For the beauty of the game. The construction of characters in Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence).
Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 16143 |
| Format | 16 x 24 |
| Détails | 447 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2012 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | |
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the notion of character has been the subject of profound re-examinations, both in theatrical practice and in criticism. The psychological approach to character, defined as the coherent representation of an individual, a fictional being endowed with a character, feelings and whose story the spectator would follow, as in a novel, is called into question in this study devoted to the two greatest authors of Roman comedy, Plautus (255-184) and Terence (195-159). Indeed, one of the particularities of this theater without illusion is the metatheatrical phenomenon: direct addresses to the audience, asides, internal comments in the dialogue on the characters' performance, highlighting the deviations and variations imposed by the scenario inherited from the Greek model, all elements that establish a complicity between the stage and the audience, each being convinced that it is only a comedy. The author sees in this phenomenon a fundamental feature of Roman comedy, a pure play featuring conventional personae (jobs), in a construction without any real reference in the lives of the Romans who attended the show, and situated in an artificial Greek world. This analysis is brought into resonance with the circumstances of the performance in Rome, a special moment in the life of the city, which involves infamous histrions whose speech is devoid of effectiveness. Going against the usual conception which made Roman comedy an imitation of reality offering the spectator a "slice of life", this meticulous and richly documented study offers a new and convincing vision of Latin theater.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the notion of character has been the subject of profound re-examinations, both in theatrical practice and in criticism. The psychological approach to character, defined as the coherent representation of an individual, a fictional being endowed with a character, feelings and whose story the spectator would follow, as in a novel, is called into question in this study devoted to the two greatest authors of Roman comedy, Plautus (255-184) and Terence (195-159). Indeed, one of the particularities of this theater without illusion is the metatheatrical phenomenon: direct addresses to the audience, asides, internal comments in the dialogue on the characters' performance, highlighting the deviations and variations imposed by the scenario inherited from the Greek model, all elements that establish a complicity between the stage and the audience, each being convinced that it is only a comedy. The author sees in this phenomenon a fundamental feature of Roman comedy, a pure play featuring conventional personae (jobs), in a construction without any real reference in the lives of the Romans who attended the show, and situated in an artificial Greek world. This analysis is brought into resonance with the circumstances of the performance in Rome, a special moment in the life of the city, which involves infamous histrions whose speech is devoid of effectiveness. Going against the usual conception which made Roman comedy an imitation of reality offering the spectator a "slice of life", this meticulous and richly documented study offers a new and convincing vision of Latin theater.