Play of "Character"
THE BRAGGART WARRIOR (Miles Gloriosus) - A crude
farce based on the character of a braggart
soldier written by
T. Maccius Plautus. The two parts of the
double plot are poorly connected. The play has been extraordinarily
influential on
Terence,
Udall,
Dolce,
Baif,
Mareschal,
Gryphius, and
Holberg.
Miles Gloriosus is a typical
Plautine comedy: a young lover trying to be with the
courtesan he loves, and a tricky
slave who will arrange the union. The
antagonist, a braggart warrior named
Pyrgopolynices, is another stock
character, and gives the play its
title.
Palaestrio, the tricky slave, manages to convince Pyrgopolynices to send the courtesan away by explaining that
there is another woman who desires him even more. Palaestrio's little
ruse works, leaving the audience with the desired
happy ending.
Miles Gloriosus presents some
interesting angles on areas of
Roman society. Courtesans, or kept women, appear in this play as
objects to be possessed, rather than our notions of
prostitutes.
Philocomasium (the courtesan) stays with Prygopolynices until he dismisses her, although he did not
purchase her for a sum of
money (he instead talked with her
mother and "
persuaded" her to let him
take the girl) so he apparently does not own her. In the
context of the play, Palaestrio arranges her "dismissal" so that she is allowed to keep the
clothing and
jewelry, etc. which she received from Pyrgopolynices while she was staying with him. Thus, one could
argue that she remained with him for
financial reasons. However, given her
profession it is hardly unlikely that she would be unable to find
another man to support her in a similar fashion.
Another
issue raised in Miles Gloriosus is that of
marriage and
children.
Periplectomenus, an old man who helps Pleusicles win back Philocomasium, spends an entire scene
debating the merits of
marriage versus bachelorhood. He complains that women spend too much money, that
he does not need children because he has
relatives. Perhaps
Plautus is just pulling this out for some
cheap jokes about the
stereotypical spending habits of women, but this line of reasoning runs against the
family bonds exhibited in
Captivi. In a
patriarchial society such as
Rome, where the
pater familias literally had the
power of life and death over his family, one may see Periplectomenus's rantings simply as a
counterpoint to Pleusicles constant statements of
love and devotion (although the play never mentions that they will get married and have children). This
contrast suggests to the audience that the best way to conduct one's personal affairs is not by
falling in love with courtesans, nor by remaining a
bachelor, but by getting married to a
respectable woman and having children.
Quotes
It is a great plague to be too handsome a man.
Nimia est miseria nimis pulchrum esse hominem.
- Miles Gloriosus (I, 1, 68)
Know not what you know, and see not what you see.
Etiam illud quod scies nesciveris;
Ne videris quod videris.
- Miles Gloriosus (II, 6, 89)
No man is wise enough by himself.
Nemo solus satis sapit.
- Miles Gloriosus (III, 3, 12)
No one can be so welcome a guest that he will not become an annoyance when he has stayed three continuous days in a friend's house.
Hospes nullus tam in amici hospitium diverti potest,
Quin ubi triduum continuum fuerit jam odiosus siet.
- Miles Gloriosus (III, 3, 12)
http://vassun.vassar.edu/~jolott/republic1998/plautus/milesgloriosus.html