28th Annual Student Research Conference
Haunted Farce: Bridging the Gap Between Plautus' Humor and a 21st Century Audience
William G. Evans
Dr. Bridget Thomas and Prof. Alex Tetlak, Faculty Mentors
Plautus, the Roman comedic playwright, was immensely popular with his contemporaries, and though he wrote his plays in the 2nd century B.C. Plautus' plays continued to be performed during the Roman Republic and Empire. Plautus legacy has continued to influence comedy for over 2,000 years, with many of his comedic devices still seen in our comedies of the 21st century. However, modern audiences do not always find his plays humorous as English translations are often not funny, especially to non-Classicists. By adapting to a 21st century audience scenes from Plautus Mostellaria (literally translated as The Little Ghost), while keeping the wit and literary style of Plautus, I am able to make Plautus' comedy humorous to a contemporary audience.
Keywords: Classics, Rome, Latin, Comedy, Theater, Plautus, Interdisciplinary
Topic(s):Classics
Latin
Theatre
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 312-1
Location: OP 2210
Time: 12:00