Five Comedies

"This is a book worthy of high praise... All versions are exceedingly witty and versatile, in verse that ripples from one's lips, pulling all the punches of Plautus, the knockabout king of farce, and proving that the more polished Terence can be just as funny. Accuracy to the original has been thoroughly respected, but look at the humour in rendering Diphilius' play called Synapothnescontes as Three's a Shroud... Students in schools and colleges will benefit from short introductions to each play, to Roman stage conventions, to different types of Greek and Roman comedy, and there is a note on staging, with a diagram illustrating a typical Roman stage and further diagrams of the basic set for each play. The translators have paid more attention to stage directions than is usually given in translations, because they aim to show how these plays worked. This is a book to be used and enjoyed." -- Raymond J Clark, The Classical Outlook. "This book is perfect for my course on spectacle and entertainment in Rome. The translations are funny, accessible, and fast-paced, and all of the stage directions help me and my students imagine these comedies as real, performed, popular theatre..." -- Anne Duncan, Arizona State University. "What a delight to have these lively, funny, readable, actable versions available! This really fills a need for ancient drama and theatre history courses..." -- Diane Arnson Svarlien, Georgetown College. "A very readable translation that students will enjoy. Concise and helpful comments..." -- Ann Thomas Williams, Duquesne University. "Good translations are rare, good jokes even rarer; this volume in very rare fashion gives us plenty of both... I smiled and laughed on every page..." -- Christopher Brunelle, Vanderbilt University.