Prof. Mahoney's work, but this is. Not a good edition of this play.
Politia bucuresti. It's a great idea: Latin notes facing the Latin text, with further English notes + Latin-English glossary in the back. The Latin notes facing the text however are nowhere near sufficient for an intermediate student, as is made evident by the fact that most of them are repeated in English at the back (which thus obviates the reading of the Latin notes). Plautine forms are often left unexplained (despite the lack of a general introduction to Plautus' Latin), and there are a few actual mistakes regarding the syntax (for example, donatum in 766 qui illaec illic me donatum esse aurea patera sciat is identified in both the Latin and English notes as a supine, but it is of course just the PPP: the construction is me donatum esse aureā paterā, 'that I was given a golden plate'). The glossary is nice to have (an improvement over other school editions), but not as thorough as one would wish. I would not adopt this edition with intermediate students. And I'm not sure why, of all the literature out there, Mahoney chose the Amphitruo to write this hybrid Latin-English commentary for, since the Amphitruo already *has* an existing Latin commentary for intermediate students in the Oerberg LL series (albeit abridged). The plot is energetic and enjoyable.