Question

do you agree with the view that cosmic laughter in plautus the brother menaechmus reaffirms the faultlines of gender and slavery in roman society rather than critiques them in 500 words
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Answer 1

Answer:

Plautus was a Roman comic playwright, living from approximately 254 BC to 184 BC, and The Brothers Menaechmus is frequently considered to be his greatest work. Plautus’ comedies are the earliest Latin works to have survived in their entirety, and as such, they heavily influenced many other playwrights—including Shakespeare. Traditionally, Plautus’ plays were sung for the majority of their duration, rather than spoken.

Plautus borrowed from and adapted qualities present in Greek and Roman plays preceding him. The term that refers to the adaptation of other works with an original twist is “contaminato,” a feature often utilized by Plautus. Plautus adapted Atellan farce, Greek Old Comedy, and Greek New Comedy. Atellan farce included farcical skits involving crude humor, Greek Old Comedy involved sexual and scatological innuendo and jokes, and Greek New Comedy involved much situational humor. Each of these qualities is present in Plautus’ The Brothers Menaechmus, be it in the physical humor present or in the situational comedy that initiates the play then continues until the play’s end.