Ludi Megalenses 2761 AUC (Nova Roma)/Plautus Certamen

DAY 1 QUESTIONS

1. What was Plautus’ full name?

2. What does the name “Plautus” mean?

3. Which of Plautus’ plays was probably his most famous and was used by William Shakespeare as an inspiration for his “Comedy of Errors”?

4. Where and when was Plautus born?

5. When did Plautus produce his first play?

6. How long did Plautus write plays without a competitive rival?

7. How many of Plautus’ plays do we have today that have survived?

8. For what reasons are the plays of Plautus much more valuable than those of Terence as pictures of Roman life?

9. In what Plautus play, written at the time of the second Punic War, do we find a unique picture of the Roman enemies drawn by the popular Roman poet?

10. Which Plautus play refers to the imprisonment of the poet Naevius for satirizing the aristocracy?

11. Which Plautus play alludes to the conflict with Carthage?

12. Which two Plautus plays refer to the repeal of the puritanic Oppian Laws?

13. Which two Plautus plays mention the wars in Greece and Magnesia?

14. Which Greek playwright was probably most influential on Plautus’ writing style?

15. Which Plautus play became Moliere's The Miser?

16. What were Plautus’ three favorite themes or subjects?

17. According to Plautus, what were the three purposes he always had in his prologues?

18. What style of plays did Plautus write?

19. What is Plautus’ view on politics?

20. How does location in his plays differ between Plautus and Terence?

21. Of his reputation, Varro says what concerning the Muses?

22. What did Horace and the court of Augustus have in common in regards to Plautus and his works.

23. How did the plays of Aristophanes differ from the plays of Plautus in writing style?

24. Which Stephen Sondheim play is a combination of several plays by Plautus?

25. Where did Plautus first learn about Greek New Comedy and the plays of Menander?

26. What did Cicero, Aulus Gellius, Varro, and Quintilian think of Plautus?

27. Why were the plays of Terence not as popular with the Roman people as those of Plautus?

28. Name 15 of Plautus’ plays which have survived.

29. Where and when was Terence born and how did his age differ from Plautus?

30. When and where did Plautus die?