40 pages • 1 hour read
PlautusThe Braggart Soldier
Fiction | Play | Adult | BCEA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
When producing plays that are no longer protected by copyright, such as the works of Shakespeare, or ancient Greek and Roman tragedies and comedies, theatre companies often choose to update the script in some way in order to appeal to contemporary audiences. Sometimes they do this by connecting their production to a current issue or setting the play in a different setting location to make a point. One famous instance of this is Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, in which the director modernized the play by setting it in present-day Verona Beach. How might you update The Braggart Soldier for a contemporary audience? What issues might you connect to the play? How might you update the play so that the humor reaches audiences in the same way Plautus’s original might have reached Roman audiences?
How do gender and gender roles function in The Braggart? What might you surmise about gender roles in ancient Rome based on what you read in the play? How is Plautus either supporting or subverting those roles? How does the play speak to gender and gender roles in society today?
The trope of the clever slave is one that appears in several of Plautus’s comedies. How does the character of Palaestrio create a commentary in terms of slavery and social hierarchy? What do you think the play is saying about social class and hierarchy? Use specific evidence to illustrate your point.
How does the Miles Gloriosus figure, or the braggart soldier, compare to 21st century portrayals of soldiers in popular entertainment? What instances in the play depict Pyrgopolynices in a way that might seem relevant to today’s audiences? What aspects of the soldier’s character might seem outmoded?
Compare and contrast the characters of Pyrgopolynices and Palaestrio. How are they different? How are they similar? What other characters might be paired as polar oppositesfoild? How would you compare and contrast them?
Plautus is well-known for his clever and witty use of language. What is a line that stands out to you as particularly funny? Why is it humorous? How does Plautus’s language make the joke smart?
What lessons does the play teach? If you were offering it to young people as a morality play, what would you expect them to take away? Are there lessons in the play that seem outdated or harmful? How might you spin them to make them relevant?
Throughout the history of performance, certain comic bits have persisted. For instance, Plautus uses the twin gag in multiple plays to create comedy through mixed identity. This bit has appeared over and over in both theatrical and cinematic comedies. What is a comic bit that you recognize in The Braggart Soldier? What plays, films, and/or television shows have used the same bit? Why does it retain its humor over so many centuries?
What comic character tropes do you recognize in the play? How does Plautus make those character types clear? Why are they funny? What plays, films, and/or television shows feature any or all of those character tropes? How are they adapted for current audiences?
Throughout Greek and Roman mythology, gods and heroes are repeatedly defined and romanticized. This play calls into question the definition of the word “hero.” Who is the hero of the play? How is that character framed as the hero? What qualities does he or she have? How is the hero different from or the same as typical heroes? What contemporary fictional hero is similar to the hero of The Braggart Soldier?
