{"product_id":"the-pot-of-gold-and-other-plays-by-plautus","title":"'The Pot of Gold and Other Plays' by Plautus","description":"\u003ch4\u003ePlautus is Roman comedy at full volume.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe loves the mistaken identities, greedy old men, boastful soldiers, scheming slaves, sexual intrigue, sudden reversals and plots like a cart coming downhill with one wheel missing. Written for popular audiences in the late third and early second centuries BCE, these plays adapt Greek comic models into something more unruly, musical and aggressively theatrical.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis collection includes \u003cem\u003eThe Pot of Gold\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Prisoners\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Brothers Menaechmus\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Swaggering Soldier\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePseudolus\u003c\/em\u003e. Together they show the range beneath Plautus’s apparent chaos: \u003cem\u003eThe Pot of Gold\u003c\/em\u003e turns miserliness into social pathology; \u003cem\u003eThe Brothers Menaechmus\u003c\/em\u003e builds an entire machine from identical twins and confused recognition; \u003cem\u003eThe Swaggering Soldier\u003c\/em\u003e attacks masculine vanity; while \u003cem\u003ePseudolus\u003c\/em\u003e gives the stage to one of drama’s great trickster-slaves, who treats hierarchy as material for improvisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlautus was foundational to European theatre. Any Shakespeare, Molière, commedia dell’arte, farce, sitcom or plot involving twins, disguises or servants outthinking their masters all carry some trace of him. Translated from Latin by E. F. Watling, whose versions privilege pace, speakability and comic momentum.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePenguin Classics, 1976 reprint of the 1965 translation. Paperback. Age-toned pages; rubbing, marks and moderate edge wear to covers; binding sound.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45910488711251,"sku":null,"price":8.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Untitleddesign-2026-08-05T122548.232.png?v=1785896842","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/the-pot-of-gold-and-other-plays-by-plautus","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}