Roman Theater: Tragedy and Comedy in Ancient Rome
General Features of Roman Theater
For the Romans, theatrical representations, known as ludi scaenici (stage games), were always related to a deity, blending religious and festive elements.
The Development of Drama
From 240 BC, plays were established in Rome and performed between spring and autumn. Five types of ludi (games) existed: Megalenses, Floral, Apollinares, Magni, and Plebeii. Pompey opened the first permanent theater in Rome, but information about the specific plays performed is limited.
Theater Companies
Actors were grouped into companies, led by a director/producer, who might be accompanied by a set designer. Each play typically featured three actors, plus at least one musician. Actors wore masks, shoes, and costumes appropriate to the genre. Audiences were known to be boisterous, restless, and engaged, especially during comedies. In tragedies, the actors’ voices were particularly valued.
Dramatic Genres
The Romans used the term fabula for any drama written in verse. Several types of fabulae existed:
- Fabula Cothurnata: Greek tragedy, named for the boots (cothurni) worn by actors.
- Fabula Praetexta: Roman tragedy, named for the toga praetexta worn by magistrates.
- Fabula Palliata: Comedy with a Greek theme, named for the pallium (Greek cloak).
- Fabula Togata: Comedy with a Roman theme, named for the toga.
Tragedy in Roman Theater
Early tragic playwrights included Livius Andronicus, Gnaeus Naevius, Quintus Ennius, Pacuvius, and Accius.
Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD)
Seneca was a prominent philosopher, politician, and playwright. Ten of his plays survive: nine with Greek themes and one with a Roman theme.
- Greek Themes: Seneca used myths, such as the sagas of Hercules, Agamemnon, and Labdacus, as a framework for his philosophical and moral ideas. He focused on the great passions of the human soul, minimizing the role of the gods. The characters’ decisions are presented through the author’s moralistic lens.
- Roman Theme: Octavia, for example, portrays the misfortunes of Nero’s wife, who was repudiated in favor of another woman. However, some scholars dispute Seneca’s authorship of this play.
Some critics argue that Seneca’s works were cold, difficult to stage, and unlikely to captivate an audience lacking the cultural background to appreciate them.
Comedy in Roman Theater
Comedy was highly successful in Rome. Playwrights like Plautus and Terence resonated with Roman audiences, who actively participated in and enjoyed the performances.
Plautus (254 – 184 BC)
Born in Umbria to a humble family, Plautus gained a remarkable knowledge of Greek literature in Rome and achieved great success in the theater.
Works
Plautus’s extensive body of work includes twenty-one surviving plays, all with Greek themes. His play titles often relate to objects or animals that are central to the plot, or to characters involved in farcical situations, sometimes bordering on melodrama. His works address various aspects of Roman society. Recurring themes and character types, such as love and money, are common in his plays.
Themes
Common themes in Plautus’s comedies include:
- Marriages between people of different social classes.
- Journeys ending in shipwrecks with unexpected survivors.
- Reunions of parents and children after many years.
The vast majority of his works feature complex plots, interweaving multiple storylines and actions.
Characters
Plautus’s characters are often recognizable “types,” embodying specific traits that make them easily identifiable to the audience. He excelled at creating these stock characters, such as the lovesick young man, the foolish young maiden, the grumpy old man, the clever slave who outwits his master, and the parasite who lives off others.
Structure and Language
Roman comedy typically followed this structure:
- Prologue: A character explains the plot before the action begins.
- Representation: The play itself, typically divided into five acts of varying length.
Plautus was a master of language, skillfully using both formal rhetoric and colloquial speech. This made the characters feel relatable to the audience.
Terence (185 – 159 BC)
Terence was a former slave who received an education and became associated with the cultured aristocratic circle of Scipio. He employed a refined and subtle language, somewhat removed from that of ordinary people.
Works
Six of Terence’s plays survive, including The Brothers, The Mother-in-Law, and The Self-Tormentor. Terence’s works are considered psychological or character comedies. Each begins with a prologue in which Terence defended himself against accusations of plagiarism.
Terence aimed for thoughtful reflection rather than easy laughs, creating complex and entertaining plots. His language is refined, but some critics find it colorless, lacking in variety, and potentially monotonous. Terence’s work often touches on what we would now call melodrama.