Asinaria

by Plautus

Asses, asses, and more asses! This new edition of Plautus' rumbustious comedy provides the complete original Latin text, witty scholarly commentary, and an English translation that both complements and explicates Plautus' original style. John Henderson reveals this play as a key to Roman social relations centered on many kinds of slavery: to sex, money, and family structure; to masculinity and social standing; to senility and partying; and to jokes, lies, and idiocy. The translation remains faithful to Plautus' syllabic style for reading aloud, as well as to his humorous colloquialisms and wordplay, providing readers with a comfortable affinity to Plautus himself. An indispensable teaching and learning tool for the study of Roman New Comedy, this edition includes comprehensive commentary, useful indexes, and a pronunciation guide that will help readers of all levels understand and appreciate Plautus and his era

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Classics, Drama, Humor, Comedy

Paperback

First published January 1, 213

About the author

Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest works in Latin literature to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus. The word Plautine refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced by his.

Reviews

[Cloti Montes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Salir de la zona de confort ha sido todo un reto para mí pero ha merecido la pena darle una oportunidad al teatro clásico y disfrutar de la mezcla de picardía e ingenuidad.

[Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divertida de leer.

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plautus’ farces often overturn norms of power, status, and gender. Demaenetus is fun, an erring dependent husband.

[Elettra · Rating 3 out of 5]

In verità non ho apprezzato particolarmente questa commedia plautina per la presenza un po’eccessiva di personaggi stereotipati e forse anche per l’argomento. Devo ammettere però che ci sono tutti gli elementi fonte di comicità. Situazioni paradossali, equivoci, uso abbondante di doppi sensi e battute pesanti. I dialoghi sono vivaci e il ritmo veloce. Interessante è poi il ribaltamento dei ruoli nella famiglia. Non più il “pater familias” che comanda, ma qui c’è la “mater” con tanto di dote e padrona della casa. Il vecchio “senex” libidinoso è smascherato e ridicolizzato. La corruzione morale viene dunque messa alla berlina.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The clear line from Aristophanes to Plautus is easy to see in this play based on Greek sources. Decent but nothing terribly interesting.

[iva · Rating 5 out of 5]

JA

[Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

How strange and marvelous it is that some critics precisely identify the same 4/5 point where the play becomes pretty good

In the light of this discovery, one can't help but wonder: what was Plautus smoking before?

Seeing as so many call this play coarse, which it is, it's somewhat pleasant to discover lower standards did not turn Plautus' character development to laziness. It takes four fifths to make a woman the de facto pater familias (boss), to show the supposedly wise senex (old man) as ruled by the same moral weaknesses society attributes to youngsters, parents hypocritically calling on filial piety regardless of their own obvious vices, masters humiliating themselves before slaves for money and materialism everywhere.

Another innovation it that Plautus takes two classical structures and completely recasts them. On one hand there is the adolescent in love with an ineligible girl with the paterfamilias as an obstacle, on the other the love triangle. Instead Plautus gives us an old man trying to get one night with his son's Philenium, the prostitute, with his wealthy wife as the obstacle, and the well-worn love triangle becomes a tetrahedron.

1876 edition, translated by Édouard Sommer.

[Santiago González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta la comedia clásica, tiene muchas bromas que me han recordado a las de Aristófanes, aunque con el confuso enredo de la comedia nueva. Muy divertida, con conversaciones, peleas y rapapolvos graciosos.

[Alfredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A man’s a wolf, not a man . . .

Sneaky Hobbes didn't bother quoting the whole thing:

—to a man who don’t know what he’s like"...

Does that change things?

Probably not

[Marco :P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hay muchos insultos, me reí.
La mitad de la obra es como leerte una peleita entre coleguillas + un rapapolvo de la mujer de uno a ese uno.

[Roberto Marianople · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todo un semao el Plauto

[Joaquin Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plauto debía ser un cago de risa en las reuniones. Un grande. Fenómeno.

[Milena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Connor N. F. Field · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was way too rushed, so much more comedic or dramatic potential in Act V or even the ever so short Act IV.

[clau ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ni las telenovelas mexicanas tienen tanto drama

[Daniela¡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

muuuy buena, realmente me divertí leyendola

[Gaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niestety nie jest to poziom "Żołnierza Samochwały"

[Maddy TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una comedia que es demasiado entretenida, ágil y con buenos personajes, solo no le doy 5 estrellas porque no me hizo reir, sé que no es contemporánea, pero Aulularia vaya que me hizo carcajear.

[Agustina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leído para mi clase de Lengua Latina II.

[Faith B · Rating 2 out of 5]

The crap, Plautus? What even is this? Weird sex abounds, most of it rather horrific (father forcing his son to let him have a go at his fiancee before the wedding night, anyone?). In fact, I hesitate to shelve this among "ancient classics."

Plus, Henderson's translation is truly terrible. There really aren't many English translations of this particular play, so I suppose we should be grateful that we don't have to read it in Latin, but still. Henderson. Just because you have a doctorate does not mean you are allowed to use groan-inducing "quirky colloquialisms" throughout your translation.

[Martin Rodríguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

💕 Me ha gustado muchísimo más de lo que esperaba, por eso de que es una comedia romana y demás, me echaba para atrás un poco. Pero para nada se hizo pesado ni el vocabulario era algo fuera de lo normal.
To sum up: Recomendadisimo

[Prodosia Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enredada y divertida, perfecta para pasar un rato agradable.