Plautus' Persa: Introduction and Commentary

by Joseph Conlon, Bernhard Zimmermann (Other)

This commentary on the Persa is the first full-length treatment of the play in English. The commentary, in addition to collecting comparanda, explaining difficult and corrupt passages, providing necessary cultural and historical context, etc., places particular emphasis on explaining Plautus' language (especially alliteration, proverbs, etymology, the relationship between the colloquial and literary registers of Latin, word choice, and parallels with modern European languages), the staging of the drama, the development of the characters and their relationships, music, and the issues of slavery and gender. The goal throughout is to render the play more accessible to a wider audience of readers.

Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2025

About the author

Joseph Conlon is professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oxford and a teaching fellow of New College, where he has been since 2012. His scientific research ranges across string theory, particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics and his 75 scientific papers include foundational contributions to these subjects.

He was a three-times British junior chess champion; a precocious childhood led to him finishing his first mathematics degree at 18, done part-time along schoolwork.

Along with his physics research, he seeks to communicate the transcendently deep and beautiful ideas of physics in the language they deserve. He is the author of Why String Theory? (CRC, 2015), a defense of the broad and enduring intellectual value of string theory, and the upcoming Origins (Oneworld, 2024), a verse account of the early universe.

Photo credit Philippa Sims.