Ancient Roman Comedy Ancient Roman Comedy Popular in

Ancient Roman Comedy

Ancient Roman Comedy • Popular in the 2 nd century B. C. • Based on Greek dramas • Plautus and Terence were two important writers of comedy

No Girls Allowed! • Male actors only • Female roles were played by men

Characteristics of Ancient Roman Comedy • Eavesdropping

…continued • Asides to the audience

…continued • A crucial error i. e. mistaken identity

…continued • Trickery/deception

…continued • Musical accompaniment to dialogue

…continued • Action occurs on the street

…continued • Everyday themes

Ancient Roman Tragedy

Like Ancient Roman Comedy, Tragedies were… • Popular in the 2 nd century B. C. • Based on Greek drama • Only acted by men

Characteristics of Roman Tragedy • Five acts

…continued • Elaborate speeches

…continued • Violence occurs onstage (different from Greek plays)

…continued • Short statements called sententiae about the human condition

…continued • Characters driven, often to their own doom, by a single passion/obsession

…continued • Soliloquy- talking aloud to oneself

Mimes and Pantomimes • Popular in the 1 st century B. C. • Based on mythological stories • Very little plot • Music and dancing • Women were allowed to perform onstage

So what’s the difference between a mime and a pantomime? • Mime actors had speaking roles • Pantomime actors did not • Pantomimes were similar to ballets

Panic! At the pantomime • Common scandalous themes in mimes and pantomimes were nudity, violence, and extra-marital affairs