Roman Literature: "Laughter is the Best Medicine"

Introduction:

The Romans laughed.

Ritual laughter

I. Overview of Latin Authors

A. The Early Period (280-80 B.C.)

Livius Andronicus (mort. 204):

From Tarentum and born sometime before 240 B.C.

He made translations of Homer's Odyssey in Saturnian Verse. Wrote both comedy and tragedy for the Ludi Romani (240 B.C.).

Importance = he brought Greek verse into Latin.

Gnaeus Naevius (270-190):

Bellum Punicum (epic on first Punic War)

8 tragedies, 34 comedies, and several historical plays

Titus Maccius Plautus (254-184):

Born in Sarsina north central Italy

He came to Rome and lost money on trading.

130 comedies assigned to him

21 judged to be genuine and still survive

Quintus Ennius (239-169):

Wrote tragedies, comedies, and saturae.

Author of the Annals, a history of Rome in hexameters.

He is called the father of Roman Epic

P. Terentius Afer (195-159):

Most important comedian next to Plautus.

Julius Caesar said he was polished, but lacked comic energy.

B. The Golden Period (80 B.C. - 14 A.D.)

Lucretius (98-55): author of the De Rerum Natura

Catullus (84-54):

An iambic poet and one of the great neoteric poets

Cicero (104-43):

Delivered over 150 speeches (58 extant), wrote 800 letters, and authored over 25 titles on philosophy, rhetoric, and religion.

Vergil (70-19):

Born in Matua in Northern Italy

He became the principal poet of the Augustan period

Wrote pastoral verse (Eclogues) and two epics, the Georgics and the Aeneid.

Horace (65-8):

Freedman's son from Venusia

The other principal poet of the Augustan period.

He wrote:

two books of satires

iambic poetry (a book of epodes)

lyric poetry (four books of odes)

literary epistles (a poem on literary criticism, Ars Poetica)

He brought Geek lyric into Rome.

Livy (59 B.C. - 17 A.D.):

Wrote a comprehensive history of Rome from its founding to his own day (Ab Urbe Condita).

Propertius (50 B.C. - 2 A.D.):

He is an elegist during the Augustan period (writer of erotic verse in elegiac couplets)

Ovid (43 B.C. - 17 A.D.):

Wrote elegies both erotic and political (Ars Remedia; Ars Amatoria; Fasti) and an epic (Metamorphoses).

Augustus sent him into exile in 8 A.D.

C. The Silver Period (14 -138 A.D.)

Seneca (4 B.C. - 65 A.D.):

An advisor to Nero

Wrote epistles on moral points of Stoic philosohy

Tragedies

The Apocolocyntosis

Petronius (dates uncertain - mid 1st century):

An important figure in the court of Nero

Wrote the Satyricon (Trimalchio)

Quintilian (35-95 A.D.):

He was the first to hold a teaching chair at Rome

He authored the Institutes (a didactic treatise on the education of the orator from preschool on).

Martial (45-104 A.D.):

1,500 epigrams with a satiric flair

Pliny (62-113 A.D.):

An important Roman politician and govenor

Wrote letters on Roman life and history.

-- Description of the eruption of Vesuvius

-- Policies toward the Christians.

Tacitus (55-117 A.D.):

(Histories and Annals): histories covering Roman life from the death of Augustus to death of Domitian

Juvenal (55- post 127 A.D.):

A satirist who wrote after the death of Domitian on the evils of Roman popular life. His satire is cutting and caustic.

II. Slavery in Rome

Introduction:

An assumed right

Varied conception of slavery

A. Definitions of Slavery: The practice of slavery has different motivations.

1. League of Nations 1926: "The status or condition of a person over whom any or all powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised." (property rights)

2. Patterson, 1982: The permanent violent domination of nattily alienated and generally dishonored persons." (power and depersonalization of the individual)

3. The Latin word servus means "saved."

B. Supply and Demand

1. By best estimates in Rome of the first century B.C. slaves made up 30-40% of Roman population

2. By best estimates from 65 - 30 B.C. 100,000 new slaves were needed every year in Italy to keep pace with demand.

By 50 B.C. - 150 A.D. 500,000 new slaves were needed per year for the empire as a whole.

3. Where did slaves come from?

C. Buying a slave

1. Go down to one of the slave sellers (temple of Castor and Pollux).

2. You could buy bad merchandise.

3. Then you would question the seller.

4. Barter a price.

D. What did Slaves do? Slaves did a variety of labor from menial tasks to educating the children to secretaries for Rome's rulers.

1. Satus

2. What a slaves did and their quality of life depended on the wealth and status of their owner.

3. There was status among slaves (slaves could own slaves).

4. Slaves could work their way up on the career chain.

5. Slaves were not a homogenous group.

III.Comic Theater From Greece to Rome

Introduction:

*All theater is audience dependent:

(1) The theater is a communal act.

(2) The play does not take place just on stage.

* The origin and production of tragedy and comedy are inseparable.

A. The Theater Complex

1. Parts of the Theater: auditorium (cavea), orchestra, and stage building

2. Parodos: side entrances

Skene (paraskenion; logeion proskenion): stage and backdrop

Kerkis: the rows of seats

Klimakes: the ailses between the seats

Diazoma: the dividing ails between the tiers

3. The Greek theater was an outdoor structure more like our stadiums than our theaters.

4. Theater was part of a complex of buildings (Athens, Epidauros)

5. Roman Theaters

--Permanent theater structure did not come to Rome until 55 BC when Pompey built his theater.

--The theater of Maecellus (begun by Julius Caesar and finished in 13 B.C. by Augustus, sat around 15,000-20,000 spectators.

--The theater of Balbus (also inaugurated by Augustus in 13 B.C.).

6. In Rome seating was by rank and women and children were in the "nose-bleed" section.

B. Origin of Tragedy and Comedy:

1. Greek drama began as part of a religious festival held in honor of the god Dionysus.

2. Origin of Comedy: Comedy also developed out of the worship of Dionysus. The Greek word for comedy (komos) means revelry.

3. The major festival was called the Greater Dionysia. It was held annually about the beginning of April and lasted for 5 days.

Day 1: Parade and animal sacrifice

Day 2: Five choruses of men competed against each other in original songs and dances in honor of the god.

Day three, four, and five: Plays were performed -- tragedies in the morning, comedies in the afternoon.

4. Production:

Each paywright was allowed only three actors.

The chorus was made of 15 men.

All parts were played by males even though they were portraying females.

C. Three Periods of Greek Comedy: Old. Middle, and New

1. Old Comedy (5th to 4th BC ):

Distinguishing features

Chorus takes an intricate part in the action;

The parabasis

Fanciful setting

Short on plot

Direct personal satire.

Authors: Aristophanes (457/45-385): 11 plays survive

Clouds won third in 423 BC

Birds won second in 414 BC

Twice took first in 424 for the Knights and in 405 for the Frogs.

2. Middle (385-330).

Distinguishing features:

Authors: Antiphanes, Anaxardrides. Eubulus; Alexis; Timocles.

3. New (late fourth to first of third century BC):

Characteristics:

Authors: Menander, Philemon, Dephilus

D. Greek comedy becomes pan-Hellenic and spreads to Italy in the Third Century BC

1. Economic Stability

2. The Diversity of Roman Culture -- no racial self-consciousness

3. The Harvest of Hellenism

E. Marriage with Native Italic Comic Forms:

1. Fescennine Verses:

2. Satura: More developed form of the Fescennine verses embellished by rude acting and buffoonery.

3. Atellan Farce:

4. Fabula Palliata and Fabula Togata

F. Difference with Greek Comedy

1. Roman comedy was performed on festival days (ludi scaenici)

(Ludi Megalenses, early April

Ludi Ceriales, late April

Florales, early May

Apollinares, mid July

Ludi Romani, mid September

Ludi Plebeii, early November

2. Roman form more musical and operatic.

3. Violated three actor rule

4. Dependent on the stock humor of the native Italic forms

5. Political Connection with the aediles.

6. Temporary stage

IV. Plautus (254-184 B.C.)

A. Biography:

Sarsina

Titus Macuis Plautus = "Dickie Clownson Tumbler."

B. Wildly popular:

C. Plautine Composition:

1.New Comedy: economic and internally consistent plot constuction; subtle characterization; irony; pathos

2. Plautine Touches:

Contaminatio

Enlarged the role of the slave

Stock characterization (native Italic forms)

Change trimeter monologues to polymetric cantica

Limited use of the prologue

Often ignored five act structure