Test 3 Flashcards
What is a scurra?
Jester
Bona dicta?
Good words
Pantomimi?
Imitators of everything
Palliatae?
Plays in Greek dress
Pallium?
Greek mantle
Homo novus?
new man
Cicer?
Chick-pea
Lazzi?
Jokes
Catulus?
Puppy
Latrare?
To bark
Facetiae?
Witticism
Sal?
Lit. salt, means wit
Dicacitas?
Biting wit
Cavillatio?
Jeering, scoffing
How are women shown in comedic ways on vase art?
- Gossiping
- Thinking about sex
- Sneaking around to drink wine
- Slacking off/sleeping on the job
Where is the archaic smile found?
On koroi, statues from Olympoa, gravestones/stelai, and sarcophagi
What does latin use as the root word for laugh?
Ridere, Cicero also used cacchinare (cackle)
What did social kissing sometimes indicate?
A sign of power, one could kiss the cheek of someone who held authority over them
What was Elagabalus known for?
Laughing so loud in the theatre that no one else could be heard by the audience
When was saturnalia held?
December 17th
Who was saturnalia held in honour of?
The god Saturnus
What happened at the saturnalia?
- masters and slaves switched places
- drinking, feasting, gambling, exchanging gifts
According to Macrobius, how many characters were in the saturnalia?
12 characters
- 3 of them members of the roman elite
According to Macrobius, where was the telling of discussions held?
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus’ home
- day before saturnalia and the 3 days during
What was the sole form of theatre that involved female actors?
Roman mime
What did roman mime involve?
Mimetic action, song, and spoken dialogue
What was ancient rome pantomime?
Dancing without speaking
What is the roman drama fabula atellana?
Atellan play
- Improv by mask actors who were impersonating stock actors
What is the roman drama fescennine verses?
Rustic clowns improvised obscene dialogues at harvest festivals?
What does commedia dell’arte translate to?
Comedy of the professional artists
What did la commedia include?
Farcical action: dance, acrobatics, and lazzi
- basic plot is normally a familiar story about young lovers
Who was Plautus? What type of comedy are all of his plays?
- roman playwright
- palliatae: plays in greek dress
- adapted from greek new comedy
Who was terence?
Roman playwright, ex slave
What was comedic masterpiece considered?
The Adelphoe (The Brothers)
- adapted from greek new comedy
Who was democritus?
The laughing philosopher
Who was Heraclitus?
The weeping philosopher
Who did Cicero consider the funniest in “On the Orator?”
The athenians as they were the wittiest
What was Cicero considered and what philosophy did he follow?
Homo novus and the academy
What was Plutarch’s opinion of Cicero?
- he was disliked due to his constant self-praise
- he attacked people using witticisms or puns that caused people to dislike him
- he often chose to attack people in order to elicit laughter from others
How does Plutarch describe Demosthenes?
- devoting all the powers of speech to the rhetorical arts
- enemies described him as morose and ill-mannered
What did Cicero use as a pun, highlighted by Quintilian?
Cook (coquus) and quoque
What does Cicero write about in On the Orator?
What laughter is, where it comes from, weather an orator should provoke it, how far, what diff. categories of the laughable are
When is laughter considered inappropriate according to Cicero?
- too much accentuation
- attacking someone without provocation
- use of body language, that is an actors job
- vulgarity
