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This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally importan...more
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Rating details

Nov 07, 2014David Sarkies rated it liked it
Recommends it for: A theatre company to produce it
Shelves: comedy
The folly of boyhood love
10 November 2014
It was interesting to note that in the introduction they mentioned that the plot of this play was one of those really hackneyed plots in the Roman times. That may be the case, but the fact that it has survived suggests that Plautus' take on the subject was a superior version of this well worn plot, or it simply could be the first. It is sort of like Die Hard – an original idea that ended up spawning a bunch of copies that tried, and failed, to live up to...more
3.5 stars. For a play with rather clichéd elements (the wily slave, the sleazy pimp, the well-worn plot of stealing back the maiden from sexual slavery), this is an entertaining read. It feels more fleshed out that Plautus’s early work, with a tighter plot (despite its longer length), fewer unnecessary scenes and characters we actually grow to care about by the end of the play. I wouldn't have minded reading more plays with the return of these characters, like watching a movie that will inevitab...more
Jun 14, 2017Tati rated it liked it · review of another edition
CALIDORO: Cuánto Ardo de rabia por las palabras de éste. ¿Qué la juventud ateniense tolere que este individuo habite aquí? ¿Dónde están, dónde se esconden los jóvenes llenos de vida que por amores acuden al rufián? (...)
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MICO: ¿Podrías callarte? Al memorioso lo hace desmemoriada el que le recuerda lo que el memorioso memora.
As my first roman play, it was pretty damn good. Pseudolus had very sneaky and cunning qualities, and I do love the cunning slave and dumb master storyline in ancient plays, it was very like the Frogs. Pseudolus also reminded me of Odysseus because he always knew the best ways to get himself out of trouble.
Mar 08, 2015Emma (muggleglamour) rated it it was amazing
Being a theatre major, I have learned about Greek and Roman theatre only about 500 times and Romans are notorious for their pretty crappy plays. However, this one was very witty, fast-paced, and enjoyable!
Jan 08, 2017Giovanna rated it liked it · review of another edition
Le letture (e traduzioni) obbligatorie sfiancano. Specie se sei alla boh, terza rilettura?
End of the story.
Nov 01, 2017Andrew rated it really liked it
Tremendously clever and enjoyable, 'Pseudolus' follows the titular slave as he attempts to help his master's son, the lovelorn Calidorus, raise enough money to purchase Calidorus' lady love, the prostitute Phoenicium, from her pimp, the greedy Ballio. Along the way, Pseudolus makes a wager with his master (also Calidorus' father), the miserly Simo. Through trickery and wordplay, Pseudolus proves that even the poorest and most looked-down upon members of society can triumph in the end, and they c...more
Love how this play subverts social norms - the final scene shows the master kneeling to the slave in awe of his cunning. Full of sass and smutty wit. Offers an interesting peek into Roman values.
Nov 15, 2018AB rated it liked it
Solid example of the Roman tricky slave trope.
Nov 22, 2018Camilla Sandland rated it really liked it
Sep 08, 2015Aimee rated it it was ok
I find Roman plays lack some of the depth and substance of Greek plays as they always feel like the cheaper copy, which essentially they are I suppose as the Roman playwrights typically imitate the older Greek originals making a handful of changes and then spin them to the Roman audience. Pseudolus is no exception but is in the higher echelon of Roman plays I've read as the characters are more likeable and the plot isn't as convoluted. It was witty and fast paced but ultimately for me a lil forg...more
Mar 13, 2012Phillip rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I really liked the metadramatic elements of this play. The stock comic characters--the miser, the clever servant, the swaggering pimp--make the basic action of the play easy to follow. But what really stood out for me and made this particularly interesting was the metadramatic references to being in a play and to what the audience knows as opposed to what other characters know. Unlike classic tragedies, comedies have the freedom to play with surfaces and to disrupt or disregard the willing suspe...more
Jul 11, 2013B. P. Rinehart rated it really liked it
This was a nice short cleaver Roman play. I'm not to familiar with ancient comedies but I was amused by how the 4th wall was broken by the main character at times.
Read as a part of The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Volume 1.
'Calidorus: How did you do that?
Pseudolus: Well, look, this play is being acted for the benefit of the audience; they know what happened because they saw it happen. I'll tell you about it some other time' (p.245)
Lol
Sep 16, 2015Francine Maessen rated it liked it
This was the fourth play I read by Plautus and I start to feel like some are kind of repetitive. I think I need to see one on stage, because I think I'm skimming the text to much and I'm missing some dimension. So if someone can recommend me a live play by Plautus, I would love to hear about it!
Dec 29, 2016Megan rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Shelves: 2-star, bored, classics, historical-fiction, never-again, plays, read-in-2016, uni, ancient-history, romans
I read this as part of my assigned reading for my uni class on Ancient Greece and Rome. I can't really say much about it other than I was a little bored with everything going on and must somehow be missing the sense of humour that the Romans had in order to find the play appealing.
Nov 12, 2014Eduardo Fernández ortuño rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Es increíble que algo que fue esccrito más de 2000 años atrás nos siga haciendo tanta gracia!
I liked it, but cannot find anything special.
Nov 30, 2015Nicoletta rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Oct 29, 2010Leyla rated it really liked it
Okay, this was hilarious. Short, simple, funny.
Gee, I really liked this commedia. I guess it's the only book I had to read for homework I didn't hate. Hey, it's a first :)
Feb 26, 2015Tacye H rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Oct 19, 2008Pam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
An excellent book, a great translation. This book shows that certain things are always funny. I really enjoyed it!!!
Derek Kaellner rated it really liked it
Mar 02, 2012
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Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest works in Latin literature to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus. The word Plautine refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced b...more