STUDY QUESTIONS FOR ROMAN COMEDY:

1. Assuming that the plays you have read are typical Roman comedies (which they are), make as complete a list as you can of the typical features that characterize Roman comedy in general.

2. Assuming that the plays you have read are typical of their respective authors (which they are), make as complete a list as you can of the features which distinguish the comedies of Plautus from those of Terence, and vice versa.

3. How would you imagine the members of the Roman audience felt about the fact that they were watching Greek plays?

4. Related to the preceding question, why do you think the Roman powers-that-be developed a tradition of public performances of Greek plays rather than of specifically Roman ones?