| Curculio | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Plautus |
| Characters | Palinurus, slave of Phaedromus Phaedromus, young man Leaena, old woman Planesium, slave girl of Cappadox Cappadox, pimp cook Curculio, parasite Lyco, banker producer Therapontigonus, soldier |
| Setting | a street in Epidaurus, before the houses of Phaedromus and Cappadox, and a temple of Aesculapius |
- Curculio, also called The Weevil, is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus. It is the shortest of Plautus's surviving plays. It is the shortest of Plautus's surviving plays.
- Other articles where Casina is discussed: comedy: Old and New Comedy in ancient Greece: him by his wife (Plautus’s Casina); and on an overstern father whose son turns out worse than the product of an indulgent parent (in the Adelphi of Terence). But the satiric quality of these plays is bland by comparison with the trenchant ridicule of Old Comedy.
- The Braggart Soldierby PlautusTHE LITERARY WORK A Roman adaptation of a Greek comedy (called Alazon) written and set in Ephesus around 287 bce; adapted into Latin (as Miles Gloriosus) and first performed around 206 bce.SYNOPSIS A young man from Athens relies on his clever slave to steal back the girlfriend who was kidnapped from him by an outrageously conceited soldier-for-hire.Events in.
Curculio, also called The Weevil, is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus. It is the shortest of Plautus's surviving plays.
As an outsider, Plautus has no investment in young love that leads to marriage and the creation of new citizen families. He focuses on stage comedy and the clever slave rather than romantic and sentimental melodrama. He often drastically changes the plots of his Greek originals by removing either the arrangement or the announcement of.
Plot[edit]
Plautus Mostellaria Summary
In Curculio, Phaedromus is in love with Planesium, a slave girl belonging to the pimp Cappadox. Phaedromus sends Curculio (a stock parasite character) to borrow money. Unsuccessful, Curculio happens to run into Therapontigonus, a soldier who intends to purchase Planesium. After Curculio learns of his plans, he steals the soldier's ring and returns to Phaedromus. They fake a letter and seal it using the ring. Curculio takes it to the soldier's banker Lyco, tricking him into thinking he was sent by Therapontigonus. Lyco pays Cappadox, under the conditions that the money will be returned if it is later discovered that she is freeborn. Curculio takes the girl back to Phaedromus. When the trick is later discovered, the angry Therapontigonus confronts the others. However, Planesium has discovered from the ring that she is actually Therapontigonus's sister. Since she is freeborn, Therapontigonus is returned his money, and Planesium is allowed to marry Phaedromus.
Translations[edit]
- Henry Thomas Riley, 1912:
- Paul Nixon, 1916-38:
- George E. Duckworth, 1942
- Christopher Stace, 1981
- Henry S. Taylor, 1995
- Amy Richlin, 2005
- Wolfang de Melo, 2011 [1]
References[edit]
- ^Plautus; Translated by Wolfgang de Melo (2011). Plautus, Vol II: Casina; The Casket Comedy; Curculio; Epidicus; The Two Menaechmuses. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN067499678X.
- John E. Thorburn (2005). The Facts On File companion to classical drama. Infobase Publishing. p. 159. ISBN0-8160-5202-6.
Pseudolus And Rudens By Plautus Summary
External links[edit]
Casina Plautus Summary
- Curculio (full text) on the Perseus Project, translated by Henry Thomsay Riley.
- Curculio (full text) on the Austin College website. Translation by Paul Nixon.