Description
Book SynopsisIn this first introduction to Plautus'
Trinummus, students and non-specialists alike are guided through the themes, context, and enduring humor of this Roman comedy. The play portrays the story of an elaborate game of keep-away involving a hidden treasure, a hot-blooded spendthrift youth, his pious sister, her would-be fiancee, a con-artist, and the most unlikely of comic schemers-a group of overly pious old men. The conflict of the plot focuses on whether a pair of old men can help their absent friend Charmides by getting a dowry to his daughter without Charmides' wastrel son Lesbonicus first spending the money on the usual comic debauchery. The money is taken from a treasure hidden by Charmides when he left and a sycophant is hired to pretend to bring letters from Charmides along with the cash for the dowry. Comic confusion ensues when Charmides returns from abroad just in time to intercept the con-artist and overturn the scheming of his friends. Long neglected,
Trinummus
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Preface 1. Introduction 2. Playing against Type: Trinummus as Roman Comedy Remix 3. What’s Roman about Plautus’ Trinummus? 4. Religion in Trinummus 5. A Moral Play or a Play on Morals? Conclusion Appendix A: Music in Trinummus Appendix B: A Textual Note on Line 831 Appendix C: Moral Sententiae in Trinummus Notes Bibliography Index
