Roman Theater: Comedy, Tragedy, and Key Playwrights

Roman Theater

It is a literary genre of ancient Roman literature. It emerges from the adaptation of Roman schemes observed in Greek dramatic theaters. The Greek colonies in Italy, attracted by its beauty, copied schemes of tragedy and comedy.

Dramatic Manifestations:

• The Atellans: Improvised representations with humorous and burlesque themes. The characters were fixed, and characteristics were determined.
• Fescennine Verses: Representations of dialogue full of irony during games. The actors wore masks.
• Mime: Actors and actresses representing eroticism with comic situations.
• Pantomime: Dramatic pieces based on dance and mime, represented by a single actor embodying the various characters in the play.

Roman Comedy

Based on Greek New Comedy, it adapts the themes to the customs and the Roman character. Its main representatives are Plautus and Terence.

Plautus

He is the most genuine comic writer of the beginning of Roman dramatic literature. He started as a theater manager until he was ruined. He then turned to writing comedies, achieving great success.

Of the 100 comedies he is said to have written, only 20 are retained:

• Amphitryon: The adventures of Jupiter, who, in love with Alcmene, supplants Amphitryon's personality, making the girl believe he is her husband, who is away at war.
• Aulularia (The Pot of Gold): Narrates the adventures of an old miser who found a pot full of gold.
• Menaechmi (The Brothers Menaechmus): A character searches for his twin brother, whom he has never met. They live many adventures until they find each other.

Plautus's production is characterized by its low complexity. Arguments are reduced to schemes without any kind of philosophical reflection. He had great inspiration and a wonderful sense of humor and entertainment.

He captured the concerns of Roman society of his time. His texts have historical value, and his characters are joyful and vital.

Terence

He is very skillful at drawing a detailed portrait of the characters. He uses popular and more colloquial language. Some of his elaborate comedies are Adelphoe (The Brothers), Eunuchus (The Eunuch), Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law).

His more serious tone and bourgeois comedy gave him less success than Plautus. He later became the most studied playwright.

Roman Tragedy

Follows the premises of Greek tragedy, taking themes and characters from the Trojan cycle.

Seneca

Philosopher, writer, and politician. He first started as a lawyer and worked brilliantly in politics until he was exiled to Corsica. Agrippina wanted him to return and entrusted him with the instruction of the future Emperor Nero. He had great influence on his disciple until Nero began to see him as a hindrance. He ended his life by slitting his wrists. His works are very conscious of the author's morality.

He imitated the Greek models of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in his tragedies but managed to create impressive or pathetic effects.

The issues are political and philosophical. His works show discontent with the political situation of his time and reveal the tyranny of imperial power. His philosophical meditation focuses on matters related to the destiny of the human being, as this is true and people have to resign.

Tragedies:

• Phaedra
• The Trojan Women
• Hercules Furens (The Madness of Hercules)
• Medea
• Agamemnon
• Oedipus
• The Phoenician Women