Considered to be Plautus's greatest play, "Menaechmi; Or, The Twin-Brothers" is the story of two twin brothers, Menaechmus and Sosicles, who are separated at age seven when their father takes Menaechmus on a business trip. This classic play, which provided the inspiration for Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors", draws heavily on the theme of mistaken identity.
Having just completed teaching this text in a course, I'd say there is one main difficulty. This looks like an old typescript done in courier font that's been put into book form. It would benefit from a reset of the font and a more readable design. Other than that, maybe an update with more recent articles on the play would be in order. I'll use it again, but hope Bolchazy Carducci will do a remake. Otherwise a very usable book.
Plautus: Menaechmi
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This is a first class commentary and a must for anyone interested in the history of Roman comedy. The introduction is clear; the explanation of meter is advanced but insightful; the discussion of the Greek origins of the comedy of errors is useful; and the commentary is tailored to the mid- to upper-level Latin student. I used this text for an advanced Latin course and found it quite good. The single drawback is the play itself - its crafting, structure, and sense of humor can appear clumsy and foreign to the tastes of modern students.
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