The Pot of Gold and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)

Plautus was an extraordinary Roman comic playwright. He adapted Greek comedy to Roman tastes and the Latin language. Like Shakespeare, who borrowed greatly from him, Plautus writes on both a pratfall/slapstick level and on a witty wordplay level. This author is guaranteed entertainment, and this is a very good translation. Still don't believe me? Just remember that Plautus' work was the basis for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

I agree with another reviewer that this collection of plays makes a good history lesson, but for me the lesson went beyond the development of people's sense of humor over time. Plautus avoids philosophy and politics, skipping right to slice-of-life stories about ordinary people, stories that today would be considered situation comedies. (Several of the plays in this book were amalgamated into the modern-day musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.") Reading this book gave me a sense of what life on the streets of ancient Rome was like. A final comment about whether Plautus should be considered Greek or Roman. Plautus wrote in Rome more than 200 years after the classical Greek playrights Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes and more than 100 years after the "new comedy" of the Greek Menander. He borrowed Greek plots and set his own plays in Greece, but I regard this as a convention (much as 20th century playwrights habitually set theirs in New York City) and to me the attitudes of Plautus' characters seem Roman more than Greek.

Plautus is an important Roman comedian, because he preserves Greek works (The Swaggering Soldier is a re-telling of a lost Greek play, Alazon, or The Braggart), and he shows us some of the similarities between ancient Greek and Roman senses of humor, which are not far from contemporary Western senses of humor. Plautus also influenced other great playwrights. For example, The Brothers Menaechmus is generally considered a simpler template for Shakespeare's richer The Comedy of Errors. In this selection, one will encounter some of Western society's earliest slapstick comedies and humorous, moral critiques of undesirable human behaviors. Plautus' penchant for wordplay is also showcased in this text. Plautus' plays are very easy and quick to read, and this 1965 translation definitely has a modern sensibility to it. For example, you will find that Plautus' characters like to cuss a lot, generally at the expense of women. I recommend this book to readers of ancient Rome and readers interested in the history of the stage.

Plautus was a roman dramatist, although he borrowed much of his material from the Greek new comedy. He however brilliantly and emotionally sets up his plays in a timeless manner which ensures he will retain his place as one of the great comedy geniuses.

The plays are writen with such elegance and emotion that transends time and translation. Translated by E.F. Watling, the plays lost none of their original glory. They show clasical Greek drama at its best.