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The play is set in a street in Athens. The houses of
Theopropides and his neighbour Simo face the audience. Between them is a narrow alley leading to the garden door of Simo's house. There is an altar between the stage and the audience. To the audience's left the road leads to the harbour, and on the
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The different scenes of the play are clearly differentiated by changes of metre. The usual pattern is to begin each section with iambic senarii (which were spoken without music), then a scene of music in various metres. Each section is rounded off by lively trochaic septenarii, which were apparently
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he loves. One day, he is having a party in the street with his friends, when his slave Tranio interrupts the merry-making to announce that
Philolaches' father has returned unexpectedly and will arrive from the harbour at any minute. Amid the general panic, Tranio has an idea. He hustles Philolaches
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Unfortunately, at this moment a money-lender turns up to claim the money that
Philolaches borrowed. Tranio thinks quickly and pretends that the money was borrowed to buy the house next door. Even after Philolaches' father meets the real owner of the house, Tranio manages to hide the truth for some
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Plautus's plays are traditionally divided into five acts; these are referred to here for convenience, since many editions make use of them. However, it is not thought that they go back to
Plautus's time, since no manuscript contains them before the 15th century. Also, the acts themselves do not
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The play contains five songs: three of them polymetric, using a range of different metres, involving young men and slaves; and one each of cretic and bacchiac, involving the old men Simo and
Theopropides. There is also a section of 90 lines of iambic septenarii (a metre often associated with
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Tranio addresses the audience. He locks the house door. β Philolaches' father
Theopropides arrives. Tranio persuades him that the house is haunted. β Next he fends off the money-lender, persuading Theopropides that the money was borrowed as a downpayment on a new
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time, but he is finally found out and jumps on top of an altar to escape punishment. Fortunately, all ends happily when one of
Philolaches' friends offers to repay the debt, allowing the father to forgive his son. Even Tranio is forgiven.
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Tranio realises that he has been exposed. He flees to the nearby altar to avoid punishment. Philolaches' friend
Callidamates appears and persuades Theopropides to forgive both Philolaches and Tranio.
218:
A young man named
Philolaches is having a great time while his father Theopropides is overseas on business. Philolaches has borrowed a lot of money to buy the freedom of the
223:
and his friends into the house and locks the door. The father now arrives. Tranio greets him respectfully but pretends that it is dangerous to enter the house because it is
275:
C. W. Marshall (2006), however, who sees the metrical sections (or "arcs") as always starting with iambic senarii, divides the play into just four sections as follows:
600:. The character Erroneous returns from being abroad to be told his house is haunted and must walk seven times around the seven hills of Rome to remove the ghosts.
614:
Rachel Beth
Cunning simplified and adapted the play to create more comprehensible reading materials for Latin 3 and Latin 4 students in a high school classroom.
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267:(a pair of reed pipes). Moore calls this the "ABC" metrical succession. In this play, the pattern is varied from ABC, ABC... as follows:
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Theopropides converses with Simo and begins his inspection of Simo's house, believing falsely that Simo has agreed to sell it.
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When Tranio has gone to fetch Philolaches, Theopropides gets into conversation with the two slaves and discovers the truth.
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The neighbour Simo comes out complaining about his wife. Tranio flatters Simo. He tells him about his difficult situation.
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The slave Tranio brings news that Philocrates' father has returned from his trip. He ushers the young men into the house
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Act 1.2 (84β156): polymetric song (bacchiac, iambic, cretic, ending with 3 lines of trochaic septenarii) (70 lines)
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understood in the title). The play is believed to be an adaptation of a lost comedy of the Athenian poet
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Callidamates's two slaves, Phaniscus and Pinacium, arrive to collect their master. They exchange banter.
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Theopropides meets Simo and they both realise they have been tricked. They determine to punish Tranio.
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always match the structure of the plays, which is more clearly shown by the variation in metres.
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Philolaches overhears his girlfriend Philematium and her slave Scapha talking about him.
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Act 1.4 (313β347): polymetric song (bacchiac, cretic, anapaestic, reizianum) (35 lines)
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Philolaches's friend Callidamates arrives, very drunk, with his girlfriend Delphium.
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The country slave Grumio chides city-slave Tranio for wasting their master's money
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prostitutes) when the prostitute Philematium is chatting with her maid Scapha.
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800:, translated into English by Henry Thomas Riley, published 1912, via the
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The young man Philolaches ruefully contemplates his wasteful way of life.
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Act 3.3 (783β804): bacchiac (ending with 1 line of tr8) (22 lines)
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689:. Cambridge University Press, pp. 237-42, 253-8, 305-8, 367-71.
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Tranio tricks Simo into letting Theopropides inspect his house.
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Philematium β A courtesan who has been set free by Philolaches
611:, transposing the story from Athens to modern day Nantucket.
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is one of several Plautus plays used as inspiration for the
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Act 4.1 (858β903): polymetric song (mixed metres) (46 lines)
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Act 5.1β5.2 (1041β1181): trochaic septenarii (138 lines)
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Philolaches sends Scapha away and talks to Philematium.
765:, translated by E. F. Watling, Penguin, London, 1964,
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
148:(the Ghost). It is set in a street in the city of
523:Act 4.2 (904β992): trochaic septenarii (89 lines)
486:Act 3.3 (805β857): trochaic septenarii (53 lines)
441:Tranio begs Simo not to betray him to his master.
400:Act 2.1β3.1 (409β689): iambic senarii (277 lines)
379:Act 2.1 (348β408): trochaic septenarii (60 lines)
342:Act 1.3 (248β312): trochaic septenarii (61 lines)
997:
326:Act 1.3 (154β247): iambic septenarii (90 lines)
294:Act 1.1 (lines 1β83): iambic senarii (80 lines)
597:A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
478:Tranio leads Theopropides over to Simo's house
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544:Act 4.3 (993β1040): iambic senarii (49 lines)
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194:Grumio β Country slave, owned by Theopropides
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454:Act 3.2 (747β782): iambic senarii (36 lines)
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417:Act 3.2 (690β743): mostly cretic (54 lines)
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433:Act 3.2 (744β747): tr7, ia8, ia7 (3 lines)
227:by the ghost of a man once killed there.
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
724:For details of the metres used, see the
259:recited or sung to the accompaniment of
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197:Sphaerio β Slave owned by Theopropides
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702:(Cambridge University Press), p. 218.
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134:as "The Ghost (play)" (with the word
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743:"Mostellaria: An Adapted Latin Play"
178:Callidamates β Friend of Philolaches
172:Tranio β Slave owned by Theopropides
47:adding citations to reliable sources
18:
356:
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203:Delphium β Callidamates' girlfriend
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166:Theopropides β an Athenian merchant
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741:Cunning, Rachel (10 August 2020).
731:Washington University in St Louis.
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797:Mostellaria, or the Haunted House
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726:Database by Timothy J. Moore of
501:Theopropides discovers the truth
200:Scapha β Philematium's attendant
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659:, according to Lewis and Short
206:Phaniscus β Callidamates' slave
169:Philolaches β Theopropides' son
34:needs additional citations for
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705:
700:The Stagecraft of Roman Comedy
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637:Titi Macci Plauti: Mostellaria
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209:Pinacium β Callidamates' slave
181:Simo β Theopropides' neighbour
126:is a play by the Roman author
1:
674:Titi Macci Plauti Mostellaria
617:
155:
16:Ancient Roman play by Plautus
653:is a diminutive of the word
271:ABBC, BC, AB(C), ABC, BC, AC
184:Misargyrides β A moneylender
7:
1016:Plays set in ancient Greece
130:. Its name translates from
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728:The Meters of Roman Comedy
711:Moore, Timothy J. (2012),
685:Moore, Timothy J. (2012),
394:Tranio tricks Theopropides
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1021:Ghosts in popular culture
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538:Tranio escapes punishment
763:The Rope and Other Plays
698:Marshall, C. W. (2006).
279:ABBCBC, AB(C), ABCBC, AC
672:Merrill, F. R. (1972).
635:Merrill, F. R. (1972),
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784:The Latin text of the
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603:Kevin P. Joyce's play
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254:Metres of Roman comedy
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713:Music in Roman Comedy
687:Music in Roman Comedy
252:Further information:
607:is loosely based on
235:right to the forum.
43:improve this article
1011:Plays set in Athens
605:When the Cat's Away
661:A Latin Dictionary
448:Tranio tricks Simo
248:Metrical structure
239:Division into acts
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60: β
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58:"Mostellaria"
55:
54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
984:Truculentus
935:Mostellaria
893:Cistellaria
786:Mostellaria
639:, p. xviii.
609:Mostellaria
580:Mostellaria
575:Adaptations
123:Mostellaria
1000:Categories
851:Amphitryon
618:References
220:slave-girl
156:Characters
69:newspapers
977:Trinummus
956:Pseudolus
914:Menaechmi
872:Bacchides
865:Aulularia
837:Plays by
789:, at the
715:, p. 185.
676:, p. xix.
650:mostellum
99:July 2011
949:Poenulus
921:Mercator
907:Epidicus
900:Curculio
858:Asinaria
656:monstrum
142:Philemon
970:Stichus
879:Captivi
839:Plautus
759:Plautus
225:haunted
144:called
128:Plautus
83:scholar
963:Rudens
886:Casina
769:
409:house.
263:tΔ«biae
150:Athens
146:Phasma
137:fabula
85:
78:
71:
64:
56:
942:Persa
132:Latin
90:JSTOR
76:books
767:ISBN
590:and
214:Plot
62:news
45:by
1002::
761:,
745:.
626:^
586:,
152:.
830:e
823:t
816:v
773:.
749:.
663:.
112:)
106:(
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97:(
87:Β·
80:Β·
73:Β·
66:Β·
39:.
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