PLAUTO: BIOGRAPHY AND WORK - ART - 2025

Tito Maccio Plauto was a Latin playwright. Although the exact date is unknown, it is believed that he lived between approximately 254 and 184 BC. C. in the Roman Empire. Around 130 works are attributed to him that manage to reflect the image of the Roman people of the time.

He is known as the most popular of the comediographers (comedy authors) of the Roman theater and a clear dominator of the art scene of the time, with great works that won the love and acclaim of a people in times of deprivation. Plautus' work is recorded as the first specialized in a specific literary genre.

Excerpt from Bacchides, the work of Plautus

His Latin comedy dealt with everyday themes of the suffering of the people, with a simple humor that reached the majority without second levels of interpretation. Information on this author is unclear; Most of it comes from the compilation work of Varrón, who investigated the life of Plauto to transmit his artistic legacy.

In addition to comedy, Plautus dedicated a large part of his life to acting and trading in the Mediterranean Sea, an activity that would cause him great debt. Impoverished, he must use his labor power to move a millstone.

This hard task that Plautus had to carry out, as well as the context of his experiences, will inspire him to create very interesting and peculiar worlds and characters, which he would later capture brilliantly in the works of his authorship.

Biography

Plautus, or Plautus in Latin, was born in Sarsina, Umbria (now Italy), in the Roman Empire. It is believed that his birth was around 250 BC. C.

His biographical data comes in part from the compilations of the Roman polygraph Marco Terencio Varrón, in part from speculations based on historical data related to their contexts, and in part from estimates drawn from his works.

His life takes place during the Second Punic War and the first Roman intervention on Greece and the Hellenistic East. Therefore, his people suffered from basic shortages and the masses were forced into over-demanding and poorly paid jobs.

Plautus moved to Rome as a young man and began working in theater companies, gaining an interest in and knowledge of the technical and artistic aspects of Roman theater. Soon he began to write arrangements and adaptations of Greek comedies, while observing the customs of the citizens of the Empire.

Trader stage

It can be assumed that for some time he was engaged in maritime trade through the Mediterranean Sea, since the characters of the sea in his comedies use very detailed specific language.

Apparently his trade as a merchant did not prosper and he soon found himself in debt, for which he had to resort to the demanding work of pushing the millstone pole, spinning around it for several hours.

It is believed that this was the context where he developed most of his settings and characters that he will later capture in his works, since it is a physically demanding job carried out by people from the poorest classes, who will later be the protagonists of his stories..

When he returned to the theater with his new plays, his success was resounding. He obtained great fame throughout the Empire and is believed to have died rich in 184 BC. C., with more than 70 years of age.

Plautus main works

Of the 130 works attributed to him, Varro awards Plauto 21 that are authentically his. Of the rest, it is considered that 19 of these can be attributed to Plautus due to their style and certain historical data, and the others are included in works unrelated to Plautus, which can be attributed to the imitators of the author in his time.

Of his authentic works, the following stand out:

TO

A comedy that recounts the conflict in a marriage that obtains 20 coins from the sale of some donkeys, and both the husband and the wife want to use the money for different purposes.

AND

Work where a father and son dispute the property of a young and beautiful newly acquired slave.

Host

Mythological comedy that tells how Jupiter seduces Alcmena by posing as her husband, General Host.

The boastful soldier

Plautus' oldest known comedy. It narrates the adventures of a false soldier hero named Pirgopolínices.

Epidic

A comedy that tells how an old man buys a slave girl believing that she is his daughter, while the seller uses the money to buy another slave without knowing that she is his sister.

All of his authentic and preserved works are as follows:

• Amphitruo
• Asinaria
• Aulularia
• Bacchides
• Captivi
• Casina
• Cistellaria
• Curculio
• Epidicus
• Menaechmi
• Mercator
• Miles Gloriosus
• Mostellaria
• Persian
• Poenulus
• Pseudolus
• Rudens
• Stichus
• Trinummus
• Truculentus

Characteristics of Plautus' works

Greek comedy adaptations

In general, Plautus' work is based on free adaptations of Greek comedy. Its content is based on the personal life of the author, narrating adventures and personal adventures in the skin of fictional or mythological characters.

Simple humor

It is characterized by the use of simple resources, both in the composition of the characters and their languages ​​and in the story and settings. His humor is characterized by being simple and of easy impact and understanding, in order to reach the widest possible audience, crossing socio-cultural barriers.

It was this that earned him fame in the Empire, since his comedies were acclaimed by the popular classes who, in the context of crisis and misery, took comfort in simple humor.

Dynamism on stage

On stage, the characters interacted with great gestures and dynamic mobilities. In addition, they produced spectacular costumes and sets making the scene grotesque. Even the characters often broke the fourth wall and interacted with the audience present.

Use of innovative elements

He used novel resources, such as exaggerated and contradictory gestures (characters making gestures contrary to what they said).

He also used stage duplications, in which he duplicated characters and settings through the mirror effect. So these characters interacted with their other selves.

On the other hand, the dialogues tend to be surprising, colloquial, obscene and even with made up words, parodying other languages ​​of the region.

Reflection of everyday situations

Plauto knew the real problems of people, and this allowed him to turn everyday situations into the setting of his works.

References

1. Augustana, B. (nd). Bibliotheca Augustana. Retrieved February 18, 2018, from hs-augsburg.de
2. Bookstore, MD (nd). Moonstruck Drama Bookstore. Retrieved February 18, 2018, from imagi-nation.com
3. Fortson IV, BW (2008). Language and rhythm in Plautus: Synchronic and diachronic studies. Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter.
4. Mahoney, WM (1907). Syntax of Plautus. Perseus. Oxford J. Parker and Co.
5. Plautus, TM (nd). Comedies Complete work. Madrid: Editorial Gredos.