The comedies “Casina” and the poem “On the Life of the Roman People” by the two playwriters, Titus Maccius Plautus and Marcus Terentius Varro Reatinus, respectively, use the same writing styles in many ways. One of the common characteristics of comedies is severe and rapid dialogues, which are characterized by vitality and smartness. This makes the plays very interesting and captures the eyes of the audience. The style also functions in showing professionalism applied in the works of the writers because they maximize the adoption of superior writing styles, which show mastery of the language in the play. In addition, other similarities are alliteration, wordplays, puns, and redundancy. In the same way, Plautus’ and Marcus’ works have the writing skills of alliteration and repetition. The function of language techniques is to portray the message in an artistic style that makes it interesting.
The differences between the two playwriters are that Terentius’s work is in simple Latin language, characterized by direct and appealing words to the writer. Still less humorous to watch, Maccius Marcus’ “Casina” uses complex Latin language, which is indirect and exceptionally attractive, and very funny for the audience to watch (Varro). Therefore, this means the two scholars employ different styles of writing which distinguish their works. Maccius Marcus’ comedy works to trigger the audience to think critically to grasp the message from the play(Plautus). In contrast, Terentius delivers the message without complexities that may challenge the audience to think critically to understand the message.
In conclusion, poems by Roman comedians and writers used different writing techniques in their poems and plays. The two comedians, Maccius Marcus and Terentius, tactically apply the styles for purposes of capturing the attention of the audience, developing interest to read more, invoking emotions, and finally, in an attempt to make the audience think critically and understand the play. The writers’ styles are fundamental because they make the play humorous and worth reading and acting.
Works Cited
Plautus, Titus Maccius. Plautus: Casina. The casket comedy. Curculio. Epidicus. The two Menaechmuses. Vol. 2. Harvard University Press, 1917.
Varro, Marcus Terentius. De lingua latina. Vol. 85. John Benjamins Publishing, 1996.