Titus Maccius Plautus, Rudens

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Rudens

is Plautus' most exotic play, and was one of the sources for Shakespeare's

The Tempest

(1611): see further Louden (1999). Though no internal evidence definitively dates

Rudens

, it is usually assumed to be one of Plautus' later plays (ca 190-185 BCE). In the prologue (32), Plautus' Greek source play is revealed to be by Diphilus (b. 360-350 BCE), though the title is not given.

Rudens is set on the Libyan coast near Cyrene, which was a Greek colony dating back to the 7th century BCE. In contrast to the typically urban setting of Roman comedy (usually Athens), the action takes place near the seashore in a largely uninhabited and uncultivated locale, save for the small cottage and farm of Daemones, an Athenian ex-patriot, and a shrine of Venus that is staffed by a single priestess

1444 words

Citation: Christenson, David M.. "Rudens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 May 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=26471, accessed 19 March 2024.]

26471 Rudens 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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