Roman Theater Playwrights and Philosopher Flashcards
Plautus
Light humor
Shallow
Simple plots
Stereotypical characters
Musical
Big masks/costumes
Cannot be too light, shallow entertaining playwright, musicals and comedies, dead simple, domestic farces
Lightest of comedies
–Cannot be too light
–Light themes
–Not very deep (in theme)
Slapstick comedy
–Shallow
Influenced modern sitcoms
Wrote bright and happy musicals, lyrics, etc.
Simple plots
Stereotypes for characters
Big facial expressions
–Big masks
Domestic farce
Household comedy
Wrote the Menaechmi
–Shakespeare lifted it for Comedy of Errors
Terence
Wit
Word play
Banter
Invented subplots
Complex characters
More sophisticated, complex characters, more adult and matured
Invented the subplot
–(First known subplot)
Complex characters
Witty humor
Still had domestic farces
Wit, wordplay, banter
–Like Oscar Wilde
Seneca
Cannot be too heavy
Tragic plays full of violence
Protagonist motivated by revenge
Catharsis comes from excitement of the audience for violence- not from learning a moral lesson
Cannot be too heavy, tragedies which may never have been performed, revenge stories, super violent, lots of death and blood and guts and peoples eyes being ripped out of their skulls
Cannot be too heavy
Tragedy
Protagonist is motivated by revenge
Violence
No moral lesson unlike the Greeks
The audience does not connect to the protagonist
–They want the protagonist to get revenge
Horace
The philosopher → their version of Aristotle
“What finds entrance through the ear pleases the mind less actively than what is submitted to the eyes”
What finds entrance to the ear pleases the mind less actively then what is submitted to the eyes, aka people only like MLG spectacle
The Roman version of Aristotle
Rules for theater
–“What finds entrance to the ear pleases the mind less actively than what is submitted to the eyes”
Humans want visual entertainment
Roman Playwrights/Philosopher
Light humor
Shallow
Simple plots
Stereotypical characters
Musical
Big masks/costumes
Cannot be too light, shallow entertaining playwright, musicals and comedies, dead simple, domestic farces
Lightest of comedies
–Cannot be too light
–Light themes
–Not very deep (in theme)
Slapstick comedy
–Shallow
Influenced modern sitcoms
Wrote bright and happy musicals, lyrics, etc.
Simple plots
Stereotypes for characters
Big facial expressions
–Big masks
Domestic farce
Household comedy
Wrote the Menaechmi
–Shakespeare lifted it for Comedy of Errors
Plautus
Roman Playwrights/Philosopher
Wit
Word play
Banter
Invented subplots
Complex characters
More sophisticated, complex characters, more adult and matured
Invented the subplot
–(First known subplot)
Complex characters
Witty humor
Still had domestic farces
Wit, wordplay, banter
–Like Oscar Wilde
Terence
Roman Playwrights/Philosopher
Cannot be too heavy
Tragic plays full of violence
Protagonist motivated by revenge
Catharsis comes from excitement of the audience for violence- not from learning a moral lesson
Cannot be too heavy, tragedies which may never have been performed, revenge stories, super violent, lots of death and blood and guts and peoples eyes being ripped out of their skulls
Cannot be too heavy
Tragedy
Protagonist is motivated by revenge
Violence
No moral lesson unlike the Greeks
The audience does not connect to the protagonist
–They want the protagonist to get revenge
Seneca
Roman Playwrights/Philosopher
The philosopher → their version of Aristotle
“What finds entrance through the ear pleases the mind less actively than what is submitted to the eyes”
What finds entrance to the ear pleases the mind less actively then what is submitted to the eyes, aka people only like MLG spectacle
The Roman version of Aristotle
Rules for theater
–“What finds entrance to the ear pleases the mind less actively than what is submitted to the eyes”
Humans want visual entertainment
Horace
