The “Menaechmi” was and will always be considered one of the Plautus’s greatest works. Even William Shakespeare fell in love with Plautus’s play and used it for the basis of his play, “A Comedy of Errors”. There is no doubt that Plautus’s play made a great impact on many people and are still widely popular all over the world.
Introduction
Book’s name - Menaechmi
Author - Plautus
Genre - Comedy
Language - Originally Roman; Translated : English
About the Author
Plautus
is Roman comic play writer who belonged to the Romans era in Republic 509-27 BCE
who is well known for multiple forms of comedy in the themes of his literary
work.
One might even go far enough to say a Plautus represents a philosophy rather themes. The philosophy of honing the ability to be positive no matter what situation one finds himself or herself in. That there is always a way of viewing a situation, that can cause one to laugh no matter how hopeless it might seem.
Two major things that Plautus engages consistently throughout this
book include irony and self-depreciation far beyond the norm. He exaggerates
the theme discussed here so they become funny and places them in two situations
in which the majority of audience members can relate.
Plautus's
play was mainly derived from Greek works belonging to the new comedy style. New
comedy plays were essentially social comedies of manners and usually feature
domestic life of the middle class and upper classes.
About the Book
“The Menaechmi” is a comedic play about the mistaken
identity, a misplaced twin, and the relationship between a husband and his
wife.
Mistaken identity creates the action in the play. When the
two twins are separated as children, the second twin is renamed to honor the first.
So both boys grow up with the name Manaechmus, which makes things more
difficult when people start to think that the second Manaechmus is crazy for
not recognizing his twin’s wife and father.
The main reason for Plautus' praise and popularity over his play was the impact of the central theme. Plautus experimented with several themes in his play ranging from mistaken identities to love and romance.
Plautus use many themes in this play some of the most prevalent and important
themes include love intrigue, reversal of traditions, younger patrons
outwitting their Masters and perhaps the most obvious of mistaken identity.
Personal Verdict
The book is an European classical, light heart comedy, not a very lengthy piece and quick to read. Even Shakespeare got inspired by it!
· My ratings for the book - 4 on 5
Get your
copy from Amazon - Manaechmi
Written By - Vaidehee
 by Plautus - An European Classical){kind=link}
0 Comments