Behind the mask : character and society in Menander
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Behind the mask : character and society in Menander
(Classical literature and society)
Bloomsbury Academic, 2021 , c2019
- : pb
Available at / 1 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
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"