{"product_id":"2026200015081-secondhand-five-roman-comedies","title":"Five Roman Comedies","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the Roman stage rang with laughter, it was Plautus and Terence who held the crowd — and Five Roman Comedies, edited and translated by Palmer Bovie, brings that ancient comic genius roaring back to life in brilliant modern verse. This landmark anthology presents five masterworks of Roman dramatic comedy, drawn from the two towering figures of the genre, rendered in English that captures both the wit and the rhythm of the originals. The plays crackle with mistaken identities, scheming slaves, lovesick young men, and blustering soldiers — the timeless stock of human folly that made Roman audiences howl with recognition two millennia ago.\n\nBovie's scholarly yet supremely readable translations illuminate why Plautus and Terence remain the founding fathers of Western comic drama, their influence traceable through Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, Molière's farces, and beyond. His verse translations strike a rare balance between classical fidelity and theatrical vitality, making these plays as performable as they are pleasurable to read. Whether you are a student of the ancient world, a theatre lover, or simply a reader who appreciates the art of comedy at its most enduring, this collection leaves one question unanswered: how much of human nature has truly changed since Rome first laughed?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203198984411,"sku":"2026200015081-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/f200a772-75a0-4fd3-9fe5-7212cadc9061.png?v=1788145459","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200015081-secondhand-five-roman-comedies","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}