Titus Maccius Plautus, Rudens

David M. Christenson (University of Arizona)

Ed. by William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -185

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Play

Resources

Rudens is Plautus' most exotic play, and was one of the sources for Shakespeare's The Tempest (1611): see further Louden (1999). Though no internal evidence definitively dates Rudens, it is usually assumed to be one of Plautus' later plays (ca 190-185 BCE). In the prologue (32), Plautus' Greek source play is revealed to be by Diphilus (b. 360-350 BCE), though the title is not given.

Rudens is set on the Libyan coast near Cyrene, which was a Greek colony dating back to the 7^th century BCE. In contrast to the typically urban setting of Roman comedy (usually Athens), the action takes place near the seashore in a largely uninhabited and uncultivated locale, save for the small cottage …

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1444 words

Citation: Christenson, David M.. "Rudens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 May 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=26471, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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