Storiascopio · Era 6 of 12 · primary year 5
Plautus and comedy
about 200 BC · Rome (Plautus was born in Sarsina, in Romagna)
In short
Titus Maccius Plautus, born in Sarsina in Romagna, was the most famous writer of comedies in ancient Rome. His stories were full of cunning servants, gullible masters, mistaken identities and mixed-up twins. Audiences laughed in wooden theatres put up for festivals, because Rome's first stone theatre came more than a century later. His comedies, such as the Aulularia, about a miser with a pot of gold, inspired writers like Shakespeare and Molière.
Why it matters Many plots in today's comedies and films come from the jokes and mix-ups Plautus invented.
Source: Treccani, entry “Plauto, Tito Maccio”
Where we are in the era “Ancient Rome”
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about 753 BCEvent 7 of 25AD 476
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/plautus-and-comedy/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class