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Plautus - Complete Roman Drama in Translation #3
Plautus: The Comedies Vol. III
"The works of Plautus," writes Palmer Bovie, "mark the real beginning of Roman literature." Now Bovie and David Slavitt have brought together a distinguished group of translators for the final two volumes of a four-volume set containing all twenty-one surviving comedies of one of Western literature's greatest dramatists.Born in Sarsina, Umbria, in 254 B.C., Plautus is said to have worked in Rome as a stage carpenter and later as a miller's helper. Whether authentic or not, these few details about the playwright's life are consistent with the image of him one might infer from his plays. Plautus was not "literary" but rather an energetic and resourceful man of the world who spoke the language of the people. His dramatic works were his way of describing and portraying that world in a language the people understood.
Since Plautus's career unfolded against the background of the Second Punic War, it is not surprising that his prologues often end with a wish for the audience's "good luck against your enemies" or that the plays have their share of arrogant generals, boastful military captains, and mercenary adventurers. But other unforgettable characters are here as well -- among them Euclio, in the Aulularia, the model for Molire's miser. In these lively new translations, which effectively communicate the vitality and verve of the originals, the plays of Plautus are accessible to a new generation.
Plays and translators:
Volume 3: Poenulus, Janet Burroway. Asinaria, Fred Chappell. Trinummus, Daniel Mark Epstein. Epidicus, Constance Carrier. Mostellaria, Palmer Bovie.
Since Plautus's career unfolded against the background of the Second Punic War, it is not surprising that his prologues often end with a wish for the audience's "good luck against your enemies" or that the plays have their share of arrogant generals, boastful military captains, and mercenary adventurers. But other unforgettable characters are here as well -- among them Euclio, in the Aulularia, the model for Molire's miser. In these lively new translations, which effectively communicate the vitality and verve of the originals, the plays of Plautus are accessible to a new generation.
Plays and translators:
Volume 3: Poenulus, Janet Burroway. Asinaria, Fred Chappell. Trinummus, Daniel Mark Epstein. Epidicus, Constance Carrier. Mostellaria, Palmer Bovie.
- GenresDrama
392 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1995
30 people want to read
About the author
David R. Slavitt
158 books10 followersDavid Rytman Slavitt was an American writer, poet, and translator, the author of more than 100 books.
Slavitt has written a number of novels and numerous translations from Greek, Latin, and other languages. Slavitt wrote a number of popular novels under the pseudonym Henry Sutton, starting in the late 1960s. The Exhibitionist (1967) was a bestseller and sold over four million copies. He has also published popular novels under the names of David Benjamin, Lynn Meyer, and Henry Lazarus. His first work, a book of poems titled Suits for the Dead, was published in 1961. He worked as a writer and film critic for Newsweek from 1958 to 1965.
According to Henry S. Taylor, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, "David Slavitt is among the most accomplished living practitioners" of writing, "in both prose and verse; his poems give us a pleasurable, beautiful way of meditating on a bad time. We can't ask much more of literature, and usually we get far less." Novelist and poet James Dickey wrote, "Slavitt has such an easy, tolerant, believable relationship with the ancient world and its authors that making the change-over from that world to ours is less a leap than an enjoyable stroll. The reader feels a continual sense of gratitude."
Slavitt has written a number of novels and numerous translations from Greek, Latin, and other languages. Slavitt wrote a number of popular novels under the pseudonym Henry Sutton, starting in the late 1960s. The Exhibitionist (1967) was a bestseller and sold over four million copies. He has also published popular novels under the names of David Benjamin, Lynn Meyer, and Henry Lazarus. His first work, a book of poems titled Suits for the Dead, was published in 1961. He worked as a writer and film critic for Newsweek from 1958 to 1965.
According to Henry S. Taylor, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, "David Slavitt is among the most accomplished living practitioners" of writing, "in both prose and verse; his poems give us a pleasurable, beautiful way of meditating on a bad time. We can't ask much more of literature, and usually we get far less." Novelist and poet James Dickey wrote, "Slavitt has such an easy, tolerant, believable relationship with the ancient world and its authors that making the change-over from that world to ours is less a leap than an enjoyable stroll. The reader feels a continual sense of gratitude."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2016
In my misguided attempt to write up an amateur Plautine consumer guide I've run into several problems. The main dilemma being the "Complete Roman Drama In Translation" series, since it compiles the plays in a random fashion, while the translations themselves are never by the same person. I've come to realize it is impossible to just broadly talk about the plays delieiverd in this book without needing to separate them, so I did exactly that. I will get to all the volumes of this series eventually.
#1."Poenulus (The Little Carthaginian)" 4/5
'That's what I like in a liar: professionalism!'
Poenulus' plot is that standard Plautine tune of a boy madly in love but the girl is a slave (prostitute) so he must figure out how to save her, something something actually freeborn. What's great about this one though is that it has two of my favorite Roman stock characters: both the abhorrent pimp who absolutely every member of society hates, and the boastful solider who can't get enough of himself. Interestingly enough this play subtly delves into deeper themes of law (how to use/abuse), as well as 'divine justice'. The notion of calculating the worth of prayer/sacrifices is prevalent throughout the comedy, gods are mentioned extensively: tipping now in one favour now in the other. This play is a true masterwork of witty Plautine dialogue and I must give a hearty round of applause to the specific translator here, Janet Burroway, for making it come alive but more importantly getting the jokes to leap past their cultural bind. Here are a few examples of how relentlessly clever the back and forth dialouge is in this one:
Milphio: Knock me about some more and hold an auction. You hardly need this ritzy place to sleep.
Agorastocles: Why not?
Milphio: Your always laying into me.
or
Milphio: Why I'm the puniest Punic that ever ground out of a bun, the lowest form of wheat.
Agorastocles: Then I knead your help; get along with it, you thoroughbread (bread).
or
Agorastocles:How about if I batter his door right now?
Shysters: Bright idea
Agorastocles:But what if he ignores me if I batter?
Shysters:Then his cake is crummy.
The last one there is clever because it concerns knocking on the pimp's door whereas he would be losing cake (money) if he doesn't answer, but you get the point. The play is agreeably sprinkled all over with this type of cunning banter: Burroway makes sure it makes sense to us without over burdening the language through modernity. Noteworthy to point out are the Punic verses written out in the play. Plautus is writing during the Second Punic War so his familiarity and exposure to Carthaginian culture must not have been as completely stunted like later writers during the Roman period.A good one, especially if you don't like your Plautus to be too slave-centric in his role of solving his masters problems.
#2."Asinaria (Asses Galore)" 2/5
'Do what I do. Worry about your heart after you've covered your ass'
If I was forced to point out exactly 3 things that make a Plautine translation bad, the list would look something like this:
A. Modernizing/changing the original Latin character names
B. Turning the play into a musical comedy
C. Being overly liberal with the translation itself
Unfortunately for us "Asinaria", done by Fred Chapell, is afflicted with all these flaws (with more to go around). If any of you are on familiar terms with Amy Richlin's translations you will know exactly what technique I am talking about. Although this single play isn't as bad as that (nothing like Carthaginians named Osama and roman comedy meets The Beatles), it's getting there. I swear Chapell specifically altered the name of 'Argyrippus' to 'Rip' so he could make that one joke in Act I Scene II: "Let it Rip, Rip". I have never understood the surprisingly common urge translators get to do these types of things, it has always felt clearly unnatural to me. Perhaps they think we aren't capable of juggling the few foreign sounding names or maybe their idea is that by not modernizing certain things readers will distance themselves from the action if it doesn't seem somewhat familiar. I don't Know. I won't even comment on the fact that this translation gives every other page a long musical number; except to point out that if you skip these frequent interludes this bland text can be read much quicker.
Even looking past these regrettable technical interferences,'Asinaria' is still not a particularly engaging play by any stretch. There's no need to even recite the plot as it's fundamentally unmemorable and a direct reflection of Roman stock models (even in this collection); not many risks are taken with this one at all. I wouldn't want to identify this as a 'filler' play by any means, but if the academic world suddenly found out that this was ghostwritten by one of Plautus' apprentices I wouldn't be too surprised. The dialogue falls flat and the action is not captivating. It seem's like Plautus was bored when he wrote this one because he didn't even bother giving the 'crafty slaves' an interesting challenge, rather letting the freedman just practically take care of the central problem for them. In fact it is possible to make the case that this might be the most role reversed Plautine work when it comes to the master/slave dynamic. With that I mean that the masters (both father and son) don't even act like they own these people and are constantly being humiliated by the slaves themselves. I mean for God's sake in the one scene "Rip" is giving his hysterical slave a piggy back ride as he dangles a money bag in front of his masters face, taunting him relentlessly.
Their are no good characters in this play, all of them are people you wouldn't ever want to associate with. Theres the ditzy young couple, the oblivious cruel mother, a father who doesn't mind his son marrying a prostitute as long as he gets in on the action, etc. It says much about the character development in this work when a side character, a visiting trader named 'Mercator', gets the most notable line: "Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit" ("man is no man, but a wolf, to a stranger"). To wrap it up I'll just say this one's not a strong candidate for my favourite Roman Comedy, read it only if your a Plautus fiend. If anyone wants to debate the merits of this particular play with me I would be glad to engage in some sort of discussion, especially if you personally consider it a memorable read.
#3."Trinummus (The Thirty-Dollar Day)" 3/5
'Wish in one hand, spit in the other, see which one fills up first'
Compared to Asinaria, this play is a structural breath of the crispest breeze of mountain air, something like popping 10 mints and inhaling in a winter storm. Although not altogether a completely unique concept, i.e. father returns from long trip to find out he has a dysfunctional delinquent son, this play is seriously complex and far from being a light hearted fun read. It touches on a large number of themes, everything from the nature of friendship, behavioral resentment, social criticism, and the mental vs. physical are fair game in this text. The translator is definitely correct in labeling it a 'morality play'; there is enough meaty substance in this one to chew on for a quite a while.
I won't try to interpret how successful Plautus is in getting his ideas across, I will however say that this play was somewhat of a drag to sit through. However, I found much interest in the character 'Lesbonicus', the originally unruly youth who sends his father's fortune plummeting, is perhaps the most intresting character in this comedy. Lesbonicus' personality is extensively multi faceted and he seems to show genuine grief/regret for his behaviour. I think Lesbonicus is the most internally troubled Plautine figure that doesn't directly attempt to end his life (though he does contemplate just joining the army and escaping from it all). His unwillingness to give his sister away for marriage without a dowry (that would send him into poverty) is an interesting exploration of ideal Roman model of virtue and is certainly open to various degrees of interpretation.
The ending of this play was a bit rushed and just a tad bit convenient in the way it wrapped up (see Terence review). Overall a preachy but certainly interesting concept.
#4."Epidicus" 3.5/5
"He'd best provide the shield-makers with metal If he keeps giving the spoils to his opponents."
This is easily the shortest play in this collection; the title doesn't have a translation as 'Epidicus' is just the name of the clever main slaved. Epidicus was ordered to buy a female slave for his masters son and as usual things get extremely dicey at break neck pace. It's convinent to have 'Mostellaria' and this play both at the end sincethe premise of the crafty slave trying to tie the situation together is the central theme here. The translation is quite conversational as opposed to being poetical/musical. This is in general a possitive but this particular play doesn't benefit much from this rendering since there isn't as much witty dialouge as one might expect. There's not much to say about this one, it's like the bargain Mostellaria: duller dialouge, mostly stock characters, and a confusing plot that gets to be almost Terence level nauseating. 0.5 added to the rating because this is one that would probably be amazing on stage. However Plautus has done better elsewhere with this as a literary concept.
#5."Mostellaria (The Haunted House)" 5/5
"Reality consists for the most part of things unhoped for" (pg.324)
Mostellaria is the Plautine "clever slave" trope cooked to perfection. Just like in other comedies of this nature (think Pseudolus)the point here is that a young man is in love with a women , usually a slave, and is frantically trying to find a way for his father to not find out his socially/financially disastourous state of affairs. This is of course where the boys slave comes into play (into the play?). In this case it's the character of "Tranio" who quite literally makes up the plot of this play as he goes along. Tranio quickly calculates possible ways to temporarily smoke screen the boys father: while at the same juggling a dizzying ammount of ideas in order to adjourn his calamitous and inevitable fate. Tranio is the 'crafty slave' par excellence, never has Plautus more directly shown the fundamental literary constitution of this stock character than right here in Mostellaria. Tranio himself gives us a clear cut description of the ingredients used in his mischevious recipe, with dizzying misdirection being the most notable aroma.
"In my situation so fraught with peril and confusion. Create more confusion, surely that's the solution." (pg.390)
There's something deeply satisfying to me about watching a character hang on by the skin of his teeth trying to maneuver his way as long as he can from trailing trouble, especially when he's practically freestyling the technique: just hoping to god that something will just turn up to save him. What is sort of unique in Mostellaria is the level of self-consciousness the characters exhibit, especially the love struck boy (Philolaches in this case) who fully recognizes the degradation he personally experiences in his constant pursual of physical lusts with the lack of a father figure to watch over him. In his description of the slave girl he fell in love with he is acutely observent of his changed position:
"Lovely Love Herself! That's my heavenly hurricane, who unroofed the top from the whole sphere of self control I'd been housed in." (Pg.321).
I think the general editor of this volume rightly points out the similarities of this play with the 1962 comedy A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum You can easily see connections through the two bickering slaves and the female roles who I was expecting to bust out singing 'I'm Lovely' at any given moment. Overall a highly entertaining comedy (with genuine laughs included), one of Plautus' most well executed. If you are intrested in the moral arguements surronding the Roman slave dynamic this is a valuable resource as well.
#1."Poenulus (The Little Carthaginian)" 4/5
'That's what I like in a liar: professionalism!'
Poenulus' plot is that standard Plautine tune of a boy madly in love but the girl is a slave (prostitute) so he must figure out how to save her, something something actually freeborn. What's great about this one though is that it has two of my favorite Roman stock characters: both the abhorrent pimp who absolutely every member of society hates, and the boastful solider who can't get enough of himself. Interestingly enough this play subtly delves into deeper themes of law (how to use/abuse), as well as 'divine justice'. The notion of calculating the worth of prayer/sacrifices is prevalent throughout the comedy, gods are mentioned extensively: tipping now in one favour now in the other. This play is a true masterwork of witty Plautine dialogue and I must give a hearty round of applause to the specific translator here, Janet Burroway, for making it come alive but more importantly getting the jokes to leap past their cultural bind. Here are a few examples of how relentlessly clever the back and forth dialouge is in this one:
Milphio: Knock me about some more and hold an auction. You hardly need this ritzy place to sleep.
Agorastocles: Why not?
Milphio: Your always laying into me.
or
Milphio: Why I'm the puniest Punic that ever ground out of a bun, the lowest form of wheat.
Agorastocles: Then I knead your help; get along with it, you thoroughbread (bread).
or
Agorastocles:How about if I batter his door right now?
Shysters: Bright idea
Agorastocles:But what if he ignores me if I batter?
Shysters:Then his cake is crummy.
The last one there is clever because it concerns knocking on the pimp's door whereas he would be losing cake (money) if he doesn't answer, but you get the point. The play is agreeably sprinkled all over with this type of cunning banter: Burroway makes sure it makes sense to us without over burdening the language through modernity. Noteworthy to point out are the Punic verses written out in the play. Plautus is writing during the Second Punic War so his familiarity and exposure to Carthaginian culture must not have been as completely stunted like later writers during the Roman period.A good one, especially if you don't like your Plautus to be too slave-centric in his role of solving his masters problems.
#2."Asinaria (Asses Galore)" 2/5
'Do what I do. Worry about your heart after you've covered your ass'
If I was forced to point out exactly 3 things that make a Plautine translation bad, the list would look something like this:
A. Modernizing/changing the original Latin character names
B. Turning the play into a musical comedy
C. Being overly liberal with the translation itself
Unfortunately for us "Asinaria", done by Fred Chapell, is afflicted with all these flaws (with more to go around). If any of you are on familiar terms with Amy Richlin's translations you will know exactly what technique I am talking about. Although this single play isn't as bad as that (nothing like Carthaginians named Osama and roman comedy meets The Beatles), it's getting there. I swear Chapell specifically altered the name of 'Argyrippus' to 'Rip' so he could make that one joke in Act I Scene II: "Let it Rip, Rip". I have never understood the surprisingly common urge translators get to do these types of things, it has always felt clearly unnatural to me. Perhaps they think we aren't capable of juggling the few foreign sounding names or maybe their idea is that by not modernizing certain things readers will distance themselves from the action if it doesn't seem somewhat familiar. I don't Know. I won't even comment on the fact that this translation gives every other page a long musical number; except to point out that if you skip these frequent interludes this bland text can be read much quicker.
Even looking past these regrettable technical interferences,'Asinaria' is still not a particularly engaging play by any stretch. There's no need to even recite the plot as it's fundamentally unmemorable and a direct reflection of Roman stock models (even in this collection); not many risks are taken with this one at all. I wouldn't want to identify this as a 'filler' play by any means, but if the academic world suddenly found out that this was ghostwritten by one of Plautus' apprentices I wouldn't be too surprised. The dialogue falls flat and the action is not captivating. It seem's like Plautus was bored when he wrote this one because he didn't even bother giving the 'crafty slaves' an interesting challenge, rather letting the freedman just practically take care of the central problem for them. In fact it is possible to make the case that this might be the most role reversed Plautine work when it comes to the master/slave dynamic. With that I mean that the masters (both father and son) don't even act like they own these people and are constantly being humiliated by the slaves themselves. I mean for God's sake in the one scene "Rip" is giving his hysterical slave a piggy back ride as he dangles a money bag in front of his masters face, taunting him relentlessly.
Their are no good characters in this play, all of them are people you wouldn't ever want to associate with. Theres the ditzy young couple, the oblivious cruel mother, a father who doesn't mind his son marrying a prostitute as long as he gets in on the action, etc. It says much about the character development in this work when a side character, a visiting trader named 'Mercator', gets the most notable line: "Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit" ("man is no man, but a wolf, to a stranger"). To wrap it up I'll just say this one's not a strong candidate for my favourite Roman Comedy, read it only if your a Plautus fiend. If anyone wants to debate the merits of this particular play with me I would be glad to engage in some sort of discussion, especially if you personally consider it a memorable read.
#3."Trinummus (The Thirty-Dollar Day)" 3/5
'Wish in one hand, spit in the other, see which one fills up first'
Compared to Asinaria, this play is a structural breath of the crispest breeze of mountain air, something like popping 10 mints and inhaling in a winter storm. Although not altogether a completely unique concept, i.e. father returns from long trip to find out he has a dysfunctional delinquent son, this play is seriously complex and far from being a light hearted fun read. It touches on a large number of themes, everything from the nature of friendship, behavioral resentment, social criticism, and the mental vs. physical are fair game in this text. The translator is definitely correct in labeling it a 'morality play'; there is enough meaty substance in this one to chew on for a quite a while.
I won't try to interpret how successful Plautus is in getting his ideas across, I will however say that this play was somewhat of a drag to sit through. However, I found much interest in the character 'Lesbonicus', the originally unruly youth who sends his father's fortune plummeting, is perhaps the most intresting character in this comedy. Lesbonicus' personality is extensively multi faceted and he seems to show genuine grief/regret for his behaviour. I think Lesbonicus is the most internally troubled Plautine figure that doesn't directly attempt to end his life (though he does contemplate just joining the army and escaping from it all). His unwillingness to give his sister away for marriage without a dowry (that would send him into poverty) is an interesting exploration of ideal Roman model of virtue and is certainly open to various degrees of interpretation.
The ending of this play was a bit rushed and just a tad bit convenient in the way it wrapped up (see Terence review). Overall a preachy but certainly interesting concept.
#4."Epidicus" 3.5/5
"He'd best provide the shield-makers with metal If he keeps giving the spoils to his opponents."
This is easily the shortest play in this collection; the title doesn't have a translation as 'Epidicus' is just the name of the clever main slaved. Epidicus was ordered to buy a female slave for his masters son and as usual things get extremely dicey at break neck pace. It's convinent to have 'Mostellaria' and this play both at the end sincethe premise of the crafty slave trying to tie the situation together is the central theme here. The translation is quite conversational as opposed to being poetical/musical. This is in general a possitive but this particular play doesn't benefit much from this rendering since there isn't as much witty dialouge as one might expect. There's not much to say about this one, it's like the bargain Mostellaria: duller dialouge, mostly stock characters, and a confusing plot that gets to be almost Terence level nauseating. 0.5 added to the rating because this is one that would probably be amazing on stage. However Plautus has done better elsewhere with this as a literary concept.
#5."Mostellaria (The Haunted House)" 5/5
"Reality consists for the most part of things unhoped for" (pg.324)
Mostellaria is the Plautine "clever slave" trope cooked to perfection. Just like in other comedies of this nature (think Pseudolus)the point here is that a young man is in love with a women , usually a slave, and is frantically trying to find a way for his father to not find out his socially/financially disastourous state of affairs. This is of course where the boys slave comes into play (into the play?). In this case it's the character of "Tranio" who quite literally makes up the plot of this play as he goes along. Tranio quickly calculates possible ways to temporarily smoke screen the boys father: while at the same juggling a dizzying ammount of ideas in order to adjourn his calamitous and inevitable fate. Tranio is the 'crafty slave' par excellence, never has Plautus more directly shown the fundamental literary constitution of this stock character than right here in Mostellaria. Tranio himself gives us a clear cut description of the ingredients used in his mischevious recipe, with dizzying misdirection being the most notable aroma.
"In my situation so fraught with peril and confusion. Create more confusion, surely that's the solution." (pg.390)
There's something deeply satisfying to me about watching a character hang on by the skin of his teeth trying to maneuver his way as long as he can from trailing trouble, especially when he's practically freestyling the technique: just hoping to god that something will just turn up to save him. What is sort of unique in Mostellaria is the level of self-consciousness the characters exhibit, especially the love struck boy (Philolaches in this case) who fully recognizes the degradation he personally experiences in his constant pursual of physical lusts with the lack of a father figure to watch over him. In his description of the slave girl he fell in love with he is acutely observent of his changed position:
"Lovely Love Herself! That's my heavenly hurricane, who unroofed the top from the whole sphere of self control I'd been housed in." (Pg.321).
I think the general editor of this volume rightly points out the similarities of this play with the 1962 comedy A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum You can easily see connections through the two bickering slaves and the female roles who I was expecting to bust out singing 'I'm Lovely' at any given moment. Overall a highly entertaining comedy (with genuine laughs included), one of Plautus' most well executed. If you are intrested in the moral arguements surronding the Roman slave dynamic this is a valuable resource as well.
April 26, 2016
You can see my general thoughts about Plautus in my review of volume one here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Epidicus – ** This is supposedly Plautus’ favorite play, yet I don’t see what’s so great about it. Epidicus lies and manipulates others, only to have his intrigues discovered. Which, so far, is fine. I expected to see some clever way for him to get out of all his lies. But the solution is rather pathetic and unlikely – even by the standards of Plautian farce. He finds his master’s long lost daughter. By "find," I mean he’s standing there and recognizes her as she approaches him. Rather disappointing after a big build up.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Epidicus – ** This is supposedly Plautus’ favorite play, yet I don’t see what’s so great about it. Epidicus lies and manipulates others, only to have his intrigues discovered. Which, so far, is fine. I expected to see some clever way for him to get out of all his lies. But the solution is rather pathetic and unlikely – even by the standards of Plautian farce. He finds his master’s long lost daughter. By "find," I mean he’s standing there and recognizes her as she approaches him. Rather disappointing after a big build up.
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