A Commentary on Plautus' Curculio

Lively and critically aware, T. H. M. Gellar-Goads A Commentary on Plautus Curculio is the new reference text on the play. Curculio follows the efforts of the title character to trick a sex-trafficker into handing over an enslaved woman to the young man infatuated with her instead of to the soldier whos paid for herand will turn out to be her long-lost brother. As Plautus shortest comedy, Curculio has proven to be a desirable text for university performances. The play exemplifies Plautus style, with a blend of erotic, deception, and recognition plotlines, plus a wide range of archetypal characters. Gellar-Goads commentary is the complete package, with introductions to themes, content, humor, meter, and syntax; notes on matters of performance, interpretation, and social history; and a text with aids to scansion and clarifying stage directions. This up-to-date, authoritative commentary on the play will prove useful to directors and actors and will readily introduce students to the joys of Roman comedy.