Basil Allen - "Casina" vs. "The Braggart Soldier"

 “Casina” and “The Braggart Soldier”, both by Plautus, are similar in many regards. They are both comedies that explore dynamics between slaves and their masters, with plenty of schemes and trickery. I enjoyed “Casina” more, with its biting, crass humor and horrible (in the sense that they are all terrible people) characters. The translator used very colloquial, modern language which I thought was really funny and relatable. I did think it was interesting how Casina, the person practically the entire cast of characters is fighting over never once even spoke. I feel as though “The Braggart Soldier” would make a better movie, however, due to the satirical nature of the play and a far more complex plot that would translate to film well. Overall, both plays were an enjoyable read (despite the length) and they were definitely not as hard to understand as I thought they would be. 


Comments

  1. DrKOctober 5, 2023 at 3:13 PM

    Glad you enjoyed the plays, despite the length of this reading assignment. The "Braggart Soldier" would be a lot better if Plautus has cut all the Clever Slave's lengthy rehearsing and re-rehearsing of the courtesans or the never-ending monologue rant of Periplectomenos, the helpful neighbor.

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