THE POT OF GOLD

Titus Maccius Plautus

POT OF GOLD CHARACTERS

Lar Familiaris
Euclio
Phaedrium
Staphyla
Megadorus
Eunomia
Lyconides
 WHY IS POT OF GOLD A CLASSICAL DRAMA

 Presence of prologue of Lar (house God)

 Presence of monologue of Megadorus
 Includes issues ranging from love, marriage and dowry.
 ANALYSIS OF THE POT OF GOLD AS A COMEDY

THE OPENING SCENE WHEREIN THE HOUSE GOD LAR MAKES COMMENTS ABOUT THE GREAT
GRANDFATHER AND GRANDFATHER OF EUCLIO.
THE SCENE WHERE IN EUCLIO MAKES STAPHYLA LEAVE THE ROOM AND BLAMES HER FOR
EYEING HIS POSSESSIONS.
THERE ARE WHERE VARIOUS PLACES WHEREIN EUCLIO TALKS TO HIMSELF.
THE THINGS EUCLIO DOES TO MAKE HIM LOOK POOR.
THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN STROBILUS THE COOKS ANTHRAX AND CONGRIO DESCRIBING
THE OLD MAN EUCLIOS CHARACTER.
WHEN EUCLIO BEATS CONGRIO THE ARGUMENT BETWEEN THEM IS QUITE FUNNY.
EUCLIO CHECKING THE SLAVES POCKETS IN SHRINE.
THE CONFUSION ABOUT THE CRISIS OF PHAEDRIUM GIVING BIRTH TO CHILD AND LYCONIDES
ACCEPTING HIS FAULT WHILE EUCLIO IS THINKING THAT HE IS THE MAN WHO STOLE HIS POT
OF GOLD.
MAJOR THEMES IN POT OF GOLD

CLEVER
MATERIALIS NARROWNESS SERVANTS
TIC OF PEOPLES OUTWITTING
GREED MIND THEIR
SUPERIORS

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

PLAUTINE COMEDY

• Revolves mostly around daily life.

• Plautus`s sense of comic timing exactly how far to take a joke or run a scene is unsurpassed in Western drama even by
Shakespeare
•  Plautus' drama shows that he understood this conundrum quite well, and his finest talent is, no doubt, his ability to walk the
fine line between fine art and a fine time.
• Plautus's comedies are mostly adapted from Greek models for a Roman audience, and are often based directly on the works of
the Greek playwrights. He reworked the Greek texts to give them a flavour that would appeal to the local Roman audiences.
They are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature
•  the prologue furnishes the audience with details necessary to understanding the opening of a complicated plot, or it may even
explain in advance the outcome of the play with a consequent loss of suspense and surprise but a gain of iron
• the Plautine play presents one plot with one problem and one set of characters; these simple plots of Plautus allow comic
digression and repetition. 
• Humorous passages loosely connected with the plot and violation of dramatic illusion are clear evidence of Plautus's concern
for entertaining his audience with a good laugh even at the expense of careful workmanship and finish
• paid careful attention to delineation of character but within a framework of types in which subtlety, complexity, and
individuality were severely restricted. 
Thank You!