Lucretius gives a logical explanation for why chimeras can’t exist in Book 5 of De Rerum Natura. Discussion Prompts What’s your favorite mythological creature that combines two different animals? Can religion and science coexist? Be polite. AP Credit: What are some modern equivalents of this epic? Discuss. What does Lucretius (and/or Epicurus) get right about evolution?Continue reading “Roman Epics V: De Rerum Natura Book 5, or Darwin Didn’t Get There First”
Category Archives: The Romans
Roman Comedy XIX: Plautus’s Poenulus, or But I Thought Carthage and Rome Were Mortal Enemies
What language is that? Discussion Prompts Why do you think Plautus didn’t change Hanno’s nationality? How does Adelphasium really feel about Agorastocles? Does Lycus deserve what he gets? What do you think will happen to Anthemonides? The usual directing questions: Concept, setting, dream cast, etc.
Roman Epics IV: De Rerum Natura Book 4, or How to Strut Your Hour Upon the Stage Without Fretting
Lucretius insists that we don’t have to fear death. We’ll see if his reasoning is at all helpful. Discussion Prompts If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Love: Good or bad? Why? Does the belief that there is no afterlife increase orContinue reading “Roman Epics IV: De Rerum Natura Book 4, or How to Strut Your Hour Upon the Stage Without Fretting”
Roman Comedy XVIII: Plautus’s Mostellaria, or I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost
Is the house haunted? Find out in Plautus’s Mostellaria. Discussion Prompts How clever is Tranio really? AP Credit: Discuss status as we see it presented in this play. Is Tranio truly forgiven by Theopropides when this play ends? Why did Henry Thomas Riley insist on changing the names of characters in a manner that bringsContinue reading “Roman Comedy XVIII: Plautus’s Mostellaria, or I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost”
Roman Epics III: De Rerum Natura Book 3, or Shuffling Off This Mortal Coil
Who’s right? Lucretius and Epicurus? Or Hamlet? Discussion Prompts See above. What, if anything, is the distinction between the mind and the body? Is there a soul? Why or why not?
Roman Epics II: De Rerum Natura Book 2, or If You Wanna Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life
We learn about happiness and atoms in Book 2 of De Rerum Natura. Discussion Prompts Is Lucretius a monotheist? Why or why not? What would your ancient Roman self-help book be about? When you think of “epicurean,” what do you think of? AP Credit: Discuss Lucretius’s accuracies and inaccuracies in his description of atoms.
Roman Comedy XVII: Plautus’s Mercator, or The Merchant of Athens
Merchants buy and sell and get in a pickle in Plautus’s Mercator. Discussion Prompts If you were directing this today, what would be your vision? Setting? Dream cast? Etc.? Why? AP Credit: Discuss the two families seen and the parallels between Charinus and Eutychus. What do you think of the matrona character type as presentedContinue reading “Roman Comedy XVII: Plautus’s Mercator, or The Merchant of Athens”
Roman Epics I: De Rerum Natura Book 1, or Lucretius Isn’t Wrong
Welcome to Roman Epics! We start with Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura, or On the Nature of Things. Discussion Prompts If you were to write an epic based on philosophy, what philosophy would you write about? How do you think Lucretius (and Epicurus) managed to philosophize physics as well as they did? What does this book teach aboutContinue reading “Roman Epics I: De Rerum Natura Book 1, or Lucretius Isn’t Wrong”
Roman Comedy XVI: Plautus’s Menaechmi, or Shakespeare’s Favorite Source Material
If one Menaechmus is good, then two must be better! Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Discuss the concept of alienation as seen the the twin Menaechmi brothers. How would you cast this play? Would you riff on Shakespeare’s double set of twins by casting the same actor as both Peniculus (Diddley – the parasite) and MessenioContinue reading “Roman Comedy XVI: Plautus’s Menaechmi, or Shakespeare’s Favorite Source Material”
Roman Comedy XV: Plautus’s Epidicus, or If Gilbert & Sullivan Met Plautus
Gilbert and Sullivan wish they’d come up with plots as complicated as the one in Plautus’s Epidicus. Discussion Prompts If directing this play today, how would you handle the complicated plot? The four women are some of the cleverest characters in this play. Discuss. Why isn’t Periphanes aware that the soldiers are returning from Thebes?Continue reading “Roman Comedy XV: Plautus’s Epidicus, or If Gilbert & Sullivan Met Plautus”
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