Introduction: Comedy and Power

Plautus: The Brothers Menaechmus and the Swaggering Soldier

In this course, Professor John Wilkins (University of Exeter) provides a provide introduction to the comedy of Plautus, with a special focus on two plays in particular: The Brothers Menaechmus and The Swaggering Soldier. After a brief introduction to Roman comedy, the first half of the course concentrates mainly on The Brothers Menaechmus, with modules on the basic human desires that drive Plautine comedy, the importance of the Italian comic tradition, the figure of the parasite, and the theme of identity. In the second half of the course, we focus more on The Swaggering Soldier, with modules on the audience, the parody of tragedy, and the figures of the boastful soldier and the clever slave.

Introduction: Comedy and Power

In this module, we provide a brief introduction to the difference between Old and New Comedy, before thinking about why it was that the censorious Romans allowed such a subversive and disruptive dramatic genre as New Comedy to be performed in their city.