Analyzing Plautus Haunted House Play

At the time of Plautus’ birth, 254 BC, Rome was an insignificant nation (Segal, xi). According to Erich Segal, Rome was fighting in her first of three wars with Carthage, a Phoenician colony, in Africa. The prize for triumph was access into the Mediterranean society. Sicily was the first Roman province acquired by the time Plautus was a teenager which was not only rich in wealth and placed in a tactical location, but possessed a highly civilized island where all the arts flourished, especially drama. This is how the Romans were introduced to theatre. In 240 BC, the first play was presented at the Harvest Festival, in Rome. This initiated a tradition that would become an annual occurrence when the vacationing Romans would come to watch the plays that were Greek originals (Segal, xii). The Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus was thought to have been the first playwright to work for a living. He was known for having refashioned the subdued dialogue of “New Comedy” into something unique and empowering. He added gags, puns, and irony into otherwise boring New Comedy plays. For instance, at the beginning of Plautus’ Haunted House play, Philolaches compares himself to a house with a leaky roof (Plautus 137). This is a classic example of Plautus’ knack for

However, all the while Tranio is hiding and listening in on his plan. Tranio is mocking Theopropides by calling him a “tricky man” and saying it with heavy sarcasm. Theopropides is seen as a foolish senile man who is being manipulated by the tricky servant Tranio. Tranio’s ability to quickly come up with a plan to save his hide proves his witty nature and his brazen boldness when he presents himself to the man that wants to cause him harm. A mere slave thinking that he can outsmart his master’s dad, a sophisticated upper-class individual, violates social