Editing Plautus (section)

==Language and style==

===Overview===
Plautus wrote in a colloquial style far from the codified form of Latin that is found in [[Ovid]] or [[Virgil]]. This colloquial style is the everyday speech that Plautus would have been familiar with, yet that means that most students of Latin are unfamiliar with it. Adding to the unfamiliarity of Plautine language is the inconsistency of the irregularities that occur in the texts. In one of his studies, A.W. Hodgman noted that:

<blockquote>the statements that one meets with, that this or that form is "common," or "regular," in Plautus, are frequently misleading, or even incorrect, and are usually unsatisfying.... I have gained an increasing respect for the manuscript tradition, a growing belief that the irregularities are, after all, in a certain sense regular. The whole system of inflexion—and, I suspect, of syntax also and of versification—was less fixed and stable in Plautus' time than it became later.<ref>A.W. Hodgman. "Verb Forms in Plautus," ''The Classical Quarterly'' 1.1(1907), pp. 42-52.</ref></blockquote>

===Archaic features===
The diction of Plautus, who used the colloquial speech of his own day, is distinctive and non-standard from the point of view of the later, [[Classical Latin|classical period]]. M. Hammond, A.H. Mack, and W. Moskalew have noted in the introduction to their edition of the ''Miles Gloriosus'' that Plautus was "free from convention... [and] sought to reproduce the easy tone of daily speech rather than the formal regularity of oratory or poetry. Hence, many of the irregularities which have troubled scribes and scholars perhaps merely reflect the everyday usages of the careless and untrained tongues which Plautus heard about him."<ref>Ed. M. Hammond, A.H. Mack, & W. Moskalew, ''Miles Gloriosus'' (Cambridge and London, 1997 repr.), pp. 39-57.</ref> Looking at the overall use of archaic forms in Plautus, one notes that they commonly occur in promises, agreements, threats, prologues, or speeches. Plautus's archaic forms are metrically convenient, but may also have had a stylistic effect on his original audience.

These forms are frequent and of too great a number for a complete list here,<ref>The reader is directed to the word studies of A.W. Hodgman (Nouns 1902; Verbs 107) to grasp fully the use of archaic forms in Plautine diction.</ref> but some of the most noteworthy features which from the classical perspective will be considered irregular or obsolete are:

*the use of uncontracted forms of some verbs such as ''mavolo'' ("prefer") for later ''malo''<ref>From ''magis volo'' "want more".</ref>
*the use of the final -''e'' of second person singular imperatives in verbs which in classical Latin lack it, e.g. dic(e) "say".
*the retention of -''u''- in place of the later -''i''- in words such as ''maxumus'', ''proxumus'', ''lacrumare'' etc. (see [[Sonus medius|Latin spelling and pronunciation §Sonus medius]]), and of -''vo''- before ''r'', ''s'' or ''t'', where the use after ''ca''. 150 BC<ref>R.H. Martin, ''Terence: Phormio'' (London: Methuen, 1969). P. 86 n. 29.</ref> would favour -''ve''- (as ''vostrum'' for later ''vestrum'')
*the use of the -''ier'' ending for the present [[passive voice|passive]] and [[Latin conjugation#Deponent and semi-deponent verbs|deponent]] [[infinitive]] (e.g. ''exsurgier'' for ''exsurgī'')
*the forms of ''sum'' often joined to the preceding word, which is called [[prodelision]] (as ''bonumst'' "it's good" for ''bonum est'' "it is good")
*the dropping of the final -''s'' of 2nd-singular verb forms and the final -''e'' of the question-particle [[wikt:-ne#Latin|-''ne'']] when the two are joined (as ''viden?'' for ''videsne?'' "you see? you get it?")
*the retention of short -''ŏ'' in noun endings in the [[Latin Declensions#Second declension (o)|second declension]] for later -''ŭ''
*the retention in many words of ''qu-'' instead of later ''c-'' (as in ''quom'' instead of ''cum'')
*the use of the ''-āī'' genitive singular ending, disyllabic, besides ''-ae''
*the retention of final -''d'' after long vowel in the pronouns ''mēd'', ''tēd'', ''sēd'' (accusative and ablative, used before prevocalic words, forms without ''-d'' also occur)
*the occasional addition of a final -''pte'', -''te'', or -''met'' to pronouns
*the use of -''īs'' as an accusative plural and occasionally nominative plural ending.<ref>This list compiled from a number of word studies and syntactic texts listed in the reference section.</ref>

These are the most common linguistic peculiarities (from the later perspective) in the plays of Plautus, some of them being also found in [[Terence]], and noting them helps in the reading of his works and gives insight into early Roman language and interaction.

===Means of expression===
There are certain ways in which Plautus expressed himself in his plays, and these individual means of expression give a certain flair to his style of writing. The means of expression are not always specific to the writer, i.e., idiosyncratic, yet they are characteristic of the writer. Two examples of these characteristic means of expression are the use of proverbs and the use of Greek language in the plays of Plautus.

Plautus employed the use of proverbs in many of his plays. Proverbs would address a certain genre such as law, religion, medicine, trades, crafts, and seafaring. Plautus' proverbs and proverbial expressions number into the hundreds. They sometimes appear alone or interwoven within a speech. The most common appearance of proverbs in Plautus appears to be at the end of a soliloquy. Plautus does this for dramatic effect to emphasize a point.

Further interwoven into the plays of Plautus and just as common as the use of proverbs is the use of Greek within the texts of the plays. J. N. Hough suggests that Plautus's use of Greek is for artistic purposes and not simply because a Latin phrase will not fit the meter. Greek words are used when describing foods, oils, perfumes, etc. This is similar to the use of French terms in the English language such as ''garçon'' or ''rendezvous''. These words give the language a French flair just as Greek did to the Latin-speaking Romans. Slaves or characters of low standing speak much of the Greek. One possible explanation for this is that many Roman slaves were foreigners of Greek origin.

Plautus would sometimes incorporate passages in other languages as well in places where it would suit his characters. A noteworthy example is the use of two prayers in [[Punic language|Punic]] in ''Poenulus'', spoken by the Carthaginian elder Hanno, which are significant to [[Semitic languages|Semitic linguistics]] because they preserve the Carthaginian pronunciation of the vowels. Unlike Greek, Plautus most probably did not speak Punic himself, nor was the audience likely to understand it. The text of the prayers themselves was probably provided by a Carthaginian informant, and Plautus incorporated it to emphasize the authenticity and foreignness of Hanno's character.<ref>{{cite book |title= Les passages punique en transcription latine dans le Poenulus de Plaute |last= Sznycer |first= Maurice|author-link=Maurice Sznycer |year= 1967 |publisher= Librairie C. Klincksieck |location= Paris }}</ref>

===Poetic devices===
Plautus also used more technical means of expression in his plays. One tool that Plautus used for the expression of his ''servus callidus'' stock character was alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of sounds in a sentence or clause; those sounds usually come at the beginning of words. In the ''Miles Gloriosus,'' the ''servus callidus'' is Palaestrio. As he speaks with the character, Periplectomenus, he uses a significant amount of alliteration in order to assert his cleverness and, therefore, his authority. Plautus uses phrases such as "falsiloquom, falsicum, falsiiurium" (''MG'' l. 191). These words express the deep and respectable knowledge that Palaestrio has of the Latin language. Alliteration can also happen at the endings of words as well. For example, Palaestrio says, "linguam, perfidiam, malitiam atque audaciam, confidentiam,
confirmitatem, fraudulentiam" (''MG'' ll. 188–9). Also used, as seen above, is the technique of
assonance, which is the repetition of similar-sounding syllables.

===Jokes and wordplay===
Plautus' comedies abound in puns and word play, which is an important component of his poetry. One well known instance in the ''Miles Gloriosus'' is Sceledre, ''scelus.'' Some examples stand in the text in order to accentuate and emphasize whatever is being said, and others to elevate the artistry of the language. But a great number are made for jokes, especially [[riddle joke]]s, which feature a "knock knock - who's there?" pattern.  Plautus is especially fond of making up and changing the meaning of words, as [[Shakespeare]] does later.<ref>M. Fontaine, ''Funny Words in Plautine Comedy,'' Oxford, 2010.</ref>

===Meter===
{{see|Metres of Roman comedy}}
Further emphasizing and elevating the artistry of the language of the plays of Plautus is the use of meter, which simply put is the rhythm of the play. There seems to be great debate over whether Plautus found favour in strong word accent or verse ictus, stress. Plautus did not follow the meter of the Greek originals that he adapted for the Roman audience. Plautus used a great number of meters, but most frequently he used the iambic senarius and the [[trochaic septenarius]]. G. B. Conte has noted that Plautus favours the use of ''cantica'' instead of Greek meters.

===Vigor and immediacy===
The ''servus callidus'' functions as the exposition in many of Plautus' plays. According to C. Stace, "slaves in Plautus account for almost twice as much monologue as any other character ...  [and] this is a significant statistic; most of the monologues being, as they are, for purposes of humor, moralizing, or exposition of some kind, we can now begin to see the true nature of the slave's importance."<ref>C. Stace. "The Slaves of Plautus", ''Greece and Rome'' 2.15 (1968), pp. 64–77.</ref> Because humor, vulgarity,<ref>MacCary & Willcock (1976), p.12 "the delight in low humour we associate with Plautus"</ref> and "incongruity" are so much a part of the Plautine comedies, the slave becomes the essential tool to connect the audience to the ''joke'' through his monologue and direct connection ''to'' the audience. He is, then, not only a source for exposition and understanding, but connection—specifically, connection to the humor of the play, the playfulness of the play. The ''servus callidus'' is a character that, as McCarthy says, "draws the complete attention of the audience, and, according to C. Stace, 'despite his lies and abuse, claims our complete sympathy'".<ref>Stace 1968, pp. 64–77.</ref> He does this, according to some scholarship, using monologue, the imperative mood and alliteration—all of which are specific and effective linguistic tools in both writing and speaking.

The specific type of monologue (or soliloquy) in which a Plautine slave engages is the ''prologue''. As opposed to simple exposition, according to N. W. Slater, "these ... prologues ... have a far more important function than merely to provide information."<ref>N. W. Slater. ''Plautus in Performance: The Theatre of the Mind''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985, p. 152</ref> Another way in which the ''servus callidus'' asserts his power over the play—specifically the other characters in the play—is through his use of the [[imperative mood]].  This type of language is used, according to E. Segal, for "the forceful inversion, the reduction of the master to an abject position of supplication ... the master-as-suppliant is thus an extremely important feature of the Plautine comic finale".<ref>E. Segal. ''Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968, p. 122</ref> The imperative mood is therefore used in the complete role-reversal of the normal relationship between slave and master, and "those who enjoy authority and respect in the ordinary Roman world are unseated, ridiculed, while the lowliest members of society mount to their pedestals ... the humble are in fact exalted".<ref>Segal 1968, p. 136</ref>

===Food===
Meat is the most commonly mentioned foodstuff in the plays of Plautus, and where a specific meat is mentioned, it is most commonly [[pork]], followed by fish.{{sfn|Banducci|2011}}