Download Roman playrights theatre history

Greek Theatre – Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Roman Theatre – Plays by Plautus like Amphitryon (the play that Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum is loosely based on)
Western Theatre Timeline
These pages contain the names of those known to be prominent dramatist in Ancient
Greece and Rome, with links to their biographies in Britannica Online. In these
biographies they also mention what plays they wrote and to some extent the context of
the plays (political, social implications). Remember there were no ‘history’ plays as we
think of them today. And for Greeks in particular, treating a theme based on mythology
or mythologized history like the Trojan War was not necessarily different than a
fictionalized account of war or politics that occurred later in theater history. Also
according to accounts I have read, Romans basically copied the plots and characters of
existing Greek plays and adapted them adding some contemporary touches, characters,
and plot twists.
Rome
http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/theatre/time/Rome.htm
Greece
http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/theatre/time/greece.htm
Reference and Reserve
History of the Theatre, 9th Edition, Theat 2003, Reserves
Chapter 2/Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece
Sections on Tragedy and Comedy
Chapter 3/Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Theatre
Drama under the Romans, p. 47
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama
NW Owens Reference 1st Floor 809.2 M14m
Look in the index for references to the articles on ancient Greek and Roman drama. This
book is particularly good at telling who wrote the plays and what plays were written. You
also might find articles on specific dramatists like Aristophanes(Lysistrata) Plautus.
Use the Theatre Appreciation page to find subject headings and keyword searches
you can use in the catalog:
Theatre Appreciation/Greek Theatre and Civilization
http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/theatre/appreciation.htm#greek
Theatre Appreciation/Roman Theatre and Civilization
http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/theatre/appreciation.htm#rome
Literature and Its Times
First Floor Reference 809 L77l V.1 Prehistory-1790s
Antigone by Sophocles
Medea by Euripedes
This series is particularly good at setting the events and themes of a play into its historical
context. For instance in the play Antigone the themes of religion, civic pride, and law are
all investigated.
Drama For Students
First Floor Reference 809.2 D76d
Lysistrata by Aristophanes would be a particularly good illustration of a play with
contemporary political and social implications (still performed today as an antiwar play).
Vol 10, p.104.
Drama Criticism
First Floor Reference 809.2 D7631d V.6 Article on Plautus
Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism
First Floor Reference 809 C61c V. 24 Plautus
Description and analysis of many of the surviving play by this Roman dramatist.
Critical Survey of Drama
NW Owens 3rd Floor Main 822.09 C934c
Look for the essay in the last volume on Dramatic Genres, p. 2176 has a description of
Plautus and the significance of his plays.
Sample catalog subject searches:
latin drama history and criticism
latin drama tragedy
greek drama tragedy
greek drama comedy
Library Catalog
The Cambridge companion to Greek tragedy / edited by P.E. Easterling.
NW Owens 3rd Floor Main 882.01 C17c
The Roman stage; a short history of Latin drama in the time of the Republic [by] W.
Beare
NW Owens 3rd Floor Main 792.094 B36r