Roman New Comedy in the Renaissance: The Influence of Plautus in Shakespearean Comedy
Start Date
29-4-2022 3:20 PM
Location
Alter Hall 308
Abstract
Although Shakespeare made major innovations in Early Modern Drama, he was heavily influenced by his Roman and Greek predecessors. This is most apparent in The Comedy of Errors, which is an adaptation of Plautus’s Menaechmi as well as Plautus’s Amphitryon, albeit to lesser extent. While Shakespeare derives much of the plot and background story from the Menaechmi, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of family by altering the given circumstances and characters within The Comedy of Errors. Through the process of formalist analysis, this paper delineates all aspects of these two plays, The Comedy of Errors and The Menaechmi, in order to demonstrate how exactly Shakespeare adapted Plautus’s works towards his own goals.
Roman New Comedy in the Renaissance: The Influence of Plautus in Shakespearean Comedy
Alter Hall 308
Although Shakespeare made major innovations in Early Modern Drama, he was heavily influenced by his Roman and Greek predecessors. This is most apparent in The Comedy of Errors, which is an adaptation of Plautus’s Menaechmi as well as Plautus’s Amphitryon, albeit to lesser extent. While Shakespeare derives much of the plot and background story from the Menaechmi, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of family by altering the given circumstances and characters within The Comedy of Errors. Through the process of formalist analysis, this paper delineates all aspects of these two plays, The Comedy of Errors and The Menaechmi, in order to demonstrate how exactly Shakespeare adapted Plautus’s works towards his own goals.
