He gave the same name of Menaechmus to this one as the other had and by the same name the grandfather himself was called. That you may not mistake hereafter, I tell you then this beforehand the name of both the twin-brothers is the same. So much did he love that one which had been stolen, that he gave his name to the one that was at home. Now, after news reached the grandfather of the children at home about this matter, how that one of the children had been stolen, the grandfather changed the name of that other twin. But its father, after he had lost the child, took it heavily to heart, and through grief at it he died a few days after at Tarentum. A certain merchant of Epidamnus was there he picked up the child, and carried it away to Epidamnus 9. By accident, there were games at Tarentum when he came there: many persons, as generally happens at the games, had met together the child strayed away there from his father among the people. The father put one of the twins on board the ship, and took him away, together with himself, to traffic at Tarentum 8 the other one he left with his mother at home. After the children were now seven years old, the father freighted a large ship with much merchandize. There was a certain aged man, a merchant at Syracuse 6 to him two sons were born, twins, children so like in appearance that their own foster-mother 7, who gave the breast, was not able to distinguish them, nor even the mother herself who had given them birth as a person, indeed, informed me who had seen the children I never saw them, let no one of you fancy so. Now will I give the subject, meted out to you, not in a measure, nor yet in a threefold measure 5, but in the granary itself so great is my heartiness in telling you the plot. This has been my preface to the subject of this play. I will not tell you that this matter happened anywhere except where it is said to have happened. But in their Comedies the poets do this they feign that all the business takes place at Athens 4, in order that it may appear the more Grecian to you. And, in fact, this subject is a Greek one still, it is not an Attic 3, but a Sicilian one. Now learn the argument, and give your attention in as few words as possible will I be brief. Print.In the first 1 place now, Spectators, at the commencement, do I wish health and happiness 2 to myself and to you.I bring you Plautus, with my tongue, not with my hand: I beg that you will receive him with favouring ears. Living Theatre, History of Theatre 6 th Edition, The Theatre of the Italian Renaissance, Opera. As the play proceeds, many other plots and complications, but like most comedic plays of the time, everything is resolved by the end of the play. The twin from Syracuse eventually shows up and is mistaken for the true culprit, and Menaechmus becomes extremely confused. In the Menaechmi, a set of twins, the Menaechmi twins, are separated at birth and the twin from Syracuse is returning to find his brother.ДЄt the beginning of the play, Menaechmus of Epidamnus and the Sponge, have a conversation about many different plots that could take place, where they can deceive ManaechmusвЂ™ wife, while going to see and give gifts to Erotium, the lover.

At one end, there is an exit, which leads to the center of town and the other exit leads to the port.ДЄs many plays of the time, there is a prologue where an actor speaks to the audience to explain the background of the story. The stage is set to be the street in front of the two houses. The affair is being kept from MenaechmusвЂ™ domineering wife. The set for the play is to include two doors on stage, one on the house of Menaechmus of Epidamnus and the other on the house of the courtesan, Erotium, with whom Menaechmus is having a love affair. The characters involved in this comedic play are as follows: The Menaechmi is a comedic play about a mistaken identity involving twins, stock characters, and multiple plot lines that leave one twin extremely confused. Among those 45, the most popular and known is The Menaechmi. Plautus was accredited over 100 plays, but at this time, no more than 45 are said to have been written by him.

He took song, dance, and native Italian farce, which he included in his characters and plots when he started writing plays. 254-184 B.C.E.) was a witty, Roman, comedic playwright.

Plautus menaechmi summary