Terence.
Published Reviews (In English):
SUMMARY
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1
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Terence’s Biography: External Evidence
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1-12
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1.A
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Suetonius’ Life of
Terence
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2-3
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In a work which included biographies of Horace and Vergil, Suetonius
chronicles the life of a senator’s slave whose writings found support from
influential men and relates not only his chief successes as a playwright
but also one account, while somewhat questionable, of the poet’s life.
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1.A.1
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Terence’s Dates
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3-4
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With a lack of reliable evidence, the dates of Terence’s
birth and death have been greatly disputed.While
some hold that he was the same age as Scipio Aemilianus,
others believe that the brilliance of Terence’s early works dictate an
earlier date – leading to the general acceptance of 195 BC rather than
185 BC.However, 159 BC is commonly
accepted as the date of the playwright’s death.
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1.A.2
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Nationality and Slave Status
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5-6
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While questioning the actual link between the author
and the North African coast, critics also wonder about the compatibility
of Terence’s significant education with the life of a supposed slave.
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1.A.3
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Terence’s Powerful Friends
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6-7
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Acknowledging, as Terence did, the connections the
playwright had with “powerful friends,” the Life extensively discusses
the accusations that those men helped write the plays of Terence – an issue
which still divides critics and cannot be conclusively proven either way.
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1.A.4
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Summary of Suetonius’
Life
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7-8
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Although there is a need for skepticism regarding
the facts found in the Life, most critics do not fully dismiss the
biography but rather accept the basic facts of Terence’s life.
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1.B
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Chronology of the Plays: The Didascaliae
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8-12
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Terence’s didascaliae
offer a more complete history of his plays and their production than that
available for any other ancient playwright.While
they do contain errors and inconsistencies, the didascaliae
reveal details of both the plays and the literary environment in which
they were performed.Unfortunately,
the uncertainty of the facts in the didascaliae
incites much debate regarding the order of Terence’s works.
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2
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Terence’s Literary Career
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13-25
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Terence’s unique prologues, while not always transparent,
reveal a great deal about Terence, his career and his literary environment.
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2.A
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Terence’s Prologues
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14-23
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2.A.1
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The Girl from
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14-16
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The prologue of The Girl from Andros
reveals Terence’s need to defend himself against criticism and opens debates
about Girl’s placement at the start of Terence’s career and the
nature of Terence’s conflict with his accusers.
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2.A.2
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The Self-Tormentor
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16-18
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While further addressing Terence’s critics, this
prologue shows Terence to be well-established and respected because of
his connection to prominent producers.
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2.A.3
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The Eunuch
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18-19
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The Eunuch’s prologue focuses on the charge
that Terence has “ruined” Greek plays and contains, within a summary of
his theories on literature, Terence’s defense.
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2.A.4
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Phormio
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19-20
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This prologue offers little new information about
the playwright’s world but does recount a significant failure of one of
Terence’s plays, perhaps The Mother-in-Law.
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2.A.5
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The Mother-in-Law
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20-22
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Containing two prologues, The Mother-in-Law
reveals the struggle for attention comedic performances faced in light
of such concurrent competition as gladiatorial bouts and acrobatic routines
as well as the apparent failure of this plays early performances.
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2.A.6
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The Brothers
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23
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The prologue of The Brothers echoes the accusations
Terrence face regarding the “ruining” of plays and the alleged aid of his
notable friends.
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2.B
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Summary of Terence’s Literary Career
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24-25
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Terence’s literary career was obviously surrounded
by a great deal of rumor and controversy.The
prologues, while biased and often vague, offer a valuable insight into
the life and times of Terence from his own stylus.
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3
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Terence and the Theater of His Time
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26-36
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Terence embodied the Roman movement toward creative
writing and the embracing of Greek traditions, especially in their comic
models.
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3.A
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The Greek Comic Tradition
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27-28
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From the likes of Diphilus,
Philemon and Menander, Terence inherited
the Greek transition from crude and fanciful plays to more realistic character-driven
comedy.
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3.B
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The Dramatic Tradition at
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28-36
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Based on the Greek model, “legitimate” Roman theater
consisted of tragedies, heroic or legendary tales, comedies of everyday
Roman life, and comedies adapted from Greek originals.
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3.B.1
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The ComoediaPalliata
Tradition
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30-32
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Closely linked to Greek traditions, the comoedia palliata
is the only branch of Roman drama from which complete plays are extant.Unfortunately,
the adaptations of Greek plays and their faithfulness to the original plots
and characters were left to the playwright, leading to debates regarding
plagiarism and historical integrity.
Nevertheless, the adaptations took a predominant place in Roman drama and
became its most popular expression.
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3.B.2
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Poets of the Palliata
Tradition
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32-34
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While their works are available only in fragments,
there are many authors connected to the palliata
tradition by scholars such as Varro
and Quintilian.
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3.B.3
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Terence’s Place in the Palliata
Tradition
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34-36
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Plautus served to establish
the Roman theater traditions with his wide-ranging themes and poetic meter.Lacking Plautus’
beauty of language and connection to the common Roman, Terence’s plays
seemed aimed toward an educated audience but, nonetheless, established
his place as one of the chief playwrights of comoedia palliata.
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4
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The Plays of Terence
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37-119
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4.A
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General Considerations
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37-38
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Forehand seeks to move from the common view of Roman
comedy as an expression of the Greek tradition to an analysis of Terence’s
plays on their own merit as the works of one of
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4.B
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The Girl from
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38-54
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4.B.1
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Plot
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38-40
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Many of Girl’s elements, including its characters
and events, are revealed to be common aspects of Roman comedy which the
audience would recognize and which would foster a leisurely viewing.
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4.B.2
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Structure
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40-44
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The play serves to put forth two plot lines, inspired
by two of Menander’s Greek originals, and
offers a glimpse into Terence’s adaptive techniques.First,
Terence uses the prologue not as exposition of the plot but as a vehicle
for his defense.He shows his expansion
of traditional characters into well-developed, unique figures as well as
his skill in uniting exposition and thematic development within his characterizations.
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4.B.3
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Characters
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44-51
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Although not the best example of his characterization
skills, Girl reveals Terence’s use and adaptation of stock characters
to relate his meaning.The characters
are explored not only in light of their traditional purpose but also in
regard to their thematic significance.
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4.B.4
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Theme
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51-54
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Very simply, this play deals with the common emotion
of love – familial, fraternal, and romantic – and exploration of the relationships
characterized by it.
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4.C
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The Self-Tormentor
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54-68
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4.C.1
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Plot
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54-57
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The Self-Tormentor is characterized by a
certain degree of complexity within the storyline and requires more intent
viewing by the audience.Terence seems
to utilize his characterization techniques more than the plot to serve
his thematic purpose.
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4.C.2
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Structure
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57-62
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Terence seems to complicate an expectedly simple
Greek original.The stilted entrances
and exits, coupled with vague dialogue and unclear connections, greatly
confuse the plot of The Self-Tormentor.
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4.C.3
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Characters
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62-66
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Because of their value to Terence’s theme, the characterizations
within the play are clearly developed, some individually and others in
relation to and in conjunction with another character.
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4.C.4
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Theme
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66-68
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Terence’s The Self-Tormentor serves as a
commentary on both the father-son relationship and the notions of self-knowledge
and self-ignorance.Some critics,
however, see the philosophical nature of the play as evidence of Terence’s
help from some of his “powerful friends.”
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4.D
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The Eunuch
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68-80
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4.D.1
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Plot
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68-71
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With its exploration of traditional characters,
the fairly straight-forward plot of Terence’s most successful play is,
perhaps, the most lively and active storyline of his career.
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4.D.2
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Structure
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71-74
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While initially unconnected, Terence’s characteristic
dual plot lines only become intertwined after a certain amount of independent
development.With this notion, the
purpose of specific characters and the somewhat contrived ending serve
as fuel for significant criticism regarding Terence’s goals in The Eunuch.
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4.D.3
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Characters
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74-78
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The traditional characters in The Eunuch,
while less individualized than in his other plays, are some of Terence’s
most well-known.It is more through
the interaction of their characters than their specific attributes that
the playwright reveals his purpose.
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4.D.4
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Theme
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78-80
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This play focuses much more on the action of the
plot than on the moral ideals characteristic of Terence’s other plays.However,
in light of the morally objectionable actions within the play and the reaction
of the characters, critics argue that The Eunuch takes on a theme
of self-service and self-interest.
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4.E
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Phormio
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81-92
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4.E.1
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Plot
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81-84
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While seemingly complex in its summary, the action
of Phormio is easily followed
and serves as Terence’s chief means to relate his message.
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4.E.2
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Structure
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84-87
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Within the play, Terence devotes a great deal of
time to legal ideas while developing his characteristic duality within
the plot.Due to this fact, critics
seem to widely agree that Terence remained surprisingly faithful to his
inspiration, Apollodurus’ The Claimant.
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4.E.3
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Characters
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87-90
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Terence reveals his abilities of characterization,
even in a play focused on action, through the comparison of contrasting
pairs of characters and his individualization of traditional stock characters.
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4.E.4
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Theme
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90-92
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The action of Phormio
seems to overshadow any possible thematic meaning of the play.Critics
offer legal satire, ethical behavior, and even the notion of chance as
possible meanings Terence may have intended.
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4.F
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The Mother-in-Law
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92-104
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4.F.1
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Plot
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92-96
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Slow-moving and complex, the plot of Terence’s The
Mother-in-Law demands a great deal of attention from the audience in
order to take in the intricacies of the plot in light of its numerous confusing
and contradictory details.
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4.F.2
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Structure
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96-98
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Terence does not use his common dual plot in this
play but rather focuses on the singular problem of one young man with comic
relief provided by Parmeno, the slave.
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4.F.3
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Characters
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98-102
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Revealing his unique skill in characterization,
Terence has his stock characters within The Mother-in-Law take on
unusual roles and behave in ways they do not, traditionally, behave.
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4.F.4
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Theme
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102-104
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Uncharacteristic of Terence’s other plays,
The Mother-in-Law takes on a very serious theme.Terence
chooses to focus on the evils of stereotyping as well as the position of
women in Roman society.
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4.G
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The Brothers
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104-119
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4.G.1
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Plot
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104-109
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Generally considered to be Terence’s masterpiece,
The Brothers marks the culmination of Terence’s development into
a refined playwright, but its “topsy-turvy”
ending calls into question the meaning of Terence’s great work.
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4.G.2
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Structure
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109-111
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While embodying Terence’s affinity for dual plot
lines, the play is characterized by the alternation of serious elements
with comic farce and by the crucial plot elements not found until late
in the play.
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4.G.3
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Characters
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111-117
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Once again, Terence displays his knack for character
development within a play to which the characters are crucial.Through
comparisons to others, the characters of The Brothers and their
descriptions serve, significantly, to reveal Terence’s purpose.
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4.G.4
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Theme
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117-119
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While the notion of raising children is clearly
the subject of The Brothers, critics debate the actual commentary
Terence makes on the subject.The
playwright shows to contradictory views and the type of people who hold
each, somewhat leaving the audience to conclude
which is more correct or valid.
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5
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Terence and His Influence
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120-130
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5.A
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Terence the Dramatic Artist
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120-127
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5.A.1
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Style
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120-121
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Terence’s involved and effective plots, though short,
and his refined second century language give him an influence distinct
for, but just as valid, as that of Plautus.
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5.A.2
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Characterization
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121-123
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While not entirely unique, Terence’s characters
reveal the great skill he had in adapting traditional types to his own
purposes.His characterizations,
often achieved through pairings, take the place of the absent prologues
as the chief means of exposition.
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5.A.3
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Themes
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123-127
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Terence generally seeks to shed light on common
problems without assuming an exalted, complex, or philosophical style.As
shown in his explorations of the father-son relationship, the playwright
strives to evoke a ponderance of certain
issues rather than to attack specific behaviors in a direct or hostile
manner.In this style, all of
Terence’s works are united in a concern for humanity, its nature, and its
interactions, in light of the Roman society of his time.
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5.B
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Terence’s Influence
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127-130
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Terence assumed a vast influence on dramatic authors
and theorists unmatched, in scope and duration, by any other ancient playwright,
even Plautus.
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5.B.1
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Terence as a Model for Comic Play Writing
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127-128
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Terence served as the great basis for the study
and practice of comedic drama from the Middle Ages, through the Renaissance,
and on into the eighteenth century.
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5.B.2
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Terence and the Comic Playwrights
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128-130
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Terence’s influence can be seen in the works of
such great authors as Moliere, Oscar Wilde,
and even, to some degree, Shakespeare.While
fading in direct influence, Terence’s writings continue to affect literature
through his unique brand of comedy.
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