Synopses & Reviews
Terence was the outstanding comedic playwright of his generation and one of the founding fathers of European comic drama. All six of his plays survive and are collected in this volume. Acknowledged as classics soon after his early death, admired above all for their style but also for their insights into human nature, these plays have been imitated by authors as diverse Molire and P.G. Wodehouse. They deal with the love-life of adolescent boys and with associated tensions in their relations with their fathers, showing love triumph over obstacles of various kinds. The action is enlivened by a number of stock characters such as scheming slaves, parasites, prostitutes, pimps, and boastful soldiers, and stock situations such as the rediscovery of foundlings. Rome had reached a pinnacle of power in the Mediterranean world, and the plays reflect tensions that were in the air at the time. But they are also true to universal elements of human experience, and audiences today can readily engage with the issues they raise. This new translation with introduction and explanatory notes aims to be both accurate and idiomatic, and to convey the liveliness of the plays as pieces written for the theatre.
Synopsis
'I thought you'd do what the common run of slaves normally do, cheating and tricking me because my son's having an affair.'Terence's comedies have provided plots and characters for comic drama from classical times to the present; the outstanding comic playwright of his generation at Rome, he has influenced authors from Molière and Wycherley to P. G. Wodehouse. Scheming slaves, parasites, prostitutes, pimps, and boastful soldiers populate his plays, which show love triumphing over obstacles of various kinds, and the problems that arise from ignorance, misunderstanding, and prejudice. Although they reflect contemporary tensions in Roman society, their insights into human nature and experience make them timeless in their appeal. Peter Brown's lively new translation does full justice to Terence's style and skill as a dramatist.
About the Author
Peter Brown is Lecturer in Classics at Oxford University and Fellow at Trinity College.
Table of Contents
The Girl from Andros The Mother-in-Law
The Self-Tormentor
The Eunuch Phormio
The Brothers
The Girl from Andros
The Mother-in-Law
The Self-Tormentor
The Eunuch
Phormio
The Brothers