Roman Comedy
This next semester you will be writing a Roman Comedy. To help you prepare for this project, I ask that over our break you watch the following films. One is a production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and the other is P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. The first thing to understand about Roman Comedy is that it follows a very specific form, much like a sonnet. To do well at this assignment you will need to get to know its unique rules inside and out.
Of the rules that govern the Roman Comedy, the most important is the use of stock characters.
The Main Characters are all required and must function as the key drivers of your plot.
The Adolescent: The adulescens was the loveable hero. He is young, rich, but not too brave or smart. He tends to bemoan his fate and get himself into situations where he requires backup. Another character often has to take action on his behalf, often the servus callidus. His father or guardian is often the senex, whom he fears, but does not respect.
The Old Man: The senex typically was portrayed in two different forms.
A. As a friend of the family, or relative, he is either too strict or too soft with the adulscens. He tends
to be passionately in love with the same woman as the adulescens, a woman who is much too
young for him. He never gets the girl and is subjected to embarrassing circumstances due to his
pursuit of her.
B. Sometimes he is the father of the adulescens and although too strict or too soft earlier in the play
eventually he decides to help the adulescens. He is often a miser.
The Slaveowner: The leno is a slaveowner. The virgo is typically owned by the leno so that the adulescens is often forced to deal with him. The leno is unabashedly amoral and only interested in
money.
The Maiden: The virgo (young maiden) is the love interest of the adulescens, but barely appears on stage. She is often a slave owned by the leno, but described as beautiful and virtuous with little personality. She is treated as a prize.
The Wise Slave: The servus callidus is often the most important character and often has the most monologues. He is not the kind of slave typical of a real Roman home. The servus callidus, or clever slave, is always talkative, but his other traits vary. Most of the time he is the loyal slave of the adulescens, sometimes he is the slave of the senex. In the second case he usually is secretly working to help the adulescens. He brings tricks and comedy to the play, and tends to drive the plot. He is often the one who finds the truth out at the end of the play. He can be identified by his tendency to use eloquent poetic quotations.
The Minor Characters can be used in any combination to drive the plot forward, but should not be one of the main drivers of the narrative.
The Braggart: The miles gloriosus is a braggart soldier. He loves himself more than anything else and sees himself as handsome, physically fit, and brave, while in reality, he is very stupid, cowardly, and gullible. He may be interested in the same girl as the adulescens.
The Parasite: The parasitus is a parasite who lives only for himself. He is money-grubbing and often tries to steal food or get free meals, which he is typically refused. He lies for his own gain.
The Maid: The ancilla is a maid or nurse of no particular age. She is a minor character used to move the plot by presenting information or helping to develop another character. She is a tool of her mistress and may be used as a messenger.
The Mother: The matrona is shrewd. She loves her children but is temperamental towards her husband. She does not have to be a devoted wife but sometimes is.
Plot Devices
You will need to include both of the following plot devices in your scripts.
Peripeteia:
Peripeteia, specifically, is "a change from one state of affairs to its exact opposite." For example, a Leno might suddenly shift from opposing a marriage to seeking it when he discovers the true identity of the adulescens.
Anagnorisis:
Anagnorisis is "change from ignorance to knowledge, leading either to friendship or to hostility on the part of those persons who are marked for good fortune or bad." This ‘realization’ often includes the recognition that a circumstance that has blocked the union of the two lovers is, in fact, based on error. For example, the young man may suffer amnesia after an accident, only to remember his aristocratic status after a similar accident, thus paving the way for marriage.
Examples of Roman Comedy Style in more modern plays
Now that you have reviewed the basic information from the syllabus, I would like you to review two examples of more modern adaptations of the Roman Comedy formula. The first of these is Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde's famous play is important to us because it shares many of the 'classical norms and
dramatic practices' of Roman Comedy.
Wilde‘s play has strong resemblances to...New Comedy [the basis of Roman Comedy], where, the characters find themselves in a complicated and unpleasant situation which for a while seems destined to
grow steadily worse, but the story is so manipulated that everything works out well in the end and everyone is
left happy and contented (O‘Neill, xlix).
As you watch the play, I ask that you look for examples of the form discussed at the beginning of this post. In particular, look for examples of the stock characters and make a list as you spot them.
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Secondly, look for examples of Peripeteia and Anagnorisis. How do they benefit the plot's structure?
For the second video, I would like you to do much the same. Look for examples of the stock characters and note them. How does Wodehouse use stock characters in comparison to Wilde? Lastly, look for examples of how Wodehouse uses Peripeteia and Anagnorisis. Does Wodehouse follow the same formula, if so how or how not?
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