Behind the mask : character and society in Menander

Author(s)

• Heap, Angela M.

Bibliographic Information

Behind the mask : character and society in Menander

Angela M. Heap

（Classical literature and society）

Bloomsbury Academic, 2021 , c2019

• : pb

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p.[159]-180) and index

"First published in Grat Britain in 2019, paperback edition first published 2021" --t.p. verso

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This new study of Menander casts fresh light not only on the techniques of the playwright but also on the literary and historical contexts of the plays. Menander (342/1-292/1 BCE) wrote over a hundred popular comedies, several of which were adapted by Plautus and Terence. Through them, he was a major influence on Shakespeare and Moliere. However, his work survived only in excerpts and quotation until some significant texts reappeared in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries on papyrus. The mystery of their loss and rediscovery has raised key questions surrounding the transmission of these and other Greek texts. Theatrical masks from the fourth century BCE discovered on the island of Lipari now also provide important material with which this book examines how the plays were originally performed. A detailed investigation of their historical setting is offered which engages with recent debates on the importance of social status and citizenship in Menander's plays. The techniques of characterization are also examined, with particular focus on women, slaves and power relationships in his Epitrepontes. It appears that the audience was invited, sometimes subversively, behind the mask of this sophisticated comedy to discover that people do not always conform to literary expectations and social norms.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Treasure on the Rock: Menander and the masks and figurines from Lipari 2. All the World's a Stage: Menander in performance 3. Alexander, Aristophanes and Beyond: Menander in context 4. Women in Epitrepontes: Habrotonon and Pamphile 5. Slaves in Epitrepontes: Habrotonon, Onesimos, Syros and Daos Conclusion Glossary Notes Bibliography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BC05406871
• ISBN:
  • 9781350190696
• LCCN: 2018053347
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: London
• Pages/Volumes: xiv, 195 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : PA4247
  • DC23 : 882/.01
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Menander, of Athens -- Criticism and interpretation
  • LCSH : Menander, of Athens -- Technique
  • LCSH : Classical drama (Comedy) -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : Literature and society -- Greece -- History -- To 146 B.C
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA77784814