Terence Summary

Biography EssayBy composing six popular comedies, Terence became pivotal in the development of Latin literature and, because his plays have never ceased to be read, eventually of European drama. Writi... Read more

By composing six popular comedies, Terence became pivotal in the development of Latin literature and, because his plays have never ceased to be read, eventually of European drama. Writing toward the b... Read more

In the following excerpt, Webbe lavishly praises Terence's style and language, advising that, if his readers wish to improve their conversational skills, they need only read Terence as a guide.... Read more

An Italian educator, philosopher, and author, Croce developed a highly influential theory of literary creation and a concomitant critical method. In defining the impetus and execution of poetry, Croce... Read more

In the following excerpt from his highly-regarded study of Roman comedy, Duckworth explains the notion of contaminatio (imitation of earlier authors) as it applies to Terence. In Homeric scholarshi... Read more

A highly versatile man of letters, Graves was an English poet, novelist, translator, and critic. He was first associated with the Georgian war poets during World War I, but afterward followed a more n... Read more

Below, Martin supplies a summary of the development of Roman comedy to Terence's time, and then goes on to discuss the sources, themes, characters, and style of the The Brothers. Although th... Read more

Radice was an English educator who, as joint editor of the Penguin Classics series, translated such works as Pliny's Letters, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, and Desiderius Erasmus's... Read more

Goldberg is the author of several articles on Terence and a monograph, Understanding Terence (1986). In the following essay, he explores Terence's role in the demise of Roman comedy, arguing th... Read more

Below, Brothers surveys characterization and plot devices in The Self-Tormentor, and also explores some of Terence's sources for the play. It has long been part of scholarly practice to atte... Read more

Mackail was an English critic, biographer, and educator whose books include The Springs of Helicon (1909) and Studies in Humanism (1938). Here, he comments on Terence's position in the history ... Read more

A German historian, writer, and politician, Mommsen is known for his authoritative work in several areas of Roman studies, particularly Roman law. His Römische Geschichte (1856; The History of Ro... Read more

Norwood was an American classical scholar whose books include Greek Comedy (1932) and Pindar (1945). In the following excerpt from his well-regarded monograph on Terence, he summarizes Terence'... Read more

In the essay below, Levin focuses on the two-level plot structure tracing parallel love affairs that is characteristic of several of Terence's plays. Certainly one of the most striking featu... Read more

In the excerpt below, Konstan contends that The Mother-in-Law interrogates the traditional Roman values of amor and pietas (love and filial duty) and in the process "challenges and confounds th... Read more

In the excerpt below, Brothers provides an overview of The Self-Tormentor, discussing its relationship to its Greek source, its plot, and its characterization. It has long been part of scholarly pr... Read more