Terence: Andria

by Sander M. Goldberg, C.W. Marshall (Editor), Niall W. Slater (Editor)

Launching a much-needed new series discussing each comedy that survives from the ancient world, this volume is a vital companion to Terence's earliest comedy, Andria, highlighting its context, themes, staging and legacy. Ideal for students it assumes no knowledge of Latin, but is helpful also for scholars wanting a quick introduction. This will be the first port of call for anyone studying or researching the play.

Though Andria launched Terence's career as a dramatist at Rome, it has attracted comparatively little attention from modern critics. It is nevertheless a play of great interest, not least for the sensitivity with which it portrays family relationships and for its influence on later dramatists. It also presents students of Roman comedy with all the features that came to characterize Terence's particular version of traditional comedy, and it raises all the interpretive questions that have dogged the study of Terence for generations. This volume will use a close reading of the play to explore the central issues in understanding Terence's style of play-making and its legacy.

Genres: Drama, Plays, Classics

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2019

Reviews

[Chet]

I was reading an essay by American Marxist Herbert Aptheker in which he recommended an alternative Greek drama canon which placed Terence front and center, for his supposed progressive place in the history of drama over and above the more well known and celebrated playwrights of that epoch. Fine and dandy but reading this I didn't really see what sets Terence apart. Just more light satire of high Greek society tastefully translated by some 19th century British intellectual. I'm no expert on ancient Greek drama but I personally don't see why Aptheker singled out Terence for unique praise.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the best plays I read for my classical greek and roman comedies class. Loved it!