Greek and Roman Comedy Book

Greek and Roman Comedy: Translations and Interpretations of Four Representative PlaysAuthor: Shawn O'Bryhim
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Category: Plays, Playscripts, Literary Studies: Classical, Early & Medieval, Literary Studies: Plays & Playwrights
Book Format: Paperback

Much of what we know of Greco-Roman comedy comes from the surviving works of just four playwrights - the Greeks Aristophanes and Menander and the Romans Plautus and Terence. To introduce these authors and their work to students and general readers, this book offers a new, accessible translation of a representative play by each playwright, accompanied by a general introduction to the author's life and times, a scholarly article on a prominent theme in the play, and a bibliography of selected readings about the play and playwright. This range of material, rare in a single volume, provides several reading and teaching options, from the study of a single author to an overview of the entire Classical comedic tradition. The plays have been translated for readability and fidelity to the original text by established Classics scholars. S. Douglas Olson provides the translation and commentary for Aristophanes' Acharnians, Shawn O'Bryhim for Menander's Dyskolos, George Fredric Franko for Plautus' Casina, and Timothy J. Moore for Terence's Phormio. Shawn O'Bryhim is Associate Professor of Classics and head of the Classics program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Table Of ContentsPreface

Aristophanes and Athenian Old Comedy by S. Douglas Olson
Introduction

The Politics of Comedy and the Problem of the Reception of Aristophanes' Acharnians

Select Bibliography

A Note on the Translation

Acharnians


Menander and Greek New Comedy by Shawn O'Bryhim
Introduction

Dance, Old Man, Dance!: The Torture of Knemon in Menander's Dyskolos

Select Bibliography

Dyskolos; or, The Grouch


Plautus and Roman New Comedy by George Fredric Franko
Introduction

Cleostrata in Charge: Tradition and Variation in Casina

Select Bibliography

Casina


Terence and Roman New Comedy by Timothy J. Moore
Introduction

Who Is the Parasite?: Giving and Taking in Phormio

Select Bibliography

Phormio
About George Fredric FrankoTimothy J. Moore is John and Penelope Biggs Distinguished Professor of Classics at Washington University in St. Louis.