Titus Maccius Plautus, Mostellaria [The Haunted House]

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Mostellaria

is a Roman comedy by Plautus. Although there is uncertainty about the date of performance and its Greek original, it has been suggested that the play was staged after 193 B.C. and may be based on the non-extant New Comedy

Phasma

(Ghost) by Philemon.

Mostellaria is a typical Roman comedy in many ways. It includes stock characters, like two old men, two young men, two courtesans having an affair with the youths, a scheming slave, a procuress, a money-lender, etc. The plot is once again about a “blocking character”, an old father, who opposes his son's love affair and whom the cunning slave befools into accepting his son's way of life. The title of the comedy (“little ghost”) refers to a specter that allegedly haunts the house of the old man Theopropides, who unexpectedly

879 words

Citation: Philippides, Katerina. "Mostellaria". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 April 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21412, accessed 19 March 2024.]

21412 Mostellaria 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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