Terence  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
Revision as of 15:59, 6 May 2009
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)
(Terrence moved to Terence)
← Previous diff
Revision as of 20:03, 7 November 2018
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

Next diff →
Line 1: Line 1:
-{{Template}}'''Publius Terentius Afer''', better known as '''Terence Jann Timbang''', was a comic [[playwright]] of the [[Roman Republic]].+{{Template}}
 +'''Publius Terentius Afer''' (c. 195/185 – c. 159? BC) was a [[comic playwright]] of the [[Roman Republic]]. He is perhaps best-known for his dictum "[[Homo sum, et nihil humanum a me alienum puto]]."
 +== Terence's plays ==
 + 
 +Like [[Plautus]], Terence adapted [[Greek theatre|Greek plays]] from the late phases of [[Greek comedy|Attic comedy]]. He was more than a translator, as modern discoveries of ancient Greek plays have confirmed. However, Terence's plays use a convincingly 'Greek' setting rather than Romanizing the characters and situations.
 + 
 +Terence worked hard to write natural conversational [[Latin]], and most students who persevere long enough to be able to read him in the vernacular find his style particularly pleasant and direct. [[Aelius Donatus]], [[Jerome]]'s teacher, is the earliest surviving commentator on Terence's work. Terence's popularity throughout the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Renaissance]] is attested to by the numerous manuscripts containing part or all of his plays; the scholar [[Claudia Villa]] has estimated that 650 [[manuscript]]s containing Terence's work date from after 800 AD. The [[mediaeval]] playwright [[Hroswitha of Gandersheim]] claims to have written her plays so that learned men had a Christian alternative to reading the pagan plays of Terence, while the reformer [[Martin Luther]] not only quoted Terence frequently to tap into his insights into all things human but also recommended his comedies for the instruction of children in school.
 + 
 +Terence's six plays are:
 + 
 +* ''[[Adelphoe|Adelphoe (The Brothers)]]''
 +* ''[[Andria (comedy)|Andria (The Girl from Andros)]]''
 +* ''[[Eunuchus]]''; Restoration poet and playwright Sir [[Charles Sedley]] modelled his comedy ''[[Bellamira (play)|Bellamira: or, The Mistress]]'' (1687) partly on this play.
 +* ''[[Heauton Timorumenos|Heauton Timorumenos (The Self-Tormentor)]]''
 +* ''[[Hecyra|Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law)]]''
 +* ''[[Phormio (satire)|Phormio]]''
 + 
 +The first printed edition of Terence appeared in [[Strasbourg]] in 1470, while the first certain post-antiquity performance of one of Terence's plays, ''[[Andria (comedy)|Andria]]'', took place in [[Florence]] in 1476. There is evidence, however, that Terence was performed much earlier. The short dialogue ''[[Terentius et delusor]]'' was probably written to be performed as an introduction to a Terentian performance in the ninth century (possibly earlier).
 + 
 +A phrase by his [[music]]al [[composer|collaborator]] [[Flaccus (composer)|Flaccus]] for Terence's comedy ''[[Hecyra]]'' is all that remains of the entire body of [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] music. This has recently been shown to be unauthentic.
 +==See also==
 +*[[Terence's Danaë]]
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

Revision as of 20:03, 7 November 2018

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop


Featured:

Publius Terentius Afer (c. 195/185 – c. 159? BC) was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. He is perhaps best-known for his dictum "Homo sum, et nihil humanum a me alienum puto."

Terence's plays

Like Plautus, Terence adapted Greek plays from the late phases of Attic comedy. He was more than a translator, as modern discoveries of ancient Greek plays have confirmed. However, Terence's plays use a convincingly 'Greek' setting rather than Romanizing the characters and situations.

Terence worked hard to write natural conversational Latin, and most students who persevere long enough to be able to read him in the vernacular find his style particularly pleasant and direct. Aelius Donatus, Jerome's teacher, is the earliest surviving commentator on Terence's work. Terence's popularity throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is attested to by the numerous manuscripts containing part or all of his plays; the scholar Claudia Villa has estimated that 650 manuscripts containing Terence's work date from after 800 AD. The mediaeval playwright Hroswitha of Gandersheim claims to have written her plays so that learned men had a Christian alternative to reading the pagan plays of Terence, while the reformer Martin Luther not only quoted Terence frequently to tap into his insights into all things human but also recommended his comedies for the instruction of children in school.

Terence's six plays are:

The first printed edition of Terence appeared in Strasbourg in 1470, while the first certain post-antiquity performance of one of Terence's plays, Andria, took place in Florence in 1476. There is evidence, however, that Terence was performed much earlier. The short dialogue Terentius et delusor was probably written to be performed as an introduction to a Terentian performance in the ninth century (possibly earlier).

A phrase by his musical collaborator Flaccus for Terence's comedy Hecyra is all that remains of the entire body of ancient Roman music. This has recently been shown to be unauthentic.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Terence" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools