Customer Reviews

Plautus: The Merchant. The Braggart Warrior. The Haunted House. The Persian. (Loeb Classical Library No. 163)

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I got this to help in my class on Plautus (reading the Amphitruo and Casina) and it has become my constant companion. Plautus is full of colloquial Latin which can be difficult to understand, and the Loeb gives a fantastic translation. Also it is great for the part in the Amphitruo's prologue when Mercury uses legal speak, which is probably the toughest section of the entire play.

These plays would certainly have been hilarious when they were played to the audience for which they were written. Although time has changed the way an audience thinks I still could not help laughing at some of the antics the characters got up to. I laughed also because I thought of the Roman audience laughing at such ridiculous things. This book was purchased for study however it is also quite entertaining.

This play, along with another of Plautus' works "Captivii" were combined by Stephen Sondheim to give us the musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"