TERENCE (Publius Terentius Afer, c. 195-159 B.C.), was a north African of Carthage. He was brought to Rome as a household slave of the Roman Terentius Lucanus, who had him educated and freed. Terence was then admitted to the society of Roman nobles who liked literature; for them chiefly he composed six Latin comedies (based on Greek models), all of which are extant. Gifted with an intimate knowledge of human nature, but preferring the kindly to the cruel, he presents us, in polished poetry, with loving parents and children, gentle masters, and faithful slaves, well suited to the Roman circle for which he was writing. Even where social behavior is not high, there is refinement and subtle humour. At least one of the plays has a very modern look. Indeed none of them is specially related to his own time; all however are meant to reproduce life as presented by playwrights of the 'New Comedy' (especially Menander) at Athens about a century earlier.

The six plays by Terence (d. 159 BC), all extant, imaginatively reformulate Greek New Comedy in realistic scenes and refined Latin. They include Phormio, a comedy of intrigue and trickery; The Brothers, which explores parental education of sons; and The Eunuch, which presents the most sympathetically drawn courtesan in Roman comedy.

When first performed, The Eunuch was a great success. Today, with its larger-than-life characters (particularly the boastful soldier Thraso and the toady Gnatho), its farcical and exaggerated humour and its vigorous action, it strikes the modern reader as the funniest and most Plautine of Terence's six comedies. It is also a play of effective and entertaining contrasts, particularly that between the two brothers Phaedria and Chaerea. Their very different attitudes to love and romance provide one of the play's chief points of interest, while Thais presents yet another picture of love, that of the professional courtesan. The fact that Thais, Thraso and the slave Parmeno are not quite the stereotypes we might expect to find in this type of play adds yet more to an amusing and thought provoking comedy.

A comprehensive survey of Roman theatrical production, this book examines all aspects of Roman performance practice, and provides fresh insights on the comedies of Plautus and Terence. Following an introductory chapter on the experience of Roman comedy from the perspective of Roman actors and the Roman audience, addressing among other things the economic concerns of putting on a play in the Roman republic, subsequent chapters provide detailed studies of troupe size and the implications for role assignment, masks, stage action, music, and improvisation in the plays of Plautus and Terence. Marshall argues that Roman comedy was raw comedy, much more rough-and-ready than its Hellenistic precursors, but still fully conscious of its literary past. The consequences of this lead to fresh conclusions concerning the dramatic structure of Roman comedy, and a clearer understanding of the relationship between the plays-as-text and the role of improvisation during performance.

An essential companion for the student of literature. Works selected include the best-known works of the classical Greek and Roman theatre.